How the noises outside can derail the recording of a podcast episode.
My husband and I record a new episode of our podcast on Fridays. Sometimes, we record earlier in the week if a guest cannot participate on a Friday. There have also been times when we have recorded episodes early to get around a scheduling conflict one or both of us have.
What you may not know about podcasting (unless you are a podcaster) is that it is easier to do without distractions if you can record your episode late at night. People tend to be asleep, and you won’t have to worry about garbage trucks or door-dashers making noises. During the day – people are louder than they may realize.
It was Friday, and my husband and I were getting ready to record the latest episode of our podcast. In order to do that, I had to spend time and effort gathering up the things I wanted to talk about. We also had to make sure the audio worked properly. This involves mic checks and making sure that the recording software didn’t need an update. This is very necessary to check in order to avoid the problem of recording an entire podcast only to discover that the mic didn’t actually pick up the host’s voice.
One of our neighbors returned from wherever it is that they periodically go to. This time, they brought a child along with them. The child started yelling – as children do. The child decided to knock on the wall of our mobile home, as though it was a door. It was alarming! The adults who were with this child were yelling loudly, but not in a way that suggested anger or violence. They were just loud.
We decided to wait them out. Eventually, they got into a vehicle and drove away.
This gave us an opportunity to record our podcast. Before we could begin, a huge moving truck parked right outside our mobile home, in what I think of as the “alley-way”. The back of the truck opened up, and a lift of some kind unfolded and raised up to the back of the truck. It made noises.
A tall box was pushed onto the lift by the workers. It turned out to be a refrigerator. A second box followed, which held a stove. The lift went down, and made more noise while doing it.
Two men got out of the huge moving truck and began moving the appliances from their boxes right there in the “alley-way”. We could hear the zip of boxcutters as they sliced through the large boxes. Packing materials were shed as the appliances emerged from their cardboard cocoons.
Upon finishing the unveiling, the men delivered the appliances to the people who ordered them. The workers picked up most of the trash that came out of the boxes, which was nice of them. The lift went back up, making the same noises as before. The moving truck drove away, making loud vehicular noises as it left.
Now was our chance to record the newest episode of our weekly podcast! The second I got finished reading off the closing of the show – the neighbors with the child returned.
What I’m trying to say is that sometimes, it isn’t the technology that makes podcasting difficult. Environmental factors can get in the way of a nice, clean, recording.
Behind the Scenes of Podcasting is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites. If you enjoyed this blog post please consider supporting me on Ko-fi. Thank you!