Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to produce a number a number of
audio podcasts. Of, course, My affection for old-time radio programs has allowed me to
integrate this new technology with my hobby. It all commenced when the folks of our senior’s community were restricted in their activities because of Covid19. What was the “social committee” to do? Well, I was able to download an old-time radio script from the 1930’s of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” from the Internet to get an idea of the general format of a radio script. Then, I had to rewrite the script to make it fit the number of volunteer “actors” available. Within the script I put in the required sound effects that were available free from the BBC. Thus, a new script was formed and it was emailed to our volunteers. Parts were then assigned and recording took place at West River United Church in Cornwall PEI, with all the appropriate guidelines for Covid19 protection. It was recorded on a central “Blue Yeti Nano” condenser microphone on a stand, with the readers all circling around it. A laptop computer using the free program “Audacity” was used for recording.
https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/blue-microphones-yeti-nano-usb-microphone-grey/12727794
After getting the raw vocal recording, I edited it using the same “Audacity” software. Here
is a link for the older version that I use that will, in about 30 minutes, give you all the basics
needed.
A newer version of Audacity has changed the “look” slightly, and this link will help you with
those alterations and to even reverse them in order to restore the older “look” should you
desire it.
Here is a link for sound effects:
https://sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/search
Here is a link for copyright free hymns:
https://www.smallchurchmusic.com/index.php
Music is a bit of a problem for including in your podcasts. Over the years, Internet companies have tried to capitalize on even non copyrighted music by having you log into an account (data collection is monetized) or a subscription fee. Be aware that “royalty free” is not the same as “copyright free”, as a licence may still be required. I have also been fortunate to have recorded the raw vocal through video chat software for the Jane Austen Society, Rural Atlantic, as well as for some PEI ministers. Many people use Zoom, which allows you to record the session; however, I use “Jitsi Meet”, a free open source program similar to Zoom for the video chat , but I record the session on “OBS”, which is another free open source program. Both programs run simultaneously on my laptop. OBS will collect all the audio that comes over the speakers. When finished, the file is saved and ready to be imported into “Audacity” for editing. Here is the link to OBS:
https://obsproject.com/
Finally, after your podcast is completed, you need to make it public. There are numerous
companies that will do this for you. I use “SoundCloud”, which has a free account, but it is
limited. It works well enough, and it can be linked to your website or social media. Here are some other podcast “hosts”:
https://www.podcastinsights.com/best-podcast-hosting/
The podcast “host” “Buzzsprout” has a complete guide to equipment, recording, editing, and hosting should you want more details. Happy podcasting!
https://www.buzzsprout.com/blog/how-to-start-a-podcast
Rev. Martin Dawson (retired and living in Cornwall PEI)