04 Building Podcast with GarageBand

Building Podcast with GarageBand

Now that all the elements of the show are polished and chronologically organized into a single folder, it’s time to make the show!

In this process, you’ll be opening the Garageband Master file, importing all the elements you’ll need to create the show and exporting a final version of the show.

The Show Elements Order Goes Like This:

|–1Hello–| |—Introduction and Music—| |—2Introduce Episode—| |–Music–| |–3Interview–| |–Music–| |–4Close–|

This will be the culmination of the entire process and should be really fun. Even though this is where the whole show comes together, it is because of all the subsystems that this process is so easy and produces such perfect audio content.

If you’re interested in how to make a cut with GarageBand – >

Go here: < http://youtu.be/AhnwBsV-CT0 >

Let’s Go:

1. Open the episode’s GarageBand Masterfile which you can find in the Episode Folder 0Master File | e.g. 0Robert Greene
   1. Copy this file from dropbox to a local folder to work on (this prevents syncing issues with dropbox)
   2. Double Click the file to open it (This should automatically open GarageBand)
   3. You will use a Masterfile because it contains pre-existing material and settings that you want to keep the same for each show. It allows you to avoid having to import the same things and mix the same elements show after show after show. It also makes all the shows sound the same which makes them more professionally produced
2. Import all the Episode Elements of the show into GarageBand
   1. Find the Elements in the Episode Elements folder which you will find in the Episode Folder
   2. Click and Drag Each element into the top track of the Garageband file
      1. Start with Element 1Hello at the beginning of the top track
      2. Move through until you have all elements in order (don’t worry about placing them correctly yet, just get them in there)
      3. NOTE: The file with music on it should be the only file entered in the second track. The music file should be imported so it doesn’t overlap with any other files.
3. Position the 1Hello file so it concludes before the big hit of the music (@0:05)
   1. Move the Theme Music back a few seconds if you have to
   2. To position files, simply click them and drag them
4. Position the 2Intro file so the speaking begins on the 1st beat of the 3rd measure from the zenith of the music
5. Adjust Track Volume on the Second Track from the Top
   1. Click the Little Triangle Button that opens the Track Volume Options
   2. Leave the intro at 0.0 dB
   3. Add two points after the opening intro music
      1. First point at 0.0 dB after the opening music goes to silent
      2. The next just after that one at -144 DB
      3. Explained: This makes it so we can tweak the volume down the track without effecting this sound
6. Position the 3InterviewPolished.output.aiff file so the speaking begins about 10 seconds after the close of the Intro
7. Position the Music on the Second Track so that it fills the gap between the intro and the interview
   1. It’s important to position the music so it HITS in between the two elements
   2. The gap between 2Intro and the 3Interview should be about 10 seconds
8. Adjust the Volume Guide for a smooth transition between the 2Intro and the 3InterviewPolished.output.aiff file
   1. Have it go from -144 dB to -21.5 dB leading in
   2. Then from -21.5 dB to 0 dB right as the Introduction ends
   3. Leave it at 0 dB while the music slams awesomely
   4. Go from 0 dB back to -21.5 dB as the Host leads in
   5. Finally, add a fade out by clicking on the track dropdown, and then ‘Fade Out’ (more info including how to adjust the length of the fade out, click here)
9. Position the 4Closefile about 10-20 seconds after the 3InterviewPolished.output.aiff file ends
10. Position the Music Track so that it fills the gap between the 3InterviewPolished.output.aiff and the 4Close file
    1. It’s important to position the music so it HITS in between the two elements
    2. The distance between the 3InterviewPolished.output.aiff and the 4Close file should be 10-20 seconds
11. Adjust the Volume Guide for a smooth transition between the 3Interview file and the 4Close
    1. Have it go from -144 dB to -21.5 dB leading in
    2. Then from -21.5 dB to 0 dB right as the Interview ends
    3. Leave it at 0 dB while the music slams awesomely
    4. Go from 0 dB back to -21.5 dB as the Host leads in
    5. Finally, close the music out from -21.5 dB to 0 dB after about 20 seconds of talking
12. Final Adjustment of the Volume Guide
    1. Have it go from -144 dB to -21.5 dB leading in
    2. Then from -21.5 dB to 0 dB right as the 4Close ends
    3. Let the song Jam for 20 seconds to 1 min 30 sec
    4. Finally do a long slow fade out from 0.0 dB to -144 dB
13. Drag the purple triangle in the time counter bar to set the end of the track to the point where the volume adjustment point hits -144 dB
14. Re-check all transitions. Make sure nothing shifted at the beginning
    1. You don’t have to listen to everything, just listen to the points where you made transitions
    2. When you’re confident that the file is ready for export, move on to the next step
15. Export the mp3: The show is all ready in terms of the audio!
    1. Share > Export Podcast to Disk > Compression Using: mp3 Encoder > Audio Settings: Musical Podcast > Export
    2. Save As: (Episode #) Guest Name [e.g: 11 Robert Greene] >
    3. This will take a few minutes so use the time to Create the Episode Art < tk Insert SOP link>
16. Save the GarageBand File
    1. Either go File > Save -or- CMD S
17. Close GarageBand
18. Copy the garageband back to the dropbox folder where it belongs
19. Move to Next Process – Creating Episode Art SOP

Appendix (useful screencasts)

How to share garageband file on dropbox: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxC9U25edpg

Making a cut

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhnwBsV-CT0