Podcast Equipment and Spaces

Springfield Rd, Blackpool FY1 1QW, UK

Podcast Equipment and Spaces

Springfield Rd, Blackpool FY1 1QW, UK

Content

With your podcast named, planned and full of potential, you’re going to need to get to grips with your equipment. 
Firstly, you should have a recording friendly environment. 
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What is meant by a recording friendly environment and why do we need one? 
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As we know, sound bounces; that’s why our voices echo. We also know that the larger the space, the more echoes we seem to produce (think about a church or cathedral). Unlike a trampoline or your bed, however, sound much prefers hard surfaces to bounce around on. 
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This is why you see “egg like boxes” on the walls of recording studios. These are not in fact egg boxes, but acoustic foam. They are made of sponge and are great for absorbing sounds coming from all different directions. As sound travels in a straight line it bounces at angles, much like the balls in a game of pong. The egg box shape you see used in acoustic foam is perfect for catching sound waves. 
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The Sound Booth at The Old Electric has been specifically designed to offer a great sound for audio recording. 
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The equipment from microphones, headphones and pro-podcaster are all the other essential ingredients you need to create the perfect podcast. 
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So now this activity will explore in more detail the equipment and spaces needed for successful podcasts. 
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The owner of this badge has completed the required 3 tasks for the learning playlist Podcast Equipment and Spaces. The skills, knowledge and attitudes gained and demonstrated through completing these tasks include: 
What sort of environment is needed for recording.
How to create the perfect recording environment. 
What sort of equipment is required to record a podcast.
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You have to finish all tasks to get the badge

Tasks

Task no.1

Evidence verified by: one activity organiser

Find a space and make some noise. 
Try and find somewhere that you can create an echo, this could be an enclosed space of any sort, an empty cupboard or a room in your house or flat. If you can use your phone to record the sound of your voice in this space. Using something soft, try and dampen the sound you create to remove the reverberation (echoes). Then you can record your voice again on your phone. 
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Once you are in the Sound Booth at The Old Electric how does your voice sound? Maybe you want to make a recording of your voice again? 
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Share with us what you have discovered and how different the sound is. You can even share with us the audio recordings you made. 
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Task no.2

Evidence verified by: one activity organiser

Next up we’ll need some equipment. 
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To successfully record a podcast you’ll need some inputs, somewhere to record and somewhere to edit. 
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For this you will use a mix of inputs, hardware and software. Your inputs (which are also technically hardware) will allow your voice to be converted to a digital signal which can be recorded. This will be recorded by your hardware and can then be edited by your software. 
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From speaking, can you identify the sound signal path and what equipment your voice will have to travel through to then become an audio file on the computer?  
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Task no.3

Evidence verified by: one activity organiser

Below are three groups of equipment you’ll be using to record your podcast. Can you identify which are inputs, software and hardware.
Audacity
Reaper
Adobe Audition
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Rodecaster
Zoom PodTrak
External soundcards with audio input (used in conjunction with software)
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Condenser mic – often used in studios for recording vocals.
Dynamic mic - used for vocal stage performances and recording instruments.
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Location

Springfield Rd, Blackpool FY1 1QW, UK

Skills

ESCO

#acoustic sounds

ESCO

#set up sound equipment

ESCO

#test sound quality

Arts and culture

Added to playlist (1)

Time to complete: 6 hours

Organisers

Think Forward

Used in playlists

Tenant's Voice Podcast

Think Forward

Created on Blackpool City of Learning

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