#40: Story Shaping As A Podcast Editor
10 minutes of reading about podcast metadata joy, discovery call follow up pondering, storyboarding an interview podcast, more upskilling recs than you'll ever have time for....and Eurovision!
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Global Podcast Editors newsletter is a mix of resources and conversations we’re having in the space about the technical, business, and creative sides of podcasting. For more about the Global Podcast Editors community, check out all our links at the bottom of the newsletter.
A special THANK YOU to Katie Hawkins-Gaar of My Sweet Dumb Brain for taking the time to chat about the technical side of monetizing a Substack newsletter. And of course, to a friend of the newsletter, Laura Joyce Davis of Labs Weekender (an amazing program to learn how to make narrative podcasts) for recommending Katie’s newsletter as a good example of how to do this. You should check these amazing women out!
As a Podcast Editor
…I’m working on and learning more about podcast chapters.
Chapters in Hindenburg (and YouTube)
I talked about ID3 tags in this Podcraft post and in a LinkedIn post recently but I want to dig deeper into chapters right now. Happily, I can show you how they look because I’ve finally figured out all the kinks. Most of the kinks. In the workflow.
WHAT CHAPTERS LOOK LIKE:
You’re probably familiar with chapters on YouTube. They are the blue, timestamped section of a video you can add to the YouTube video notes.
LIKE EVERYTHING IN PODCASTING, WHAT THE LISTENER SEES DEPENDS
When a podcast app supports episode chapters, they look similar to the YouTube chapters in the podcast notes area. Chapters do NOT work in a lot of podcast apps still. This could be the reason why less than 2% of all podcasts use them, as reported by John Spurlock of Livewire Labs earlier this year.
As with everything in podcasting and thus podcast editing, there are numerous ways you can add chapters. Hindenburg has a way to do it in the DAW, so I’m using that. If you use Hindenburg and want to watch a video on how to add chapters, here’s one I just made.
WHAT I SEE IN MY PODCAST ADDICT PREMIUM APP:
There are two places I can see the chapters in Podcast Addict.
#1: Similar to the YouTube chapters, I can see the podcast episode chapters in the regular show notes area. If the numbers are a different color, the podcast app supports this function. If not, then the times are not clickable. Come to think of it, do the numbers even show up in this case? I’m not sure since they work on my app. Let me know, please.
#2: When listening to the episode, you can see the current chapter you’re listening to. You can see in these 3 screenshots below how the chapters (circled in red) are different. You can use the forward (>) and rewind (<) buttons to skip back and forth in the chapters while listening.
WHAT I SEE IN HINDENBURG:
In Hindenburg, creating chapters is easy once you learn the quirks. I go into how to do it in a video here). Once you create a chapter it shows up in the chapter window (see below screenshot). Then you can add the chapter names (like “Perfectionism” above right) and a link, if wanted.
Your DAW may or may not be able to add chapters. When I asked other editors about this, many said that they use external programs to make the chapters. These vary depending on your computer, so I’d suggest you search for “chapters” in your podcast editing groups to find specifics. If you’re not in any groups, check out our podcast editing communities and resource list. It’s free!
WHY YOU MAY WANT TO ASK YOUR CLIENT IF THEY WANT CHAPTERS:
SHORT ANSWER: Discoverability.
LONG ANSWER:
I know that the 2% chapter usage rate I mentioned earlier is uninspiring. I’m not a huge fan of Apple Podcasts (deleted a whole unnecessary tirade about why) but they’re adding on more and more to their podcast ecosystem, which like it or not, is hugely popular. Including chapters. And more functionality by a big player in podcasting is likely to mean that more podcast apps will support them and listeners will begin to use and look for podcasts with chapters.
If chapters become that popular, listeners can go straight to the content they want in an episode. Yes, this could make intros and ad placement tricky but that’s an issue for another time.
UPDATE: Just before publishing this newsletter issue I got some feedback on my chapters being really wonky on some apps. Not surprised but I will look into it and report back next time, in a smaller update section. Stay tuned!
Podcast Editing Recommendations:
I’m always on the lookout for podcast editing websites that rock. Manny Faces Media page is amazing!
Podcast Mixers (As General Audio Production Tools) by Transom
Our latest Global Podcast Editor Chats
Multi-DAW article: What Are the Best Software Options for Recording Your Podcast?
This post is meant for newer podcasters who are editing their own work. However, if you like reading about DAW comparisons, you’ll enjoy it.
As a Business Person
…I’m working through and upskilling on potential client communications.
How often do you check in with a potential client?
Do you cheer when you get a discovery call booked? I do.
Do you also dread the pricing conversation that will happen during the call? Yup, me too.
But what’s almost more painful is waiting for them to decide if they want to hire you. This is why I was so glad that Jody Julius brought up the topic of how often we check back with potential new clients after a discovery call.
I explained my check-in habits in this video but I want your feedback as well. If you’re comfortable sharing what you do, I’d love to know. Would be thrilled to list your replies and add a link to your website in the next issue, if you’re okay with that.
Business Recommendations:
Here’s a FREE video where Steve Stewart of the Podcast Editor Academy chats with Tony G. of Castocity, a project management system built for podcasters and podcast managers.
Maybe you’re still on the fence if you want to be a podcast editor OR podcast manager. Lauren Wrighton’s FREE masterclass can help you decide.
A refreshing quality control post from Alex Sanfilippo of Podmatch on LinkedIn.
ANNOUNCEMENT: The International Women’s Podcast Awards submission period is now open. There’s info about The Podcasting, Seriously Fund, so don’t let the thought of an entry fee get in the way of applying.
As a Podcaster
…I’m learning new ways to shape the story in my interview podcasts
Story Arcs in Interview Podcast Episodes
I just attended a workshop with Jen Chien on Learn Story Structure for Audio organized by the folks at LWC Studios. Oh wow was it amazing.
There was a lot going on but I wanted to share 1 thing. Story focus.
Jen talked about focusing on “where the punctuation is” and building your story around that. Build tension leading up to the punctuation and release after, just like, you know, stories as old as time.
I specifically asked how to do that for interview podcasts that we don’t want to turn into a full-blown narrative podcast and she recommended “leaving things out to add mystery. ” And shape the rest according to the story arch. She showed a lot of post-it note planning boards AND also suggested trying out Miro if we wanted a digital version. I’m so doing this!
This is one of MANY workshops that LWC Studios has and they’re really affordable. This one was $25 for an hour. Their workshop calendar is in their newsletter, which has lots of other great info as well.
EVENTS I’m going to:
Asian Podcast Festival, TOMORROW, Friday, May 20th, 12:30-5 pm New York/18:30- too late Berlin(virtual event)
Nope, I’m not going to The Podcast Show in London next week.
Storytelling Podcaster Quick Hits:
Here are 7 Simple Tips for Scripting Your Flawless Podcast from We Edit Podcasts
Jay Acunzo’s Playing Favorites newsletter. This six-way stories post is such a gem!
Audio Drama Creators group on Twitter by a friend of the newsletter Tal Minear
Newsletter recommendation: Podcast Fiction Weekly: This newsletter is packed with information. Yes, it’s mostly for audio fiction folks BUT there’s heaps of other timely and useful news like how to promote your podcast in Spotify, new tech reviews and so much more.
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My current tools:
-Audio podcast editing: mostly Hindenburg & rarely Audacity
-Video podcast editing: Reaper and Windows Video Editor
Location & Such:
I’m still in Split, Croatia and will be for another month. I watched my first Eurovision last week. I’ve seen their song videos and the hilarious Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga but I’ve never watched the event in real time before this.
Here are my favs:
Albania, Ronela Hajati - Sekret
Romania, WRS - Llámame
Ukraine, Kalush Orchestra - Stefania
and I was intrigued by this one from Serbia, Konstrakta - In Corpore Sano but didn’t look up the translation of the lyrics til now. I also watched this brief video where the singer explains (in English) more about the song. Bravo is all I can say!
DAWingly yours,
Guesting episodes:
https://www.podchaser.com/lists/stephanie-fuccio-guesting-spots-107aNEz7dI
Website: https://www.stephfuccio.com/
Twitter: @stephfuccio
Instagram: @geopatscoffee
LinkedIn: @dstephfuccio
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