April Is Podcast Experiment Month

As working podcasters, we are often focused on our own systems and processes that get our content out into the world, but with so many of us sheltering in place, it's providing an excellent opportunity for experimentation. Who knows what will come out?

[00:00:22] Hello and welcome to another podcast. Pontifications with me, Evo. Tara. I talked to you about abundance yesterday and podcasting from a place of abundance. One of the benefits of having an abundance mindset is that you get to do weird things. If you're not living hand to mouth in the thing that you're doing in your business and your art and your profession and your whatever, you have some bandwidth to do interesting things.

[00:00:53] And that's why I am declaring April, 2020 as podcast experimentation month. Okay. It's just me that made that declaration. But nonetheless, I think it's a good idea and I'm hoping other people will jump onto this idea, especially those working podcasters who have AV, finding themselves now with different, um, circumstances.

[00:01:17] Maybe more time, maybe less time, whatever, but just different circumstances. Especially because we're all, as I said before, locked inside. Let's experiment. Let's try different things. You can try, for example, experimenting the location of how you record. I saw a great post on Reddit, which I will link to here in the episode.

[00:01:41] Details that showed someone set up as they were podcasting now from their garden, and it's great in a, captures a totally different ambience. You can't go to the park and record, but you certainly might be able to go into your backyard or your garden or some other place and capture the sounds around you.

[00:01:59] Maybe you could also change location by podcasting in a different section or room of your house. You know, each room, each area has a different tonal quality. Maybe that will enhance what you do. Maybe you're podcasting from the exact wrong place in your home. There's a much better place. Maybe it's in your car, which you haven't driven in two weeks, right?

[00:02:23] As long as you're not under a shelter in place order, you might be able to go take a walk and take your recording gear with you, take your phone with you, find a way to get your microphone and your phone working together. Look, Amazon and Sweetwater and BSW are still shipping equipment, so if you need to buy dongles or adapters to do things, give it a shot.

[00:02:44] Capturing the noises and sounds of your neighborhood. Again, staying six feet away from people can make an interesting addition to your show. You can experiment on different equipment. I just mentioned calling up all different places, but if you're like me, you probably have more microphones than you know what to do with.

[00:03:05] I talk on an SM seven B every time I do this show, but why wouldn't I break out that Samson cue to you that I bought because it was cheap and give it a shot. I've got some SM 58 I've got some leveling and microphones. Heck, I even have an old blue snowball, which might have an interesting character one of these days.

[00:03:24] Maybe I'll try that. Or what about the other equipment that you have that you might not be completely familiar with? I know a lot of people still like to use the blue Yeti microphone and fine. Okay. But do me a favor, and now during April podcast, experimentation month, see exactly how it works. Those three settings on the back that you think, you know, we'll try him out.

[00:03:48] Try different things with them. Try different Mike placements. Maybe don't put it in the middle of the table and shout it to him across the room. Maybe try it differently. Or if you need to open up the manual. See exactly what that thing you have that piece of equipment is designed to do and are you using it the right way?

[00:04:07] Now's a great time to experiment with that. You can also experiment with the voices on your show. Are your kids at home like all too many? I have had to cut out a lot of kids' sounds for some of the shows that we helped engineer around here. But maybe bringing those kids on would be kind of fun. I have heard some cool podcasters who are trying that using what they have.

[00:04:31] Maybe now's a great time to bring on cohost or guests. If you just do a monologue show like I do, maybe that's the way to play it with new voices on your program. What about the software you use to make your show? You know, now's a great time. If you've been using audacity, GarageBand, or some other free service, and you've never really had a need or a desire, or perhaps even the time to try something new, well, maybe now's a great time to go download Reaper.

[00:05:02] Get the free trial of Hindenburg. Try these professional Dawes. Give yourself some time to learn them because I know you're afraid of that learning curve, but during April as podcast experiment month, maybe it's a good time to do that. Try out those serious Dawes. Also, it's a great time to download trials of amazing plugins that make your podcasting efforts sound better, sometimes more efficiently and quicker.

[00:05:30] Waves isotope, lots of other podcast plugin makers or just audio plugin makers have free trials that you can download for awhile and see if they work for you. And then finally think about changing or experimenting with your format, maybe doing things shorter. You know, I mean, even if, let's say for example, you do a 10 minute show, but you can do it in checks the time a little over six minutes.

[00:05:57] Maybe you should just end the episode there and see what happens. Yeah, I'm going to try that. In the meantime, share this episode with your podcasting friends who find themselves with some free time and I shall be back tomorrow with yet another podcast. Pontifications cheers.

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