That’s right dear reader, I have a podcast. Of sorts. See we’re going to record Episode 1 this week. But before you scoff, we did 4 beta versions. Or rather, trials. And you can listen to them on iTunes! That’s quite exciting, I must admit. So what do we talk about and who is this we I keep referring to? Let me introduce you…
To THE XBOXCAST! A podcast all about Xbox! Well mostly about Xbox. And mostly about gaming. So that’s a bonus. And we are Lee – one of my previous colleagues; Simone – my lovely, crazy wife; Paul – a friend and self confessed media enthusiast; and myself – your humble blogger friend. We even have a website which you can find here! It started on a whim. I wanted to do something I had never done before. My friends all love gaming, so much so that Paul even has a YouTube dedicated to him playing games, and we’re all on Xbox. Lee has a good English drawl, Paul has the kiwi twang, Simone has a mixture of South Kiwican, and well, I sound like a South African. So we have the voices. this is a good step. Oh yea, and I wanted to direct something too. For no reason in particular, just to say I have.
Now onto the topic at hand, after that bit of self-promotion. The things I have learnt doing four trials and one special edition recording (which is coming soon!).
What you have in your head is not going to be reality.
People are like cats. People all think and talk and walk differently. And trying to script four human beings to talk about a topic as wide as gaming is nigh impossible. Unless of course you do want to script it down to the last giggle and tag line, but podcasts need to be natural. Play to the strengths of the people you have involved in your plan. They are there because they want to be and they believe they are able to contribute in their way. So let them.
Go with the flow.
Podcasts need to sound natural. Unless you are doing a big budget, informative one. And those can be amazing. I suggest you check out Imaginary Worlds to get some amazing production in your podcast life. When it comes to gaming though, its important to sound relaxed. After all, you’re not talking about how to save the world. Things will go off script. Go with it, and make it a joke. This is probably good advice for all of life actually…
The hard work happens in the background.
On average, we spend about 2 to 3 hours each every week just on planning the show for the week. That’s about 8 to 12 man hours before a microphone has even been turned on. Paul does all of the mastering and producing, and without him we would be so lost (just listen to our very first beta episode for an example). In order to create, you have to put extra, behind the scenes, effort in. And it shows.
Have a plan.
This is almost, but not quite, opposite to going with the flow, I hear you say. But no. And I will tell you why. Without a plan, we wouldn’t know what time to meet, what things to talk about, how to improve. We all agree on the basic foundation, or skeleton structure, and then we go with the flow within that. Even if you have the plan in the back of your mind as you veer off onto the 4th tangent, that’s fine – you will have something to come back to. And its natural.
Bug your friends.
Get them to listen to you. They will be honest in a nice way. And who knows, might even “Like and share”. Or donate to your PayPal for running costs…
Bug strangers.
They will give you feedback even if you don’t ask for it. They will point out mistakes. They will not feel like they need to be kind for the sake of feelings. Iron sharpens iron after all. They will make you want to be better, and because of it, you WILL be better.
Have fun.
Yes, Its cliché. But its cliché for a reason. Without you having fun, how do you expect anyone else to have fun listening to you? No one laughs out loud listening to tax accountants. Unless of course its Tax Accountant Clown! But his booking fees are through the roof. So have fun with it. Accept you will make mistakes. Because you will.
Doing this podcast has spurred me to create even more. I want to try do one with super high production value, on a completely different topic, and with a completely different format. As to what that is – you’ll just have to watch this space. I also want to write more. I actually have the bug back (it went on vay-kay for a while). I highly suggest you go out and create something. It doesn’t have to be the next big Robot Car Explosion IV multi-million dollar movie with tie in action figure. But give it a go – see where it leads you. And feel that stirring when you put something you made out into the world.
Categories: Blog
