How To Start A Weekly Podcast

How To Do A Weekly Podcast (or Three)
Paul Asadoorian
Founder of Security Weekly
http://securityweekly.com Copyright 2013
!
http://securityweekly.com

Why This Talk
People ask me all the time “How do you manage to produce all
those podcasts?”
Many podcasts have come and gone (“podfade”) and we don’t like
that
Encourage you to create your own podcasts

Here’s What You Need
An idea
People
Equipment
Software
A schedule
An understanding spouse
A web site Podcast Cake Helps Too...

Here are some nice to haves
Sponsors
Slogans
Logos
Custom Music
Guidelines for content

Ideas
Have better ones than us...

Ideas
It should be about *something*
Long format, short format, talk show, how-to, interviews, round
table
You gotta pick one at first, and run with it
Will you broadcast live? Have video?

More on Ideas: Have A Place
A place to record is important
Depends on what ideas you’ve come up with
It needs to be quiet
I built a studio in my basement, and a man cave for
my cigar podcast
Probably your desk is okay for you...
Make sure you have
power...

People
Because if you are doin’ it solo, some would call that...

Sometimes there is photobomb

People
You can do it by yourself if you want...
People may grow tired of hearing just you
Its tough to bounce ideas off yourself
There is no one but you to motive yourself to record
You will have to do everything from planning, recording and post-production
(i.e. its a lot of freakin’ work)

Get together at cons
Podcast outside when possible
I gave up on trying not to use
“podcast” as a verb
Podcasting at cons is hard.

People on Security Weekly
Hosts:
Paul Asadoorian
Larry Pesce
Jack Daniel
John Strand
Carlos Perez
Allison Nixon
Interns:
Patrick Laverty
Rob
Kornmeyer
Greg Hetrick
Dale Luke
Joe Barcia
Mike Perez (Executive Producer)
Steve Reikburg (Audio Engineer)
Steve Ryan (Live Audio/Video)
Bob (Evil Persona)
Byte Bucket (Mail List/IRC)

Equipment
Golden Rule: You get what you pay for!

Equipment
Some history
Basic Setups
Advanced Setup
Studio Setup
Peavey PV10 10-Channel Recording Mixer
Its a workhorse! $250

This was Episode 1 (October 2005)
Beer
Laptop Mic
1 ear
bud

Then We Grew...
2006 2007

Got a little better
Live Stream
2008
Beer
Soundboar
Recording
(Single Track)
Heil
PR40

Larry
Episode 150
Phone
Bridge
SSD
Recorder
John Beer
(Keg)

Episode 200

Security Weekly Today
HDMI Cameras Skype Main
Recording Google+
Skype Ustream
Music Preamp
AV Mic
Live Video
Display Power
Conditioner
Headphone Amp
Firewire Recorder
TV Switcher
DAC
Backup
Recorder

The Most Basic
A USB Headset
Skype
Software (Audio Hijack Pro on a MAC)

The USB Headset
In short, they all suck
Most sound like you are in a tin can
It is difficult to properly adjust the volume (you are either too close
or too far away)
After about an hour they stop working (have to dis-connect then re-connect)

USB Headsets
Plantronics Audio 655
Beyerdynamic MMX 2 $28.95 (Amazon)
$99.00 (Amazon)

Skype + Software Recording
Its great in a pinch and works really well
Hard to have a backup recorder
If you computer or software crashes, start over
Little flexibility (no knobs to adjust, though software plugins do
exist)
Harder to separate out tracks

Recording at Both Ends
If there are just two people on the show both can record
Then you send the audio to the person editing
Three+ people gets a little more tricky to sync
Has the best audio quality with just two people
You still need quality Mics and Preamps to sound good

TIP: Stay Away From These Brands
Behringer
Alesis
Tascam

Tip: Rather Go With These Brands
M-Audio
Presonous
Focusrite
Zoom

The Basic Package
A USB or Firewire Recording Interface
A Microphone

USB or Firewire Interfaces
Takes in analog audio and outputs it to Firewire or USB
Typically Two XLR and/or 1/4” connections
Both are $150, USB, two inputs, two outputs

Tip: Line Level vs. Mic Level
LINE MIC

Choosing a Microphone
I will get right to it, the best Microphone for podcasting is a headset
It may seem expensive at first, but it comes with headphones, a
pop filter, cables and you don’t need a stand

Shure PG48
Comes with Mic, mic stand clip, cable
and case for $40
http://www.amazon.com/Shure-PG48-XLR-Cardioid-Dynamic-
Microphone/dp/B0000AQRSR/

Heil PR40
Best quality mic for podcasting,
around $300
If you have an ear for it, you can tell
the difference between this and
Shure PG48, but mp3 is pretty low
quality anyhow

Audio-Technica BPHS1 - The Good
You can turn your head while talking and still be on
mic
You can type, click your mouse, put your beer down
without making background noise
It travels easy (no mic stand or mounting adapters)
You ensure your guests are talking into the mic
Comes with 3 pop filters, reversible mic boom
Its comfortable to wear for hours
It sounds more than acceptable for a podcast

Audio-Technica BPHS1 - The Bad
It costs $199, and RARELY goes on sale or can be found cheaper
Sometimes the headphone cables tend to have a loose connection
(tape FTW)
Its not comfy for everyone (Esp. for people who wear glasses)
People will move the mic away from their mouths

More Microphones
Lapel mics are okay, but they are expensive
Stick with cardiod mics, not condenser
Condenser mics pick up background noise (keyboards, mics, laptops
all generate noise)

Mics with Pop Filters - Not For Video

Mixers
Analog mixers are okay, we use one for a travel rig (Peavy)
Some mixers have a USB output for multi-track recording
They are often cheap and sound horrible

Allen and Heath
Nice small mixer ($250)
http://
www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/
allen-heath-zed-10-10-
channel-usb-mixer

IN <- Out
1/4” <-> 1/8”
Line Level
Mixer Setup
Tape Out (RCA) -> Dual 1/4”
In <- Out
RCA <- 1/8”
Out -> IN
1/4” <-> 1/8”
Mix Minus Skype
Music
Backup Recording (Audacity)
Headphone Amp
Tape Out -> IN
RCA -> 1/8”
1/4” <-> 1/4”

Mixer Setup
Dual 1/4” <- 1/4”
ST1
Mix Minus
Skype
Headphone Amp
1/4” <-> 1/4”
Stereo
AUX -> Input
USB
1/4” <-> 1/4” Stereo

Cost
ART HeadAmp4 Headphone Amplifier ($65)
Allen and Heath Z10 ($300)
Audio-Technica BPHS1 ($200 x 3)
Zoom ZH4N Handy Portable Digital Recorder ($270)
Cables ($50)
Total (no laptops/computers) = $1285.00

Compressor/Limiter/Gate
These are nice to have and can be found pretty cheap
But remember, cheap = crap when it comes to audio gear
I have a couple, they are difficult to tune and configure
Easy to plug into any setup
Put them inline between mics and devices
Use the channel inserts (loops audio through external device)

Telephone Bridge
JK Audio Podcast Host ($400)
Essentially makes your telephone
am mic
I found it introduces noise
Multiple people require a conference
bridge
They are noisy too

Software
Warning: Mostly experienced with OS X software

Software
Ustream Producer Pro - Live streaming
Audacity - Backup recording and post-production
iTunes - Play music and sound clips during the show
Feeder - Create, edit and manage RSS feeds
Marsedit - Edit blog posts
Garage Band - Live multi-track recording

If I had to do it all over again setup
USB
OUT
Skype 1
Skype 2
Google+ Ustream Music
Apple Logic Pro
x5
OUT IN OUT IN OUT IN OUT OUT IN

Schedule
Have a regular schedule

Regular Schedule = Important
I’ve had 0 success trying to do a podcast on an irregular schedule
People are busy
Its to difficult to keep track
All my podcasts are recorded same time every week
Avoids confusion

Understanding Spouse
After 8 years, we’re getting there...

Regular Time Slot = Difficult
My Thursday nights have been 95% consumed by podcasts
I don’t know what is on TV on Thursday nights
NFL sucks for having games on Thursday nights (don’t they know
we podcast?)
Holidays, birthdays, baby births, anniversary all must be
rescheduled (j/k)

A Web Site
And also methods of distribution

Your Web Site
A podcast and a blog go hand in hand
You can make posts to announce your show, post your show notes,
and post your audio/video into
We also use a Wiki for all our show notes

Other Web Sites
We use several different web sites and providers:
Libsyn
Blip.TV
YouTube
Ustream

Nice to Haves
Pants are always optional

Sponsors
“How Do I Get Sponsors?”
For podcasts, its tough, we don’t track who listens
Have to develop other methods of defining who listens and how
many people listen
First question sponsors will ask: “Who is your audience”
We do webcasts and have a newsletter mailing list (Mailchimp
rules)

Slogan?
We came up with “Hack Naked”
Now we are stuck with it
Our listeners threaten revolt if we talk about changing it
Choose a slogan wisely

Logo?
Having a logo at some point makes sense
For the cigar podcast Stogie Geeks I used a
site called logobid.com
The logo was designed for free by a friend

Custom Music
I’ve used podcast themes and bought the rights to our theme songs
The dude is super nice, tell them we sent you
You can find royalty free music online
You can run clips of copyrighted music in short segments
If you use copyrighted music and post to YouTube, you will be
flagged

Content Guidlines
We aim for a “PG-13” rating
We often fall far short of that
You are not regulated by the FCC, so take advantage of that and at
least curse every once and a while
Set rules too (e.g. no politics or religion discussions is a rule we
have on our shows)
Unless your podcast will be about politics and religion...

More Information
http://securityweekly.com
!
http://hacknaked.tv
!
http://stogiegeeks.com
!
http://www.tenable.com/podcast
!
Contact me: paul@securityweekly.com

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