Podcasting Resources

01.08.2009 // Tutorial, Tutorials //

A lengthy overview and resources available for creating and setting up a Podcast; which is a bit or trial-and-error as well as a subtle artistic endeavor. This is a running document for students taking Universal by Design (iTunes Link) through The Center for Universal Design at  NC State University, College of Design.

Audio and Video Capture

Get good audio.

  • Garbage in = Garbage out… Cleaning up scratchy, muffled, inaudible audio is next to impossible.
  • Use an external microphone if you can (even better, wireless lavaliere)
    Otherwise — make sure the camera is close to the subject speaking.
  • Pay close attention to background noise that may interfere with dialogue.
  • Bring a pair of headphones so you can sample the incoming audio signal from the camera microphone output

Video

  • Shoot in standard definition when possible
    – Although some video services are accepting HD footage the majority of what you will be producing will be just as visually compelling online
  • Sometimes smaller is better (camera size)
  • Tape is cheap. Time and opportunity are not.
    – If you’re using SD or Hard Drive based cameras be sure to allocate tape sessions appropriately so you don’t run out of drive space during a shoot
  • Tape provides an instant archive – swap, label, shoot, repeat.
  • Don’t store projects on IT lab machines.
    – Purchase a good external Firewire or USB2.0 hard drive, 500GB minimum
  • Use a tripod to avoid the Blair Witch/Cloverfield look
    – unless you are going for that sort of visual style
  • Pretend that the zoom lens was never invented
    – you can get better footage if you cover a wide shot and then a close up without awkward zooming
  • Shoot cover footage (ambient)
  • Trust your eyes over auto-focus.
  • Pay attention to lighting (color, amount)
    – check your camera settings for indoor vs outdoor lighting settings it can make a big difference to skin tone and environmental colors
  • Don’t point directly at a light source.

Plan in advance.

  • Outline visually (storyboard). Don’t worry if you can’t draw. Keep it simple.
  • Script as much as you can. It will help you structure time.
  • Do as much as you can in one shoot at a location. Don’t plan on coming back.
  • Talk with your talent. Be clear on what needs to be covered.
  • Get release forms signed
    – Sample NC State University Release form:
    Adult Release Authorization Form, Child/Minor Release Authorization Form

Editing

  • Quicktime Pro – lets you cut and paste video, crude editing
  • iMovie – simple and fast. rudimentary audio editing/control
  • Final Cut – more precise edits, layers for video and audio
  • Premiere – essentially the same, but for Windows
  • Audacity – free audio editing from Sourceforge
  • Super MP3 Recorder – great audio capture on the MS Windows platform

Software+Hardware

Creating Audio Podcasts:
www.apple.com/quicktime/tutorials/podcasting.html

Creating Video Podcasts:
www.apple.com/quicktime/tutorials/videopodcasts.html
www.apple.com/quicktime/tutorials/videopodcasts_win.html

Engadget PodCast 101
www.engadget.com/2004/10/05/engadget-podcast-001-10-05-2004-how-to-podcasting-get/

Podcasting Primer
www.wtvi.com/TEKS/05_06_articles/classroom-audio-podcasting.html

Output File Types

  • Flash (FLV)
    – widely supported, a little more difficult to utilize
    – use Dreamweaver to handle putting content in a page or publish a Flash SWF w/HTML file
    – you can utilize many WordPress Plug-ins to play them directly on a page for your blog
  • MPEG-4 (MPG, MP4)
    – plays with Quicktime for Windows and Mac, can play back on iPods and other media players
  • Windows media (WMV)
    – Players for Windows and Mac. About the same quality as MPEG-4

Export Tools For Video Formats

What Size Should The Video Be?

  • 640×480 – close to standard television size (non-HD)
  • 480×320 – smaller frame size for web delivery
  • 320×240 – do we really want something this small?

Captioning Video Content

  • Embedded Quicktime Captions
  • Embedded MPEG-4 Captions (similar to QT)
  • SAMI/SMIL Support (harder to implement)
  • SubRip/Subviewer Support with YouTube

Tools

For a break demo of captioning process:
http://halmeeks.net/video-talk/captioning.html

Podcasting at NC State Campus

Equipment Resources for Checkout at NC State Campus
– www.lib.ncsu.edu/learningcommons/devices.html

How Can I Distribute My Audio/Video Podcast?

  • Web Page (simple linking to the source file)
    – Be sure to utilize your ASF Web space. Every student has access to webspace that is shared between AFS storage and email. Read more about getting your website setup at ITD.NCSU
  • YouTube, Vimeo, flickr and other online video services
  • Clipshare (College of Education is offering hosting services for videos through their ClipShare services)
  • Podcast through iTunes (iTunes, iTunes University, podcast.ncsu.edu)

Blogging Services:

Video Services for Blogs and Podcasts:

Software Services for Podcast to iTunes:

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