TOOLS TO BE LEARNED:
Audition
Adobe Premiere Pro/ Edius (whichever one I can get for free or cheap)
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
I’ve been trying to find the perfect formula for a podcast series for years. However, I’ve rarely been able to get past a pilot episode. This semester will give me the chance to build something out and hopefully keep it going.
I want to independently learn how to extensively edit with the chosen tools. I haven’t opened audition or adobe since late 2019. I would like to have a select series of episodes by the end of the project. I think I have a good idea about what my content will be — informative and entertaining. I would like for my podcast to come with a trailer video which is why I may be dabbling into both a bit.
I also would like to take snippets and post them on Instagram. Essentially, I will have an audio-only component and a video component. My final project will show the progression of the videos hopefully!
I think YouTube will be my best friend for this project. Editing is not my strong suit. I know I can deliver on the content end but I want to make sure it sounds and looks good as well.
I think I’ll be able to measure success based on the continuation or discontinuation of the podcast.
DESK KRITS:
Don: I really enjoyed exploring his virtual room. I think it’s a very creative way to educate the adults who would use the material. I also think It is pretty dope that you can click in and out. He told us that it is supposed to be seen through the special virtual goggles so I can imagine how up close and personal everything looks. Overall, I def enjoyed his project. I want to learn how to use it for a project in the future. He teaches patient assessments to paramedics, so the final project was perfect!
Sam: Sam’s project was pretty cool because he used the virtual world to create something handmade. I think that is pretty cool. He walked us through how he made the lamp and added the final lightbulb inside of it during our group work. He also was able to control the light from an app on his phone. He used an epilogue laser cutter and used illustrator to edit things for the design. I thought that was pretty neat.
Journal 1
Contract: Same as above: I’ve been trying to find the perfect formula for a podcast series for years. However, I’ve rarely been able to get past a pilot episode. This semester will give me the chance to build something out and hopefully keep it going.
I want to independently learn how to extensively edit with the chosen tools. I haven’t opened audition or adobe since late 2019. I would like to have a select series of episodes by the end of the project. I think I have a good idea about what my content will be — informative and entertaining. I would like for my podcast to come with a trailer video which is why I may be dabbling into both a bit.
I also would like to take snippets and post them on Instagram. Essentially, I will have an audio-only component and a video component. My final project will show the progression of the videos hopefully!
I think YouTube will be my best friend for this project. Editing is not my strong suit. I know I can deliver on the content end but I want to make sure it sounds and looks good as well.
I think I’ll be able to measure success based on the continuation or discontinuation of the podcast.
So to get started, I decided to brainstorm about names and came up with the perfect one. The name of the podcast will be “The A Got Something to Say.” I really wanted a name that embodied ATL culture since we influence so much.
I’m still working on different segments and how I want the segments to look on digital. I’ve def explored different apps and programs. I’ve been playing around with an app called Unfold. I’ve also been playing around in photoshop to see what type of logo I would like. I don’t know if I will end up using Unfold but it keeps popping up on IG as an ad so I took it as a sign.
I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts which isn’t out of the norm but I’ve been listening to it with a different ear.
I also opened Audition. I’m proud of myself for opening it. I am still kind of overwhelmed by it. I want to pace myself out to make sure I can work efficiently. I’m trying to become familiar with the layout. I don’t know if I will have to use the multitrack feature much since most of my guests will be via zoom and Ill be able to download that myself as a one-track file (as opposed to a multitrack file). I doubt I will want to use effects. I am currently in the default Window layout but I may operate in the classic since it looks less intimidating.
This video has been kind of helpful in just helping me explore some things
https://youtu.be/q23NZ9DbG4A
HOW OFTEN WILL THE PODCAST AIR? (This is a goal, even if that can’t happen this semester)
The podcast will air once a week for an hour. According to multiple podcast studies, podcasts should generally last at least 30 minutes to one hour. The podcast will be developed in season with 12 episodes comprising a season (willing to change).
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
There are very few platforms that facilitate platforms in Georgia and very few individually spearheaded podcasts that have are facilitated by official media figures. Now, is the time to enter that space and really bring in my voice being a Black young woman who is also in school. I think I can bring a very unique view.
Journal 2
Contract: Same as above: I’ve been trying to find the perfect formula for a podcast series for years. However, I’ve rarely been able to get past a pilot episode. This semester will give me the chance to build something out and hopefully keep it going.
I want to independently learn how to extensively edit with the chosen tools. I haven’t opened audition or adobe since late 2019. I would like to have a select series of episodes by the end of the project. I think I have a good idea about what my content will be — informative and entertaining. I would like for my podcast to come with a trailer video which is why I may be dabbling into both a bit.
I also would like to take snippets and post them on Instagram. Essentially, I will have an audio-only component and a video component. My final project will show the progression of the videos hopefully!
I think YouTube will be my best friend for this project. Editing is not my strong suit. I know I can deliver on the content end but I want to make sure it sounds and looks good as well.
I think I’ll be able to measure success based on the continuation or discontinuation of the podcast.
I don’t think I’ll be using the app Unfold I downloaded last week, however, I am playing around with a new one. I also have started to build out/ assist in building out a pretty nice logo. I am hoping that I will be ready to record after Spring Break. I am feeling a bit more comfortable in audition but I still don’t know how much I like it. I’ve also been building out a little set for myself so that I can use my phone and do a video podcast of sorts.
Journal 3
Contract: I made an adjustment to my contract. I will be focusing more on my editing through the video side so I can kill two birds with one stone since I plan to post snippets. I’ve been trying to find the perfect formula for a podcast series for years. However, I’ve rarely been able to get past a pilot episode. This semester will give me the chance to build something out and hopefully keep it going.
Okay, so at this point, I now have a logo — although I may be going through a name change. Photoshop wasn’t my chosen tool but I was able to learn a few things on that app as well. I sat with my friend who made my logo and helped me come up with some cool options. She did a really great job. It looks like this is the one I will go with (refer to the picture).
I also encountered a problem with my Zoom interviews. I realized that because I shoot a lot of things from my phone my dimensions were incorrect. However, I was able to go into Edius and learn how to crop my video, but I am still trying to figure out how to get rid of the space. I know how to do it on the InShot app, but Im still fighting through how to do it on the Edius platform.
Moving forward: I really want to make a trailer/promo video for my podcast and then focus on recording and working through issues as they happen. I also need to solidify my segments.
Journal 4 & Journal 5
I combined these two because I was late for one and did things for both during the middle of our school week
Contract: I made an adjustment to my contract. I will be focusing more on my editing through the video side so I can kill two birds with one stone since I plan to post snippets. I’ve been trying to find the perfect formula for a podcast series for years. However, I’ve rarely been able to get past a pilot episode. This semester will give me the chance to build something out and hopefully keep it going.
Okay, so a few things changed this week. I came up with a different name and a different logo that I am excited about. The name of my new podcast is CAN’T BULLY ME! I helped design the logo options for the podcast. This one just feels right. The name really expresses the content I am going for. I really want this podcast to be educational and entertaining chaos. This name def fits who I am as a person.
These are the logo options I came up with:
I also shot and edited a promo video. I am still editing it and I haven’t added the final video touches to it yet such as the ending logo and words — I have to figure out how to do that. I know it doesn’t look like it, but my friend has a really nice camera, so we hung up a white background and white balanced everything out and I put the shots together. It looks really clean. Then, I went and added music under it via the InShot app. I still have to pick the font and see if I can add a moving graphic at the end with my logo. I also have started taking the other clips for cute little “extra” promo clips. I wanted it to be an all-white background and just my voice so people could focus on the words and the concept, but I intentionally didn’t want it to belong.
My friend showed me how to make the background extra white in post-editing by increasing the exposure and whiteness in the background.
I diversified the clips so that they wouldn’t look like jumpcuts. I mixed it up with wide, tight, tight shots. I also need to add the slow-motion effect in there, but I have to figure out how to do that. I know how to do that in InShot.
The next step is making a Zoom background. I believe and then finally recording the podcast!
Journal 6
Contract: I made an adjustment to my contract. I will be focusing more on my editing through the video side so I can kill two birds with one stone since I plan to post snippets. I also decided to take advantage of my friend’s Photoshop knowledge and spend time with her to learn how to navigate Photoshop.
This week the focus was gradients and layer styles inside of Photoshop.
This is the final logo design. I was able to ask my classmates which logo they preferred and I worked on this inside of Photoshop on my friend’s computer. I did not design the base logo but I did use photoshop to play with the gradient feature and switch the colors out for hours to create the right scheme. Photoshop isn’t my expertise but my friend instructed me on how to use layer styles in photoshop on her computer. The layer style allows me to add different elements to the logo. I used color overlay and more specifically gradient overlay. It started off with two colors, but I played around and added different colors to see how they would blend. I started with orange and black (as shown above, but that was too halloweenish) but ended up going with this pink, peach, yellow, orange combo after consulting my friends, google, and different palet websites — so that’s how I was able to get to the gradient background you see below (plus they are next to each other on the color wheel). I moved the gradient rectangular layer all the way to back behind the graphic/shape and words and works. I used photoshop more than I thought I would. Luckily, I had my friend there to make it all make sense.
Here are my Zoom and IG backgrounds
Journal 7
Contract: I made an adjustment to my contract. I will be focusing more on my editing through the video side so I can kill two birds with one stone since I plan to post snippets. I’ve also been able to play around in Photoshop way more than I intended to. Last week it was gradient work and this week I focused more on dimensions paired with gradients. I’ve been trying to find the perfect formula for a podcast series for years. However, I’ve rarely been able to get past a pilot episode. This semester will give me the chance to build something out and hopefully keep it going.
This week I worked on backgrounds for Zoom and Instagram for the podcast:
Since I already created the gradient, I was able to place the logo in different areas within photoshop. I changed the dimensions in photoshop for the desired platform. For Zoom, I used the 1920 x 1080 setting because it fits common video dimensions better. This allows me to use it as a virtual background in Zoom or place video on top of it in Edius or Adobe Premiere which then creates a nice branded frame when I place it on social media.
To achieve the Instagram vertical background, I opened up a new file and used the same gradient. I used the reverse dimensions of 1080 x 1920 which flipped everything.
My friend was able to add some other design elements and layers to add more depth and make it look professional. I had my own personal photoshop tutor!
I was able to also add my final touches to my promo video. To achieve the white frame, I downloaded the video to my phone and put the appropriate framing dimensions on the video via InShot. I also used InShot to add the music under the video. I put a slow-motion effect at the end to drag out the video to exactly 30 seconds. Here is the final edit.
Journal 8
Final contract: I’ve been trying to find the perfect formula for a podcast series for years. However, I’ve rarely been able to get past a pilot episode, because I am not the best editor. This semester will give me the chance to build something out and hopefully keep it going.
I want to independently learn how to extensively edit with the Edius, InShot and Photoshop were my focus as the semester progressed. I would like to have select moments from the episode/episodes by the end of the project. I think I have a good idea about what my content will be — informative and entertaining. I would like for my podcast to come with a trailer video which is why I may be dabbling into both a bit.
I also would like to take snippets and post them on Instagram, which means I will need to learn how to create the different dimensions for backgrounds and crop my video to fit inside of the dimensions. Essentially, I will have an audio-only component and a video component. My final project will show that I’ve learned how to use the tools at an entry/intermediate level.
I think YouTube will be my best friend for this project. Editing is not my strong suit. I know I can deliver on the content end but I want to make sure it sounds and looks good as well.
I think I’ll be able to measure success based on the completion of the podcast.
Last post: Wow, this was a journey. When I look at my final contract compared to my first contract and the changes in between — I recognize that I was very ambitious for the time and the skill level that I am. I had to scale back my desires so that I could really learn how to play with this all myself. That was not easy for me since I always want to do more. In the end, I can say that I learned how to edit my own video, exercise the jump cut method (which makes the video looks as though it’s moving quickly), learned how to make the backgrounds, and use gradients on Photoshop which I never thought I’d understand, put the podcast on multiple platforms (Instagram, YT, Soundcloud), shoot an edit my own promo video for the podcast, add music underneath the promo video, define the segments and execute them. I wish I was able to make the audio sound better. I bought a really nice mic but unfortunately, my work computer rejected it. I also hope that I become faster with editing and can learn some new tricks as things progress.
Here is my podcast highlight clip:
Here is my final promo video:
Here is my final Instagram clip: