OVERVIEW:
Over the passed 11 weeks I have been working with Co - Producer, Quinn Kallisti on developing a once off round table discussion type podcast. For this project I had to do some deeper research into podcasts as it has only been something I have been a part of one other time in my developing journey as an audio person. My understanding is that a podcast is essentially something recorded and sometimes also broadcast live simultaneously as an organised discussion or interview is taking place. Then the recorded audio, sometimes with an accompanied visual recording, is then uploaded to a suitable platform. Platforms such as but not limited to Spotify, Audible and even YouTube for later listening or viewing from audiences all over the globe.
'Tales From The Margins' started out as a simple interview idea which was the proposed scope for the project. However with interest and a want to include more voices on the project the team, consisting of producers Quinn Kallisti and myself and one man film and editing crew, Nicolai Heinze, reached out to several, for lack of a better word, 'other' identifying people who don't fit the generic societal standards of the norm, to be a part of the symposium. To share in their own words about their journey into their careers within the creative industry.
When organizing any event or recording it all comes down to the preparation and the details within the planning. So to ensure a smooth as possible recording day and organically flowing discussion we looked into other available discussion panel type podcasts with similar content and took notes and inspirations on the few different ways that the podcast was visually put together (as we wanted to have it filmed as well). We also had lengthy meetings as we thought about our aesthetic intent and choices to make the project reflect the team and the overall tone of the project. As well as keep to a professional looking standard. The intent of the project was to help find mentors and individuals within the industry and learn from the hardships and triumphs of their journeys.
AESTHETIC INTENT:
We wanted the podcast to be a cross between business professional for the set design and also include touches of individuality because of the creative individuals present. We wanted to include some of their uniqueness and personalities through the design of the set. We decided plain white walls... for the most part looked smart and professional for what were going for and wasn't going to be a distraction in our video. Black table cloths over two tables to seat our eight participants. Minimal microphone stands in view. We had also wanted to include business looking boardroom meeting chairs for the discussion to visually aid in the professionalism and look of the podcast however not enough chairs were available on the day. So we opted for the chairs you will see in the final edit of the video podcast.
We also wanted to have all participants have a lapel microphone because it looks tidy and is what takes place, as found while researching similar projects for most recorded two or more people discussions. (videos of those projects used as a reference guide will be embedded below) Having this microphone option will have produced the least compromised audio however we did not have enough to give to all speakers at the time of the recording.
We then settled on one Sennheiser MD 421 II microphones between two speakers. We did this to add to uniformity of the set as the microphones would be visible in the camera shots we wanted them all to be the same. Four microphones in total were used on the day for eight speakers. We found although there was a few sessions of tidying up to de - noise the recordings and clean up the audio a bit better these microphones were the best way to go to visually fit the intended look we were after. For personality and as the guests were creatives in the industry we also went with an assortment of posters in sparse locations around our guests to liven up the background so the set wouldn't appear to be too serious. We did this intentionally to suggest a fun, casual and creative environment for our guests to feel welcomed and so they can feel comfortable enough to express themselves as they spoke about their experiences in the industry. Business professionalism/ casual/ free - spirited as an overall aesthetic come hand in hand and is very common ground with people within the creative industry. As a professional they need to know how to do their job and do it well however being a creative type comes with a lot of freedom for self expression which can often be found in the content and work a creative individual produces.
PODCAST REFERENCES:
Podcast titled: Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro: Religion, Trans Activism and censorship.
In this podcast you see the host sitting at the head of the table with their guests facing each another. This makes the host seem disengaged and separate almost like an impartial third party to the conversation. We decided we wanted our panel discussion to feel completely inclusive, so we chose to sit amongst our guest speakers for our project.
All participants in this reference are wearing lapel microphones. It's evident in the audio this was done to best capture their discussion without capturing much noise and ambiance from the room or other people talking over the other.
The host is asking questions sometimes directly to one guest but then opening the floor for further discussion with all parties. This ensures a nice flow in the discussion and allows all participants to comment and discuss from their point of view.
The set of this discussion is minimal and simplistic yet somewhat professional and designed in a way to make the guests feel comfortable. The visual layout of the set gives a casual chat in the living room around a coffee table type aesthetic. This ensures that the guest feel like they are in a welcoming space. We didn't want our set design to be too casual and laid back.
For 'Tales from the Margins' we had discussed different layouts and seating for our speakers and then decided upon having our panel speakers seated facing one another. This was done to induce a casual and comfortable speaking arrangement and so our speakers can tell their stories and experiences directly to other people rather then having to gaze and speak directly into a camera or microphone like they would for radio.
Podcast Titled: LGBTQ+ community debates meaning of "Queer"
We Used this Discussion panel as a reference to organic conversation flow. We didn't want to over plan it so we only came up with some topic points and let our guests come up with other questions and comments relevant to topic on the day so the conversation would feel realistic and natural and not rehearsed. As in this video to help with discussion flow and to make sure everyone that wanted to make a comment could they raised their hands. Instead of having people just blurt out a response to our prepared questions or raise their hands as too much movement would be picked up from the microphones we implemented a talking stick and an interjection bowl for our "Tales of the Margins' project. This helped a lot and our discussion flow was similar to this reference and allowed all who wanted to explore the topic to be given a chance to say what they needed.
This discussion reference also allowed us to think more about interjections and how to organize multiple speakers in organised and concise manner.
In having a good flow in the discussion helps us to have as clean and clear audio as possible so we could capture everything relevant to the discussion. This helps to ensure all comments and thoughts are heard and not lost or drowned out by overlapping voices within the recording.
Podcast Title: Drugs and Harm reduction in the creative industries
This reference showed us potential do's and don'ts of equipment placement in regards to camera shots and angles. We decided we wanted minimal microphones (we didn't want them to be too big and distracting), we took into account the size of the microphones, the microphone stands, microphone positioning and the xlr cables connected to the pro tools rig and focusrite scarlett interface. Then we did our best to take note of the two fixed camera angles and the hand held steady cam shots and what we couldn't completely take out of the shots we had them aligned or set up in a way that made sense to our visual.
Podcast Titled: The state of the LGBT Movement, a discussion panel.
With this reference in the research we did before working on this project we took note of the room noise picked up from the recording to compare to our final recording. We used this as a audio reference for what could be picked up from the microphones without us thinking about it. This a a reference to remind us of the type of recording we could have if we weren't fully prepared. We wanted to research this project from all angles to encourage ourselves to come up with ways to reduce it in our own recording so we wouldn't have to work so hard to "just fix it in post" as is a common expression in the industry. It challenged us to think about room tone and the basic noises in a meeting room full of humans who subconsciously are always audible and making noise of some sort.
LUFS (Loudness Unit Full Scale);
Before publishing any audio projects on a platform you need to know the in's and out's of the standards to be able to publish on that particular platform without harming the quality of your content. These standards are called LUFS or Loudness Unit Full Scale which is the maximum level a system or platform can handle without clipping, squashing or damaging the audio signal. We kept this in mind after during every step of the project from having the discussion recorded and while working on the audio to clean it up to get it ready for consumer consumption. We Followed the current LUFS standards for YouTube as this is where 'Tales of the Margins" will be published initially.
Here are some short video clips of some of the things we did to ensure LUFS was being met for 'Tales From The Margins':
Stay tuned for the video coming your way this December!
V.
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