Funny lifestyle/character change of pace for me that's occurred in the two and half years or so since I was posting on the regular basis: I'm obsessed with podcasts now. Basically, if I'm awake and not at work, I'm probably listening to a podcast. Mostly large swaths of the Night Vale Presents and Maximum Fun networks (with particular focus on McElroy offerings). Seriously, the only reason the newest Adventure Zone isn't playing RIGHT NOW is because I want to pay more attention to it than I can while writing.
That is merely an introductory point, although it's possible that if I really get back into the swing of blogging, I may be moved to spend an episode gushing about beloved podcasts. No, the real point is that I have become afflicted with the urge that befalls all of us when we've listened to/read/whatever entirely too much of a type of thing...
You guys, I'm thinking about starting my own damn podcast. And the more I think about it the more I: 1) realize I have no clue what I'm doing, but also 2) get excited about the idea of actually doing it.
Now, this is less absurdly out of the blue than it seems at first. As mentioned towards the end of the previous post (like 7 months ago, yes, I know, I know, but it's better than the last hiatus!), I've found myself stumbling into life as a dedicated sound engineer for my pseudospouse's band, The Blind Mountain Regulators, and I need a place to practice my editing and mixing skills. I already have several decent microphones, a completely overkill recording interface, and basic skill with Reaper (and any day now we'll pay for that software instead of continuing to extend our "evaluation" period). I just need content to edit other than band practices, because you can only mix different takes of the same Clutch cover so many times before you go insane. Also a schedule and/or deadline, because procrastination is a thing.
My specific idea is... SUPER meta, is what it is. Basic format would be to sit down with my SO, and/or the other band members, and spend an hour or two hashing out and recording a simple arrangement of a different song each episode (probably leaning towards folk/public domain offerings, just to make distribution easier), in a fairly freeform fashion, but with some more interview-y/prepared bits regarding why we chose that particular song mixed in. Then, once that's in the can, I'd go in and edit it down to a fairly tight glimpse at the recording process, including comparisons between raw, unmixed song takes, the final polished mix of the song at the end of the episode, and - here's the meta part - notes on the mixing/editing process that I'd record after the first rough (hypothetical examples: "Guys, I edited 37 instances of the word 'um' out of that sentence," or "Our lead guitarist was really into this take, so even though his levels were great at soundcheck, I had to turn his volume way down in the mix so he wouldn't drown out the vocals,"), along with the standard podcast shownotes and thankyous and stuff.
I may also take advantage of the rather meta subject matter to explore other genres, and build different editing techniques. Like, maybe spend an episode interviewing a friend about one of their projects, or have a journalistic-minded friend interview ME on costume design stuff. If I get a writing bug, maybe try scripted episode, or live-play an RPG (both of which would have to be two-parters, one for the process, and a separate one for the finished narrative piece). Basically dip my toes into the various common podcast formats and see what editing challenges they present. But mostly the music thing, because that I have a semi-self-renewing source for.
What do you guys think? And what the heck is my next step? I come to you for general thoughts and advice and hopefully recommendations.
Like... is there a podcast about how to start a podcast? If so, please link it to me, because listening to things while I do dishes or sew is basically the only way I assimilate new information now.
Thanks in advance, my dudes!
