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Would you mind critiquing our 1st podcast episode?

Started by Jen, February 05, 2007, 11:54:21 AM

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Jen

Hi Treks In Sci-Fi friends. Rico has given us permission to post a link to our very first sci-fi and fantasy podcast...We are still working on theme music, logo and web site so its a quite a ways away from being ready for the masses. Our goal is to make a sci-fi/fantasy podcast from the female prospective, but we plan on making it entertaining to both guys and gals. We chose to name our podcast "Anomaly" because its not only a popular Treknobabble term, but also because it defines sci-fi fan girls.

We would love any constructive criticism that you all might offer; we really do value the opinions of our fellow Treks In Sci-Fi listeners. Our file is currently very rough, but if there is anything at ALL that you feel should be edited, please let us know. Our podcast will be rated "G" but I'm very sarcastic; I don't want anything we say to be insulting to you guys. I know its impossible to make everyone happy, but  at least we can try not to step on our friends toes (that's you all). It may be a little slow to play...The file is currently fairly large, but you can listen to it on Angela's husband's web site...no need to actually download it.

Let us know what you think, but be nice 'cause we are girls and we can be quite emotional....kidding... be honest, but try not to use the words "it sucks".  :D

Thanks everyone. We look forward to hearing your thoughts! :D

http://www.jimscomputerfix.com/epi4.mp3
Founding co-host of the Anomaly Podcast
AnomalyPodcast.com
@AnoamlyPodcast

Bryancd

Very well done! You two have a great rapport and come across as very comfortable with eachother and that really makes listening to a podcast much more enjoyable and natural. Great flow to the show. Only criticism's, keep the distractions around you while recording to a minimum as they aren't interesting for a listener as they can't see what's going on and often don't hear the things you are refrencing. Also, no giggling! ;).

keozen

Hey Jen,

I love it so far! Very interesting and a nice listen. I'd be interested to know if you get yourself on a feed I can get iTunes to download as I'll def subscribe!

If you ever need any geeky guys to chat to on the show about RPs and/or Farscape, trek, etc I'm always a Skype call away, he he he.

Anyway, great cast & I love the name!

Rico

#3
Great job Jen and Angela.  Just got done listening to it.  It's obvious you two get along well and make a good team for doing this type of thing.  Even though I have been podcasting awhile, take everything I will say with a grain of salt.  It's up to the two of you to make the show your own and decide what you want it to be like.  These are just ideas/suggestions/thoughts....

First - LOVE the show name!  I'm assuming you got the domain in either .com or .net hopefully already.

Next, I love the ideas you have for various shows.  I would keep the emphasis on the Geek Girl thing.  You two sound both intelligent on the geek stuff - but also like women and not guys and the way they approach a topic.  Not sure if that makes sense, but I think you get my meaning.

I would focus on just a couple of things per show and stay focused on it.  For me personally, those are the kinds of shows I like to hear.  It's ok to tangent off (I certainly do) but eventually bring it back.  I know this was your intro show so you hit on a lot of things.  This is more a future suggestion.

Toss a break or breather into the show once in awhile.  It helps the listener and you too.  Again, being your first recording not really needed - more for the future.

Find a day & time that fits the schedule for both of you to record and get the podcast out.  Once a week on a certain day or maybe every other week, etc.  But find a schedule and hold to it as much as you can.  This becomes hard sometimes, but I think the listeners like to have a set pattern to the podcasts and when they come out.

On the technical side - it sounded pretty good.  I'm not sure - were you using one or two mics?  Better to use two mics of the same type - if you can.  And you might want to bump up the volume on Jen's mic or drop Angela's just a bit (Angela is a bit louder - but not overly so, but it's best if you can match volumes pretty closely).  Also, get a wind screen or pop filter for the mics.  I still need something better for my show too.  This will help cut down on the "puff" sounds when you say words like "podcast."

I hope this wasn't too much.  Just a few thoughts and ideas.  Again - GREAT JOB!  Much better than my first time!

OH - and last - don't listen to Bryan above ---  Keep the giggling (I like it)!  It sounds like you're having fun - and you should!    :biggrin

P.S.  Make a promo or two for your show soon.  30 sec to about 1 min. long.  And pass it out to other Geek/Sci-Fi, etc. Podcasts.  I'd love to play it on my show and I'm sure others would too.

moyer777

Hi Jen,

Ok, I listened to your cast.  Very fun.  I will be a regular listener. 

The only thing that I can add to Rico's comments are the whole organizational end.

Back in the day, when I was in radio, the prepared announcer was the best announcer.  We always did things off the cuff, and that was great, but we had good notes and a path to follow.  That seemed to make us easier to listen to.

Great job, and I can't wait for the next one!

Have fun!

I have been and always will be, your friend.
Listen to our podcast each week http://www.takehimwithyou.com

Geekyfanboy

You guys rock... I really enjoy it, this is great for a first podcast. I love the banter between you too, you sound like you guys just kickback and chat in front of a mic.. so much fun. I know several people say to have an organized plan of what you are going to do.. but I really like the banter back and forth. I like the husbands in the background too. Sounds like you guys enjoy the same TV and movies as I do. Can't wait to hear the next one.

Bryancd

I'm just trying to be helpful  :innocent Sometimes when you are so close to someone you can almost read eachothers minds and know what the other is about to say. Constructive comments only.

Rico

One thing I've learned is everyone will have different opinions on these types of things.  My best advice - Make the show the way you want it!  I know I'll be listening!

Jen

Thanks so much for ALL the comments. They are all very helpful and we value your opinions. After we finished our first show we discussed what we thought might make the show better. We all agreed that breaks would be helpful..Good point Rico. Angela cut a lot of conversation because we got tired and lost some energy...it was late and we got lamer the longer the podcast went on. We both like the conversational tone, which we're going to keep, but we both know we need a set topic (also a good point guys). It was harder than I thought it would be, to follow the notes. I didn't want to read them because it sounded stiff and rehersed, but I lost my train of thought sometimes. I said "ummm" alot. I don't normally do that...it annoyed me to hear myself say it over and over when I played it back again. Yikes.

We have two mics. I did not have a pop filter on my mine, but Angela has one on hers. I noticed the puffs and breathing sounds coming from my end when I played it back. Jim, Angela's husband, is a musican and the equipment belongs to him...I think he said he had a filter for my mic, but he couldn't find it. I'll pick one up so that it doesn't sound so "puffy".

No worries, Bryan...I asked for comments and yours counts too. Its hard to know what people are like in person, when we just read and reply to comments on forums....I understand. The laughing/giggling is just who Angela is. She's very jovial, which is one reason why she's my friend; her humor and laugh are infectious. I think I heard some nervous laughter mixed in there too, so we were more giggly than normal ( I agree).  But I can't promise that we won't be giggly on all our podcasts, its they way we are most of the time. ;)
I know our show won't be for everyone, and that's ok.  :)
Founding co-host of the Anomaly Podcast
AnomalyPodcast.com
@AnoamlyPodcast

Jen

Quote from: keozen on February 05, 2007, 12:43:42 PM
Hey Jen,

I love it so far! Very interesting and a nice listen. I'd be interested to know if you get yourself on a feed I can get iTunes to download as I'll def subscribe!

If you ever need any geeky guys to chat to on the show about RPs and/or Farscape, trek, etc I'm always a Skype call away, he he he.

Anyway, great cast & I love the name!

Thanks Matt. Yeah we definately want to always have a guy's perspective too. Either from one of our dudes, a friend or a friend from the Treks In Sci-Fi Forums. We'll let you all know when the podcast is on iTunes. We'll also post a link to the site that will host our show.
I checked and Anomalypodcast is available Rico, but Anomaly.com, and .net  are both long gone. We're probably going to go with Anomalypodcast.com
Thanks for the offer to play/spread our promo...we definately appreciate that. And if you want to send us a promo, we'd be happy to play it on our podcast. That goes for any of you guys who have a sci-fi/fantasy podcast.
Founding co-host of the Anomaly Podcast
AnomalyPodcast.com
@AnoamlyPodcast

MrOsterman

#10
I managed to listen to a little bit of it this morning.  Good call on the name of the show!

One thing I'd add that you might have considered:  It sounds like you're seperating out the voices into Right and Left stereo channels.  You might consider, once you've done your mastering/ editing, putting both of those into a mono channel.  For one, the file size for a mono file is smaller than a stero, but more importantly, some listeners don't like having the voices so seperated out in the car or, in the case of one, in their long haul rig.

I was over in the taverncast forum, and they were just talking about this over there, and IRC they had gotten an email from a long haul trucker asking them to go back to having all the voices in the middle channel (mono) because he couldn't hear the right speaker as well in his rig.

The show sounds like fun though!  I'll talk to my wife about putting your 30 sec promo into our show as well.  Prehaps a round robin of podcast addverts?  Rico?

Mr. O

EDIT to Add:

Just finished and I think you two have a good banter and some good potential for a fun show.  For what I like to listen to I think you'll have something fun to come back to every week, a fresh persepective or some new ideas.  Doing a generalist Fantasy Sci/Fi show gives you lots of room to do different things each week, so you should have some good ideas.

One piece of advice to add on content wise is to not waste all your good material at the start while you're learning your show.  Mrs. O and I tackled "getting your wife to play" as our 3rd show, and frankly it sucked.  We were just making "newb" mistakes (got rambly, audio issues etc) and I think "wasted" some good content on a bad show.  However our last outting I think more than made up for it, so it's all a matter of learning the ropes and making the most of it.

And having fun.  It sounds like you two are legitimately having a good time and that's what it's really about.  It's easy to get caught up in "pleasing the listeners" but in the end it has to be fun for you.  :)

Can't wait to hear Episode V...  I presume the file name was a reference to "A New Hope"?

Mr. O


Jen

Hi Mr. O. Thanks for the advice! I'd be happy to plug your show too, if you and your wife want to trade promos. Yeah, Angela likes split channel. I think she heard it on the  GeeksOn podcast. You made a good point about the possibility of listeners with one bad speaker. I'll pass it along.
One of our friends suggested including a very brief interview with a non-geek woman on every podcast. He said he thought that was a funny idea. He also suggested we gripe about Kara Thrace on every podcast... although I dispise the character (as of now), I think that would get old after a while.  I hear you on the "don't use up your good material" suggestion. We've made a long list of show topics so hopefully we won't do that. Thanks for all the advice! I like the "A New Hope" title...hummm...maybe we'll use that.
Founding co-host of the Anomaly Podcast
AnomalyPodcast.com
@AnoamlyPodcast

Rico

I'll also toss my comment in about splitting the channels.  I think there is only one reason people do this to start - limited audio equipment or software.  For listening - I find it kind of distracting (especially if you listen ever with a headset or earbuds).  Again, just my 2 cents but I think most people would prefer a blended/stereo format.

Oh, I agree greatly with Mr. O.  It's a natural tendency to want to break out the "bug guns" and cover your favorite topics and ideas at first, but try and hold back a little.  For example I covered my favorite TREK episode ever very early on (City on the Edge of Forever) and I should of waited.  I could do a much better job on it now.  I may revisit a few of those early podcast subjects someday - for the Enhanced Trek in Sci-Fi remastering!  hehe    :metallica:

Jen

You should Rico. That would be awesome! Yeah, the same friend (mentioned above) asked us to revisit the "boozing Galactica" topic. He liked the subject and wanted to hear more. Maybe we should wait to do that until after we iron out the wrinkles. Thanks everyone for the great suggestions!  They'll be put to good use. Anyone else have a comment?
Founding co-host of the Anomaly Podcast
AnomalyPodcast.com
@AnoamlyPodcast

Rico

Not meaning to get off-topic too much Jen, but I agree with you on the booze in Galactica thing.  I mean where are they getting this stuff?  Doesn't most booze basically come from plants/grains you could eat?  Don't they have a food problem?