All companies are in the midst of adjusting how they work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the top priorities
is continuing to communicate with clients and customers and finding new, remote approaches to content creation
and collaboration.
Podcasts pose a special challenge: so much of their appeal
and value come from feeling like you’re eavesdropping on an intimate conversation with really interesting people. But when so much of the world is sheltering at home, how can companies adapt their production approaches without sacrificing the quality and insights that make podcasts so alluring?
To find out, I sat down with Tyson Ellert, a sound engineer and producer with more than a decade of experience, for guidance and tips.
Q A
&
with Sound Engineer
and Producer Tyson Ellert
What are the hallmarks of the best podcasts?
Leff
Ellert
The podcast medium gives people the opportunity to express big ideas or thoughts without feeling relegated to just 60 seconds to make their point. Hearing people talk about something they’re passionate about draws the listener in.
Engaging questions and a welcoming, curious host are big parts of creating the right vibe. When well executed, the conversation flows naturally—or with the help of an editor—to take people on a bit of a journey.
Production is important as well. Good sound helps provide that sense of immediacy, and a theme, be it a song or sound design, supports the branding and feel of a podcast. You’d be surprised how many people speak up about certain themes on podcasts. So having someone in your corner who knows about recording techniques can ensure that once-in-a-lifetime meeting of the minds doesn’t get obscured by poor sound quality or production.
How do you translate these critical elements from in-person conversations to remote podcasts when the host, guest, and engineer are all in different places?
Leff
A first step is freeing yourself from the preconception that great interaction requires people to be in the same room. That can be hard because many people think of Joe Rogan or Marc Maron as the archetypes. So much of their success seems like the product of the face-to-face.
We’ve already seen since the COVID-19 pandemic began how what was once unacceptable is now the norm. Watch a panel discussion on TV: the experts are now Skyping in from their homes, and the sound and video quality can be compromised. But viewers are willing to go with it as long as the conversations are still insightful. To make it all happen, there’s a sound engineer in a control room working to make the quality as good as possible.
Even within these constraints, you can still create that sense of intimacy by relying on the fundamentals: spend time on preproduction, make sure guests are prepped, and then leave enough time for postproduction. Whatever you lose in sound quality will have a negligible impact on the listener experience.
Ellert
What are the biggest challenges in remote podcasts?
Leff
Getting the best sound from a one-on-one remote conversation shifts control from the engineer to the participants and their internet connections. If the host or guest aren’t familiar with platforms such as Skype or Zoom or forget to hit record, the conversation can suffer. In addition, talking to a computer rather than a person and sounding natural can take some practice. These challenges can be overcome with some additional thought and preparation.
On the upside, going remote expands the possibilities for hosts. Now anyone in the world can be a guest, provided they have dependable internet access. And that opens new roads to get great, valuable information to the public.
Ellert
What tips or guidelines would you share with companies seeking to make the shift from in-person to remote podcasts?
Leff
Once the host chooses the platform, the producer or engineer should provide the guest with a basic checklist for the system to get them familiar with the features. In addition to dialing into the conversation for an audio feed, I strongly advise both the host and the guest to record the discussion separately. Skype added recording capabilities to its latest version so you can record within the program itself.
Before the podcast session, the guest should do a dry run. Hit record, check the levels, and ensure the quality is good. The biggest mistake is for the input level to be too high and distort. You can always make it louder and fuller, but you can’t fix the overloading of the mic. In my experience, the best results come from using a Bluetooth headphone setup.
It may seem obvious, but the host or producer should remind the guest to call in from a quiet room. We’re all dealing with disruptions at home at the moment. People no longer treat a child interrupting a conference call as a mortal sin, but those intrusions work less well in a podcast.
After the conversation, these files are automatically saved to a folder on your computer or the cloud and can be shared easily. The engineer can then create the best possible sound using these different audio stems.
The person hosting the show should have the best audio quality possible. It’s really worth going that extra mile to pick up a small digital recording device with an external mic for these sessions. There are a variety of packages and premade bundles on the market specifically designed to record to a computer or smartphone that can provide the quality an engineer needs
for postproduction.
Ellert
Are there any other issues that might not seem obvious?
Leff
As people scramble to replace their in-person interactions, podcasts might seem like a perfect option for training and online education. But they can raise unforeseen issues. For instance, my sister is a birthing coach and doula who teaches classes at a hospital. When a case of COVID-19 was found at the hospital, the classes were discontinued. She figured out how to translate these sessions to a podcast format but was then notified by the hospital that there might be some very large concerns because of HIPAA.
These kinds of challenges can be addressed, but you have to be sure to explore them well in advance, which makes preproduction even more important.
Ellert