The Absolute Minimum Once you've recorded your podcast, you're just a few simple steps from getting it ready for Internet distribution. The first set of steps involves editing the tracks together. When editing your tracks, be sure to line them up so that a slight overlap eliminates total silence in the gaps between recorded pieces of the podcast. You can set edit points in the individual tracks to mark places where one track will begin getting quieter, so that the next track can come to the fore. Once the basic tracks are edited together, you can begin mixing to achieve the best sound. Copying a short piece of music over and over, or looping, can provide a music background to long stretches of speech. When tracks meet, reducing the volume of one while raising the volume of the next can create a very smooth, professional-sounding transition. Individual tracks can be cut to make their length exactly match those of other clips. With length and volume established, you can decide on the question of cleaning the tracks. Cleaning can eliminate stray noises, mistakes, or unwelcome sounds in a recording. Some podcasters clean all tracks; others like the "raw" sound with noises left in. Either can be correctit's your choice. After the podcast sounds the way you want it, it's time to add the ID3 tags that allow your listeners to sort, find, and organize your podcasts. Setting the tags is simple using an MP3 player, your podcast creation software, or a standalone ID3 editor. Remember that it's better to have complete tags, and that your tags should be consistent from program to program so that all your podcasts will be together when a listener's playlists are sorted. When you're creating the tags, think about the screens that display information on portable MP3 players; virtually all have limits on how many characters they can display, so brevity can be a virtue when it comes time to name your podcast or episode. Most of the time, you'll use the Internet's File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to place your podcast on the server. If you have to set up the connection yourself, you'll find it easy if you look for the type of connection required (anonymous or authenticated), and think about where your files are going. You might not have to think about FTP at all if you choose the right podcasting service. You owe it to yourself to check out the possibilities, so that you can concentrate on producing a great podcast, rather than supporting a website. |