091 tech podcast

[Marie Boran]

Afternoon all, 

Following on from last night's discussion on the 091 podcast (First/test podcast will be recorded nest Monday, Sept 3rd) here are a few things we need to look at:

• Format: what mix of news stories, interviews, panel discussions, general studio chatter amongst participant, etc. should we have? 
• Length: an hour will fly by if we chitchat but what length is best for radio broadcast, podcast download?
• Participants: there should probably be one main host in order to add structure and keep the podcast moving along but how many people can we comfortably add to the conversation?
• Running order: we'll need a list of stories to discuss on the night. Perhaps something like This Week In Science where they bring along a few stories each and then just chat about them?
• Dissemination: we'll need to talk to Flirt FM (Padraic, you mentioned you have good connections) about getting a slot, will also need someone to put podcast in iTunes directory, host on 091 website?
• Audience participation: videostream, questions via Twitter, etc.
• Editing: Should we chop it up as best we can on our laptops for now? Is anyone interested in signing up for studio lessons at Flirt FM?
• Funding: It might be possible to get funding from Discover Science & Engineering. If we want it to be less restrictive perhaps target tech firms here in Galway, brewery also? I.e. pitch a kind of Diggnation style show?
• Misc: I'm sure I've forgotten other stuff so please feel free to add to this!

Marie.

P.s. I'll bring my Zoom in next Monday. It's the H2 (http://www.zoom.co.jp/products/h2)

[gerryk]

This sounds VERY interesting. I'm a pretty big consumer of podcasts and really like it as a format.
My take on the points raised ...

1. Format - From what I have seen on other podcasts, the following structure seems popular. Intro -> News -> Headline content -> Discussion -> Listener feedback.
    This can be interspersed with segments, which could address a specific item.

2. An hour to hour and a half seems to be common for the tech podcasts. That said, short podcasts, such as found on Hacker Public Radio, and Eurotrash Micro are an interesting alternative.

3. Yup. A host would seem to be appropriate, with a round-table format for the other particiapants. Examples can be seen on Pauldotcom Security, Eurotrash Security, Off the Hook, Skeptics Guide to the Universe.

4. Agreed. A structure and timeline would be important to keep things moving, and prevent overruns.

5. The only point I can make on this is that self-hosting is a great way to end up with either a big bill, or an account suspension. This needs a bit of thought. Maybe see what other podcasts are doing.

6. For 'on the air' editing. I have heard Rivendell is an excellent tool. For offline, Ardour seems to be the tool of choice. There are good pieces on podcast production on The Commandline Podcast, and HPR.

7. Funding might be worth pursuing, but it might limit what can be covered also.

That's my 0.02

/Gerry

--

[Duncan Thomas]

5. I can help with for the first 6 months at least. Watch this space.

[Peter]

if your show goes out live on flirt FM, they can provide 'listen again' and podcasting on their server. Its all automated! see here: http://www.flirtfm.ie/rewind/

also, there are some basic training pdfs for program planning/production here: http://www.flirtfm.ie/volunteers/

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Duncan Thomas

Sent: 08/29/12 01:39 PM

To: 091labs...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: [091labs-public] 091 tech podcast

[gerryk]

Storage? Or bandwidth? Or both?

--

[gerryk]

Some links...

http://ardour.org/
http://www.rivendellaudio.org/
http://thecommandline.net/2012/06/25/podcast_production/
http://hackerpublicradio.org/eps.php?id=1023

Another feature that might be interesting is a 'call in' segment, or, as is done on some podcasts, a 'voicemail' segment.

BTW, I may have a 6 channel Behringer mixer with phantom power and so forth buried somewhere at home.

--

[Duncan Thomas]

Both

[gerryk]

Sweet... 091Labs public git repo I'm thinking.

--

[Paul Mac Eoin]

Mark set one up for project F5, AFAIK

[Marie Boran]

Cool, so it sounds like Flirt Fm is the best option then. Do you still want me to bring in the Zoom to do a practice/first show or will we wait until we have booked studio time? 

[Padraic Harley]

Yeah, a practice go to see how to work it is still is very good idea =)

--
Padraic Harley - Mobile Device

Mobile: 00 353 (0) 85 2138803
Email: pad...@091labs.com
Twitter: @pauricthelodger

[Sean Flaherty]

Ooh, 091 tech podcast sounds like a great idea. Would certainly follow it.

[shane]

Just to offer my 2 cents on this (I hosted a tech show on Flirt FM, http://ian.ie). I'd recommend the Flirt FM route, not just for bandwidth reasons, but for equipment reasons. They have an excellent studio that you can use for pre-recording and have phone lines hooked in for interviews and calls and the like. It removes a lot of the production headaches and ups your production values immensely. 

A more general tip I'd give is if you're presenting, make sure to prepare much more than you think you'll need, a story that you think will take 10 minutes to go through can end up taking a minute and then there's dead air and you panic. Of course if you're pre recording you can eliminate stuff in post production. 

Also, there definitely needs to be a person 'in charge', discussions can end up going off the rails and though this is often interesting and fun to do, at some point there needs to be someone to move things along and get things back on track. 

Also, Skype sucks for recording shows. We actually found that a good old fashioned land line was the most reliable way to get people on the show, especially if they are far away. 

I'd love to help out but I'm in the US at the moment, best of luck with it and if I can be of any help remotely, let me know. 

Shane

[Marie Boran]

A quick update,

I was talking to Paula (Flirt FM) on Wednesday and mentioned that 091 Labs is interested in doing a regular podcast. She says she thinks it's a great idea. I mentioned that we might need server space and would like to do the show live in studio with pre-recorded bits dropped in, if we have any. Again, she says that should be no problem. Also, studio training starts soon and she said to keep an eye on the website so that we can turn up and get trained in on equipment.

Marie.

[gerryk]

Good news! Thanks Marie.