Assembling Podcast Elements
At this point you will gather and organize all the elements of the show.
Episode Elements with a polished interview inside it is called 3Interview.
To begin this process, you will need all other elements of the podcast ready for publishing. For example: In the School of Greatness, Lewis Howes says a hello, “This is Episode 1 with Robert Greene.” That is the first element. There are 3 other elements like this. They’re to be titled Hello, Intro & Close.
1st you must polish them.
Let’s go:
- Find all the elements
- Copy them into Episode Folder > Raw Audio Files
- Don’t move them from shared folders, it’s important to copy and paste them (CMD + C > CMD + V)
- Open an Audacity workbench
- This is just a workbench, from your workbench you will import and export files without saving what is on the workbench
- Edit one element at a time onto your Audacity workbench:
- Hello File
- Identify/Source the Hello File
- Click and Drag the hello file into Audacity
- Select the Read Files Directly from the Original (faster) button
- Click OK
- Select the drop down menu with the file name on it (this is at the top left of the track)
- Click Split Stereo Track
- Delete the track with no noise on it
- Select the drop down menu with the file name on it
- Click Mono
- Export the file to Episode folder > Raw Audio Files: File > Export > Format = AIFF > Save As = 1Hello > Save
- Click OK (no need to enter metadata for this file)
- Check the file to make sure it was exported properly
- Click the file icon and press the Space Bar to quick listen to it
- If the recording was exported improperly, go back to step 10
- If the recording was exported properly, go to the next step
- Click the file icon and press the Space Bar to quick listen to it
- Delete the track to clear your Audacity work bench
- Introduction File
- Identify/Source the Intro File
- If there are more than one introduction file, make sure they all play together coherently.
- It’s helpful to listen to them by single clicking the file icon and pressing space bar. This way you can listen to them quickly without opening them in iTunes
- Once you are sure you have all the introduction files, run one file through the following process at a time. Then start again with the next file until you have them all exported as single file, mono, AIFF files
- If there are more than one introduction file, make sure they all play together coherently.
- Click and Drag the Intro File into your Audacity workbench
- Select the Read Files Directly from the Original (faster) button
- Click OK
- Select the drop down menu with the file name on it (this is at the top left of the track)
- Click Split Stereo Track
- Delete the track with no visible waves on it (the silent track)
- Select the drop down menu with the file name on it
- Click Mono
- Export the file to the main episode folder: File > Export > Format = AIFF > Save As = 2Intro > Save
- If you have more than one intro file, Name the first of the set 1Intro then continuously 2Intro2, 2Intro3, 2Intro4
- Click OK (no need to enter metadata for this file)
- Check the file to make sure it was exported properly
- Click the file icon and press the Space Bar to quick listen to it
- If the recording was exported improperly, go back to step 10
- Improperly means there was a screw up in the file. You’ll know if it was exported improperly
- If the recording was exported properly, go to the next step
- If the recording was exported improperly, go back to step 10
- Click the file icon and press the Space Bar to quick listen to it
- Delete the track to clear your Audacity work bench
- Identify/Source the Intro File
- Close File
- Identify/Source the Close File
- If there are more than one close file, make sure they all piece together in a coherent manner. Don’t listen to them in iTunes just single click the file icon and press space bar so you can quick listen
- Once you are sure you have all the close files and that they fit together coherently; run each file through the following process individually. Start with the beginning file, and finish with the closing file.
- Click and Drag the Close fileinto Audacity
- Select the Read Files Directly from the Original (faster) Button
- Click OK
- Select the drop down menu with the file name on it (this is at the top left of the track)
- Click Split Stereo Track
- Delete the track with no noise on it
- Select the drop down menu with the file name on it
- Click Mono
- Export the file to the main episode folder: File > Export > Format = AIFF > Save As: 4Close > Save
- If you have more than one intro file, Name the first of the set 4Close then continuously 4Close2, 4Close3, 4Close4…
- Click OK (no need to enter metadata for this file)
- Check the file to make sure it was exported properly
- Click the file icon and press the Space Bar to quick listen to it
- If the recording was exported improperly, go back to step 10
- If the recording was exported properly, go to the next step
- Click the file icon and press the Space Bar to quick listen to it
- Delete the track to clear your Audacity work bench
- Identify/Source the Close File
- Hello File
- Close Audacity
- Click No There’s no need to save changes because you’ve already saved all the elements you need
- Open Levelator Program
- This is a free program that you can find at www.conversationsnetwork.org/levelator
- Highlight your files and Drag all your polished elements into the Levelator window
- These Files will be named: 1Hello, 2Intro & 4Close:
- Single click the top file
- Hold Shift Key
- Single click the bottom file
- Release Shift Key
- All the files you have will be highlighted
- Click and Drag the group into Levelator
- This set of files should all be in line with each other in the Episode Folder for easy highlighting. Feel free to drag them all in
- If you have more than the 3 (e.g. 1Hello, 2Intro, 2Intro2, 4Close, 4Close2) simply drag all of them into the Levelator
- These Files will be named: 1Hello, 2Intro & 4Close:
- Chill Out for a minute. This will take 1-3 minutes.
- When you get back you will have files titled: 1Hello.output.aiff | 2Intro.output.aiff | 4Close.output.aiff
- These files will be listed below your files. If there were any errors, simply delete the error and run the individual file through the Levelator again
- Click and Drag the .output files into the Episode Elements folder.
- 1Hello.output, 2Intro.output & 4Close.output
- Click and Drag an mp3 version of some fresh music to be mixed into the show and put it in the Episode Elements folder
- Name the file: Song Title – Artist Name (eg. I Will Survive – Aretha Franklin)
- Huzzah! Congratulations, you’ve done it. All the pieces of the podcast are prepared and ordered in the Episode Elements folder
- Move on to Building Podcast with GarageBand