The Starter Kit

Jen & Chris discuss "The Starter Kit" - the tools they used to create their first fiction podcast, THE STRANGE CHRONICLES.

In their recurring segments, they discuss "Technical magics or mishaps," "How the writing is going," and provide a "Podcast tip," something to help you along your journey in making your own fiction podcast.

Email us at info@thestrangechronicles.com

Sign-up for our mailing list at https://thestrangechronicles.com

Thanks for listening!

Transcript

00;00;10;20 - 00;00;26;02
Jen
Hi and welcome to Making The Strange a podcast about how we made our fiction podcast. We will take you along with us in real time while we create our fiction podcast. I'm Jennifer, the writer and creator of the Strange Chronicles.

00;00;26;02 - 00;00;33;12
Chris
And I'm Chris, the producer of the Strange Chronicles, sci fi noir detective podcast.

00;00;37;22 - 00;00;48;03
Jen
In today's episode, we're going to talk about what it takes to make a starter kit and what we have used to make our fiction podcast. We'll talk about the gear, the mic, the art and the software.

00;00;48;04 - 00;01;01;11
Chris
We'll also discuss the technical mishap that happened along the way. Something we hope to help you avoid in an hour. How's the writing going segment? Jennifer will discuss how the writing is going.

00;01;01;24 - 00;01;08;02
Jen
And finally, we'll provide a podcast tip, something that you can use as a strategy for your own podcast.

00;01;08;07 - 00;01;13;11
Chris
So first, I think we should just give a quick overview of the fiction podcast and how we came to make it.

00;01;14;03 - 00;01;29;14
Jen
Yes. Well, in our day jobs, Chris is a producer in television and I'm a writer. In the last few years, my focus has been on a novel as well as some screenwriting projects. How he came to the fiction podcast is really due to my obsession with podcasts.

00;01;29;21 - 00;01;32;01
Chris
You do love yourself a podcast?

00;01;32;10 - 00;01;45;00
Jen
Yes, I have always been a big public radio listener and I enjoy audiobooks. And so years ago, podcasts became a logical extension to my audio entertainment experience.

00;01;45;05 - 00;01;46;13
Chris
Why audio? Well.

00;01;46;24 - 00;02;07;13
Jen
I love learning new things and I find it to be both convenient and an intimate way of getting information. Convenient because you can listen while doing chores, walks while driving and is fine listening to a voice to be a really connected way to consume entertainment. When I was little, I remember making up my own radio shows for fun.

00;02;07;24 - 00;02;27;03
Jen
I got this boombox for my birthday one year and it had a cassette recorder. So my friends and I would be deejays and we'd make up commercials and record songs from the radio. And then I remember doing a weather report, so it was so much fun for me that making a podcast is kind of like my little self.

00;02;27;04 - 00;02;32;19
Jen
Living out that dream. And man, would I give to have one of those tapes that I made back then?

00;02;33;25 - 00;02;41;07
Chris
What I would give to have one of those tapes. So seriously, though, what specifically drew you to create a fiction podcast?

00;02;41;08 - 00;03;04;15
Jen
Well, first I write fiction, so that was familiar. But I listen to a lot of nonfiction podcasts as well. I kind of wanted to make a hybrid with the format of some of the nonfiction together with a fiction story. For example, I love The Memory Palace, and LeVar Burton reads, and I was inspired by the shorter format with a lone voice telling a story.

00;03;04;25 - 00;03;11;23
Jen
I figured it was more doable as well to make a project where I wasn't relying on a big cast or a super long episodes.

00;03;11;26 - 00;03;14;11
Chris
Where did the inspiration for The Strange Chronicles come from?

00;03;14;22 - 00;03;37;11
Jen
Well, I was watching the new Perry Mason show on HBO, Max, and I thought of how much I love detective stories. And usually I have a sci fi or speculative bent to my writing. And there is the fact that The X-Files is one of my all time favorite shows growing up. So I started thinking about a show with a private detective who investigates supernatural crime.

00;03;37;19 - 00;03;43;20
Jen
And then, of course, I wanted the woman. I wanted the main woman. I wanted the main character.

00;03;44;29 - 00;03;49;04
Chris
You wanted the main character to be a woman? Yes. One of the main women to be a character?

00;03;49;05 - 00;03;49;20
Jen
Yes.

00;03;49;26 - 00;03;51;08
Chris
You mean mumbo things, right?

00;03;51;08 - 00;04;01;19
Jen
I did one of those things. So Detective Greg Cooper was born. I worked on some episode ideas, and then I wrote a few scripts and the plan is to do a ten episode season.

00;04;01;25 - 00;04;06;09
Chris
And now the making of podcast. What inspired you to do something like this?

00;04;07;03 - 00;04;48;01
Jen
Well, actually, I was looking for a making of a fiction podcast podcast, and I didn't really find what I was looking for. Originally, the idea came from book coach extraordinaire Savannah Guilbault. She also has her own podcast called Fiction Writing Made Easy with Savannah Guilbault. So that's a great podcast about fiction writing. I was telling her about the Strange Chronicles podcast and she asked if I might record how I made it, and I was like, Yes, if we record our experience, then maybe we can help other people and maybe any issues that come up for us or strategies we use could help someone else make their own podcast.

00;04;48;11 - 00;05;02;03
Jen
And also, I find it to be a really good motivator to complete this project. And then, of course, I had to convince you to help, since you're producing. And I think your input could be really helpful to others wanting to make their own podcasts.

00;05;02;05 - 00;05;10;16
Chris
Yeah, I definitely am more comfortable behind the scenes, so this took much convincing to turn to quote unquote talent.

00;05;10;17 - 00;05;34;12
Jen
It really did. It took a lot of convincing, no joke. So basically, we got to we got to this place of making the strange. We are recording this making of the strange podcast at the same time we're creating the fiction podcast. So it's very much our real experience. At this point, we have just two episodes written and plan to have them all recorded and launched.

00;05;34;13 - 00;05;36;01
Jen
I'm hoping by Halloween.

00;05;36;17 - 00;05;38;14
Chris
Sounds doable to me. I like that plan.

00;05;39;01 - 00;05;55;11
Jen
Yeah, I think so. Everything ends up taking a lot longer than I expect. So I think giving us a long chunk of time is good. Okay, so now it's time for our technical magic or mishap, and today is a mishap. So, Chris, tell us what our mishaps are.

00;05;55;11 - 00;06;06;29
Chris
Mishap today is about audio settings. So we record this show and fiction podcast. Everything in Adobe Audition.

00;06;07;11 - 00;06;12;02
Jen
Right? We're recording right now in audition and I definitely had some struggles with recording.

00;06;12;27 - 00;06;37;02
Chris
Just a few. My experience is with at least as far as like editing goes or assembling a project is with non-linear editing. So, you know, I've done Avid, I've done Adobe Premiere, I've done Final Cut Pro, all those. So the concept of putting together content and stringing it out and laying it out in a timeline is very familiar with me.

00;06;37;02 - 00;06;57;28
Chris
And this software is very intuitive in the same way, you know, you can edit your recordings, you can create your different track settings, you can throw everything in and assemble it pretty neatly. And in that aspect, you can also import different files. You know, you can import your music, you can import your sound effects all the things you need to do.

00;06;57;28 - 00;07;26;27
Chris
A complete episode. But what was different for me, because in, you know, the film and television world, we're capturing all the media at a different time. So we're just importing files into the timeline, assembling there. Here, you do it all in one place. You record and edit. And I think what happened is we have to make sure when when you're recording it, you're thinking about those record settings that theoretically would have been underway beforehand.

00;07;27;12 - 00;08;07;22
Chris
So we're often starting and stopping and starting and stopping. Every time you do that here, an audition. What can happen is your settings can somehow revert to a default setting that you might not have realized was there. So I think, you know, you would start to record something, stop, go do something else, come back to it later and you might find that you recorded Dead Air because the microphone, it didn't pick up the microphone or it wasn't set to the microphone setting or the levels were somehow off, even though you didn't change anything on the microphone itself, something internally in the software adjusted how you were recording.

00;08;09;06 - 00;08;43;16
Chris
I think it's just really important for people to remember the first time you do this to go through and record a test run and when you find a test run where everything sounds great to you after you play it back, take those settings, write them down and make sure you are replicating them for every episode you do thereafter so that it all sounds consistent, because that's going to be the biggest thing when people listen as if all of a sudden levels are jumping all over the place or the quality of your voice is different, or the quality of the recording is different.

00;08;44;08 - 00;08;56;10
Chris
They're going to detach and they're going to go away. You're going to lose your listeners that way. But if it's consistent all the way through, then they're going to stay engaged and it helps them stay in that world of this fiction world that you're creating.

00;08;56;16 - 00;09;02;23
Jen
So to fix the mishap, write down your audio settings so you have a reference for each episode.

00;09;02;25 - 00;09;19;15
Chris
Yeah. And always check them before you start recording every single time. So it's easy to get into those habits like, oh, I just plug it in and I go and I go and I go and then, you know, you think you're fine and then you've spent, you know, 30 minutes or an hour recording or whatever, and then you get to the end and you're like, Oh my God.

00;09;19;16 - 00;09;21;14
Jen
Wait, that didn't happen to us then.

00;09;22;15 - 00;09;40;12
Chris
I just lost everything that I did or I was never really it didn't record anything or it was so, so quiet that I sound like I'm a million miles away. Right? And then you have to go and do it all over again. And, you know, you don't want to waste your time when you're getting into these things because they take so long.

00;09;40;20 - 00;09;48;08
Chris
Next up, we are going to discuss how the writing is going. So, Jen, how is the writing going?

00;09;48;27 - 00;10;14;28
Jen
Well, honestly, it's always too slow for me because I have multiple projects I'm writing at once. Sometimes it's hard to get myself focused back on the podcast or the idea that I'm writing out a mystery that is solved in one short episode is a bit of a challenge. I have a good plan in place for all the episodes, so we're planning to record episode two tomorrow or next weekend.

00;10;15;09 - 00;10;25;28
Jen
So if I can write an episode or two per week, it will help my schedule. So my verdict on the writing for right now is that it's slow going, but I have high hopes.

00;10;26;10 - 00;10;30;18
Chris
That's great. Next up, we're going to discuss the starter kit.

00;10;31;02 - 00;10;42;27
Jen
Yes, this is the starter kit episode. Now, this is just a basic rundown of what we're using, but I hope it will be helpful to someone who may may have listened to thousands of podcasts but never actually made one themselves like me.

00;10;42;29 - 00;11;10;22
Chris
All right. So the first thing seems obvious. The microphone. Honestly, any microphone can work. I've read about and talked to people who have said, you know, they've recorded their podcast just using their iPhone and the headphones that come with it. The quality there is great. You can, you know, get pretty decent levels and it sounds natural and there's not a lot of hissing or echoey sounds coming from it.

00;11;10;22 - 00;11;18;28
Chris
They're actually really decent for that. We shopped around for some and we ended up picking on the. I hope I'm saying this right. Apogee hype, Mike.

00;11;19;06 - 00;11;20;01
Jen
That's how I would say it.

00;11;20;09 - 00;11;23;11
Chris
Apogee. Yes. Apogee. Apogee.

00;11;24;01 - 00;11;26;07
Jen
Oh, apogee is kind of apogee.

00;11;26;24 - 00;11;28;20
Chris
What do you think? You think apogee is cuter?

00;11;28;26 - 00;11;32;13
Jen
I think apogee cuter. But I think it's probably apogee.

00;11;32;14 - 00;11;34;10
Chris
Apogee? Apogee.

00;11;35;17 - 00;11;53;19
Jen
Anyway, yes, we tested it and I think it's great. There is definitely a learning curve, like how loud to speak, how far from the mic to speak and breathing. It picks up everything. I will say the pop filter works really well. I didn't hear any popping in the playback of the test.

00;11;53;19 - 00;12;07;24
Chris
And of course you'll need some sort of computing device, a smartphone, tablet or computer. Another important thing to think about is the art, the image for your podcast. This will be the thumbnail image that listeners will see on the podcast listening service.

00;12;07;25 - 00;12;17;28
Jen
We looked at other fiction podcasts in the genre and gave us an idea of what is working for them. And we thought about the look and feel of what we wanted. Listeners to have about the Strange Chronicles.

00;12;17;29 - 00;12;37;16
Chris
I created the image on Photoshop. Again, there are many apps you can use. It really comes down to what you're most comfortable with. I happen to be more comfortable with Photoshop. I've used it for a long time. A couple others that I know we've used or explored are Canberra. That's one you like. Snapseed is out there.

00;12;37;16 - 00;12;46;19
Jen
Picsart Yeah, we kind of wanted an X files, like look to the font and the image itself is blue, green with trees in the title.

00;12;46;20 - 00;12;57;00
Chris
Yeah, I really wanted to go for that. Like, know, I just feel like these kind of stories, these sci fi mysteries, they just always take place in the woods. Like the woods just feel eerie.

00;12;57;01 - 00;12;59;28
Jen
It's true. I think a lot of our episodes take place in the woods.

00;12;59;29 - 00;13;12;18
Chris
Yeah. Like, I just feel like, you know, it invokes a sense of, like, coolness to it. Like you, they always like nobody. How many sci fi mysteries take place in, like, the heat?

00;13;12;22 - 00;13;13;22
Jen
Like on the beach?

00;13;14;00 - 00;13;33;16
Chris
Yeah. Like nobody's getting abducted by aliens on the beach or like encountering the great sea crab dragons in the ocean, though. And again, that's kind of like, sure, there's storms overhead. It's gray, it's dark, it's cloudy. There's never like the sunny crypto.

00;13;33;17 - 00;13;34;14
Jen
I'm going to have to do that.

00;13;34;14 - 00;13;36;01
Chris
And might have to come up with an episode.

00;13;36;01 - 00;13;42;13
Jen
I'm going to have to have beach party. Party. Scary crab. I don't know.

00;13;43;03 - 00;13;45;12
Chris
Attack of the Killer. Hermit crabs.

00;13;46;18 - 00;13;51;10
Jen
Oh, that would be fun. Or like a blob. Like, know how there's, like, beach slime or.

00;13;51;18 - 00;13;58;13
Chris
You know, the most vicious creature on the beach. You know what that is? But those little sand flies, those green ones that bite.

00;13;58;25 - 00;14;00;28
Jen
Oh, like a horse fly.

00;14;01;05 - 00;14;06;03
Chris
I don't know what they are. I just used to call them sand flies, and they were massive. And they would have.

00;14;06;07 - 00;14;06;09
Jen
A.

00;14;06;17 - 00;14;09;04
Chris
Horse fly. They would bite really hard. Okay.

00;14;09;20 - 00;14;15;10
Jen
Okay. They're coming soon. The Strange Chronicles Attack of the Beach Hermit. Okay.

00;14;15;21 - 00;14;18;08
Chris
Anyway, that's. And it will be a very sunny day.

00;14;19;22 - 00;14;23;22
Jen
Okay. What are we going to expect?

00;14;24;24 - 00;14;48;03
Chris
Oh, gosh. Where were we? Okay, so the other thing you need for a podcast is hosting service. This is where you're going to end up placing your files that you record and where the various podcast services that you broadcast through will link back to. We're planning on using bus sprouts. We haven't done it yet. This is our first recording here.

00;14;48;03 - 00;14;53;21
Chris
So there will be. Will there be a making of about posting to your.

00;14;54;18 - 00;14;54;27
Jen
Hosting.

00;14;54;27 - 00;14;57;08
Chris
Service? I think we'll go through that process with people.

00;14;57;09 - 00;15;00;09
Jen
We could probably discuss it if we have any issues, but.

00;15;02;09 - 00;15;02;15
Chris
If.

00;15;02;22 - 00;15;03;07
Jen
Someone has a.

00;15;03;07 - 00;15;05;03
Chris
Question, another mishap episode.

00;15;05;15 - 00;15;08;10
Jen
It could be another mishap. It could be in the future.

00;15;08;10 - 00;15;10;15
Chris
Is this just going to is this whole podcast just going to be.

00;15;10;15 - 00;15;12;18
Jen
Like all of our mishaps? Probably a.

00;15;12;18 - 00;15;22;11
Chris
Bloopers reel. Yes. All right. Okay. Yes. Well, also well, we've already talked about this, that we're recording both podcasts in audition.

00;15;22;11 - 00;15;28;23
Jen
And then we'll do the music and sound design in another episode. This is just our basic setup. All right.

00;15;29;11 - 00;15;35;28
Chris
It's now time for our podcast tip, something that we learn to help make your journey easier.

00;15;35;28 - 00;15;59;19
Jen
And the podcast tip for today is deconstructing other podcasts. I found that this is a great idea for getting started in many creative projects. If you want to make something, check out other versions out there. Take what appeals to you and leave what doesn't. I've listened to many podcasts with different formats, and then I took a lot of notes and put together a format for the Strange Chronicles.

00;15;59;19 - 00;16;24;13
Jen
And honestly, I'm not even sure it's exactly like another one. It's such like it's a Frankenstein of pieces, and I chose things I like from nonfiction and fiction. So I guess we'll see how that works. But you know, like for this podcast doing different segments, I really like that and nonfiction podcast so that each week you can expect like from this podcast, we'll have a podcast tip.

00;16;24;20 - 00;16;32;07
Jen
We'll have a technical magic or mishap, and we'll talk about the writing and each episode will have a theme as well.

00;16;32;12 - 00;16;36;18
Chris
Well, that is it for this episode of Making Strange.

00;16;37;02 - 00;16;49;10
Jen
We want to thank you for tuning in to our journey and creating a fiction podcast and hope that it can inspire you to create your own story. Because we believe that everyone has a story to tell.

00;16;52;18 - 00;17;00;07
Chris
Please email us with any podcast tips you may have or questions you hope will answer info at the strange Chronicles wsj.com.

00;17;01;04 - 00;17;14;28
Jen
Thanks for listening. You can follow us on Instagram at making the Strange and at the Strange Chronicles podcast. Be on the lookout for the Strange Chronicles, a sci fi detective fiction podcast until our next episode.

00;17;14;29 - 00;17;18;12
Chris
I'm Jennifer and I'm Chris. Keep it strange.

00;17;23;07 - 00;17;25;07
Jen
This has been a kings of content production.