Recording and Editing your Podcast

Tips when recording

1. Distance between mic: a hands distance away
2. Watch for peaking audio: if the sound gets too loud it’ll sound distorted which is called peaking. You want to ensure your levels never go past -6 decibels. You can monitor your volume in the software while you are recording to make sure your levels never get too high.
3. Someone should be wearing headphones at all time to monitor sound.
4. Make sure to hit save before recording and then save once you are done.
5. Don’t sweat it too much, you can always pause or stop a recording and editing is always an option after.
6. Record a few seconds of room tone to help mask mistakes.
7. Keep everyone on a separate track and microphone if possible to make editing easier. This is known as multitrack recording and gives you more range for editing.
8. Have a pen and paper handy to take notes while recording
9. Clapping can help if you want to remind yourself of a spot in your recording you’d like to edit later (clapping causes your waveform to “spike” or “peak” so it’s easier to find it later).

For information on audio recording here’s a link to our guide as well as a link to editing in REAPER.

Recording remotely

Recording someone who is not in the same room as you.

• There are lots of desktop apps and software to help accomplish this that are free and easy to use (but requires good WiFi on all ends)
• Skype and Zoom are a great option too!
• The best way to ensure quality is to use a double-ender recording method where all parties record locally and then you stitch the recordings together in post-production.
• Recording each speaker locally ensures a high quality recording and prevents any internet connectivity-related issues.
• Headphones are key to avoid feedback.

Recording over Skype or Zoom

Make sure to have your guest record locally on their end using some form of recording application. That way you have a backup recording and also you don’t have to rely on connectivity. Once done, they can send you the recording as a WAV or MP3 file that you can stitch together with your recording.

There are apps that allow you to record directly over the internet:

• Anchor
• WeVideo
• Soundtrap
• Discord

Tips for editing

1. Don’t overdo it. It should sound natural and some pauses and “umhs” are normal and conversational.
2. Fade in and out your music so there are no harsh transitions
3. Start with editing for content then for sound.
4. Mixing your podcast and adding effects are more advanced skills. Here are some links if you want to learn more.
5. The more you do it, the easier it will become.