[edit] 1 From idea to podcast: A first course in audio production and podcasting

These are course notes and materials for a course that I am running at (as part of my work at CARET), at Cambridge University (in Oct/Nov 2007). Details of schedule here http://www.talks.cam.ac.uk/show/index/9490

I'd like to emphasise that the course will be end to end: Apart from enthusiasm, everything else will be provided! You'll end up with your own podcasts on the web and ready to go!

[edit] 2 Course Overview

Start with an idea, and end up with a podcast. The course covers basic principles of audio podcasting: Basic ideas and developing them. Basic techniques of audio editing and processing. How to get your materials on the web. The course runs for 8 weeks, and you are expected to develop your own project as the course progresses. If you've been wanting to start your own audio podcast, this is the place to start!

Note that we won't be covering video in the course. However, a 2nd course may follow early in 2008. If you are interested in video, do this course first. It will provide the basis for the courses that follow.

More course materials will become available on this site.

[edit] 3 Course Outline

• Session 1: Software session I: The essentials
• Session 2: Museum session 1: in a UoC museum (tbc, but NOT in Balfour Room). Interviewing techniques, recording of materials.
• Session 3: Software session II: Techniques
• Session 4: Telling your story - audio creativity & sound design (incl. sfx)
• Session 5: Rights, damn rights: How to put your events online without getting busted for copyright infringement
• Session 6: Museum session 2: session held in UoC museum (tbc, but NOT in Balfour Room)
• Session 7: Getting it all online - downloads, podcasting, and all that.
• Session 8: Where next

In detail, some of the items covered:

• Creating engaging audio content
• Interviewing techniques
• audio recording using intermediate to professional level microphones and solid state recorders (such as FR2LE, PMD660, H4, R09).
• audio editing using Audacity (free, open source, cross platform) and/or Reaper (shareware, cross platform)
• audio encoding to mp3, mp4 (AAC, m4a).
• Podcast creation (rss), podcast submission to iTunes store
• Using the media servers available at the University in conjunction with http://mediaplayer.group.cam.ac.uk/ in order to effortly display media on your departmental (or other) website

Equipment will be available for participants to borrow, and participants will be expected to produce recordings in their own time, which they'll bring back to the weekly sessions as working material. It is expected that each participant would create at least one podcast throughout the course, that would at the end of the course be made publicly available.

Participants might choose to work in pairs (e.g. two people from the same institution), so that there are opportunities to discuss outside the sessions.