Podcast Fundamentals: Produce Your Audio
Podcast Fundamentals: Produce Your Audio
Instructor: Heidi Shin
Class Dates: June 3 to July 15, 2020
Registration Closes: Friday, June 5, 2020
Recommended Experience Level: Beginner
Maximum Class Size: 14
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Learn the building blocks of a successful podcast, focusing on audio production. You’ll walk away with confidence in audio recording, interviewing, editing and how to assemble an audio story. You’ll produce a short audio piece with plenty of hands-on exercises and constructive feedback along the way.
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This class is full!
Sign up for the waitlist using the form on this page. If a space becomes available, we will notify you by email, and you will have 24 hours to register before the spot is offered to the next person on the waitlist.
Learn about our scholarships >
About This Class
You can make audio sing with good interviewing and editing.
A good interview is a critical part of many great podcasts. This class walks you through the fundamentals of podcast production, specifically around interviewing, recording, and audio editing. You’ll go through the process end-to-end, from pitching a guest and developing questions, recording (remotely these days!), and putting your finished piece out into the world.
Along the way, you’ll also learn how to edit and shape audio for your listener, using digital audio editing software. The class provides a 3-month license for Hindenburg Journalist Pro, an audio-editing program designed specifically for audio journalists and podcasters.
How it Works
This class takes place over six weeks. Each week, you’ll receive a new lesson from your instructors, along with exercises and prompts to help you take your work to the next level. You’ll have deadlines for submitting assignments, but you’ll complete the work each week at your own pace.
Because we keep the class size small, you can expect regular, constructive feedback from your instructors. What’s more, the small class size gives you the opportunity to learn from others in your class. You’ll be asked to give your best feedback to your classmates, and they’ll be asked to do the same for you.
By the end of this six-week class, you’ll be able to:
Identify and find a great guest to interview
Develop a strong list of questions
Record quality audio (despite constraints, like distance or guests who are daunted by technology)
Understand the basics of editing and mixing audio
Give and accept audio edits in a constructive manner
Your final assignment will be to produce a strong, cleanly-edited interview, refining it with feedback until it sounds its best.
This class is for you, if:
You are brand new to podcasting and want to learn how to make audio that sounds great
You want to learn to edit audio from a pro
You are seeking a proven process and an accountability partner
You want lots and lots of feedback!
Please note: This class covers basic audio production. You’ll come away with a solid interview, which can serve as a fundamental building block for your podcast. This class won’t cover other key elements of developing a successful podcast.
If you want to strengthen your podcast idea, please consider registering for Podcast Fundamentals: Shape Your Idea. If you already have a podcast or one in the works and want support marketing it, consider registering for Podcast Fundamentals: Reach Your Audience.
Schedule
+ WEEK ONE: INTRO TO PODCASTING & RECORDING
There’s a reason audio stories stick with us. We’ll first cover the early key decisions necessary to make the most meaningful podcast for your listener. You’ll then start planning the interview that will become the core work of this class.
+ WEEK TWO: AUDIO EDITING
This week is dedicated to learning the basics of the “invisible” audio-editing process — covering everything from naming your files and setting up your audio-editing session to making basic edits.
+ WEEK THREE: INTERVIEWING
A good interview can reveal things about a person that are intimate and lasting. We’ll talk about ways you can put the person you’re interviewing — whether that be a friend or a public figure — at ease and ask questions that will elicit great tape.
+ WEEK FOUR: CREATING A ROUGH CUT
You have the audio of your interview and you’ve listened through it. Now, it’s time to create a rough-cut version and share a segment for feedback.
+ WEEK FIVE: MIXING YOUR AUDIO & WRITING FOR THE EAR
It’s time to add texture to your interview with music or ambient sound! We’ll also go over how to write for the ear and sound your best when you’re narrating/tracking.
+ WEEK SIX: LISTENING PARTY
You’ve got your interview where you want it. Now, it’s time to do a final mix and export.. Here we go!
Setting Expectations
You are not expected to have previous experience with audio production or podcasting. The only prerequisites for this class are basic computer skills and the time to complete the work, which is estimated to be roughly five hours per week.
You do not need to have recording equipment or a microphone for this class. Due to the pandemic, recording for this class will be almost entirely online. If you want to purchase equipment, you can find PRX’s recommendations here
For editing audio, we will teach Hindenburg audio-editing software. If you have a strong preference for another digital editing workstation (DAW), you are welcome to use it instead, but please note your instructor may not be able to assist you if you have technical questions.
Meet Your Instructors!
Heidi Shin (Lead Instructor) is a radio and audio producer based in Boston, Mass. She is a contributor to The World and the BBC World Service, and has served as a producer for National Geographic’s international investigative documentary series, Explorer. Heidi is also co-creator and producer of The New American Songbook, a podcast about immigrant musicians, produced in partnership with The GroundTruth Project and WGBH.
Kevin O’Connell (Supporting Staff, PRX Podcast Garage) is a professional musician, audio engineer/producer, educator, and arts advocate with a focus in creative development, mentorship, and production. He is the Studio and Operations Manager at the PRX Podcast Garage in Allston, Mass. Learn more about Kevin at kevinoconnellmusic.com!
Apply for a Scholarship
At this time, we can provide one full or partial scholarship for each class. Anyone with financial need can apply. It is not based on your previous experiences or skills in audio.
Sound School Policies
The following policies exist to help create a positive, meaningful and educational experience for all. Please read through them carefully before you register for a class.
+ Cancellation and Refunds
You may cancel your registration up to 48 hours before the official start date of the class and receive a full refund or credit for a future class. We offer no refunds for cancellations within 48 hours or past the official start date of the class. You must notify staff at PRX — not the instructor — in writing at info@podcastgarage.org to cancel or withdraw from a class.
In the event of a personal emergency or illness, we may offer you a full refund or credit for a future class. These requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and must be requested in writing at info@podcastgarage.org as soon as possible.
If PRX must cancel a class for any reason, you will receive a full refund.
Credit does not guarantee a spot in a future class; you must still go through the registration process.
+ Participation and Completion
You are expected to log on at least once a week to review the session, complete assignments and interact with your classmates and instructor. PRX instructors cannot guarantee feedback on late assignments.
If you do not log into our online learning system within the first two weeks, we will check in with you via email. If there is no response or activity, you may be removed from the class without a refund.
All classes will remain open to participants for two weeks after the official end date of the class. After that time, we will close our online learning system and send you the class materials for your reference.
You will have the opportunity to evaluate the class and instructor throughout the class through an online form. Your feedback is very important to us!
All students are expected to follow the Podcast Garage’s Community Policies — anyone in violation will be removed from the class without a refund.
