With just a few electronic tools and some practice, you can
create low-cost, yet high quality podcasts or videos for your business or your
clients.
Roy Harryman,
long-time KC IABC member and owner of Roy Harryman Marketing Communications,
presented top tips at a KC IABC lunch meeting.
First things first
Start with the basics before you pick up a piece of
equipment or schedule a recording session. Determine your objective, deadline,
resources and the forum/medium you will use. If you’re absolutely new to creating
A/V content, start with a podcast, Roy advises.
Podcast basics
Podcasts are more suitable to longer form content – 10 to 30
minutes – and allow your subscribers to multitask while listening – driving,
exercising, etc. Podcasts spur subscriptions and are easily shareable. Subscribers
receive an email notification when a new segment is available, so podcasts are
low maintenance.
“Podcasts are a low entry point,” Roy says. “You can even
use your smart phone to record a podcast, they’re great for camera-shy people
and are low cost to produce.”
Audio recording tips
Be yourself, but the best version of yourself, Roy advises. Bring
a little bit of zip to your delivery and if the podcast is more than just a few
minutes long, enlist one or two subjects to interview. Present your interview questions
in advance to your subjects and create an intro and an exit to your podcast,
perhaps with catchy music. Record in a quiet place using a wired lapel
microphone for your interview subjects and yourself. Edit your recording with
Garage Band on the Mac or with a program like Adobe Audition or Audacity for
the PC.
Stepping up to video
Although a bit more complex in production, creating a video
can also be a low-cost venture, and you can even use a smart phone or tablet
device to record. Always use a tripod, mic the talkers and use ample lighting
when shooting footage. If you’re the interviewer and the camera operator, keep
yourself out of the picture and audio and let the subjects do all of the
talking. Supplement your interviews with B roll that you shoot on location and
edit into the final version. It can contain interesting video, supplemented
with still photos and slides to illustrate points.
As for editing, upload your video footage into a cloud-based
service. Macs have a built-in video editor, while you can use Adobe Premiere or
Sony Vegas for editing on a PC.
If this all sounds a bit intimidating, don’t let it be.
“Push yourself to take a chance in an environment where it’s OK to fail,” Roy
advises. Practice with friends and family. You might just end up surprising
yourself and delighting your audience with your newfound audio and video
talents.
