Expert Podcasting Practices For Dummies®

Chapter 16. Podcasting from the Road

In This Practice

• Exploring the pros and cons of podcasting on the road

• Getting the right mobile gear

• Staying on topic in live settings

Recording in your own studio is a lot like being Batman. You retreat into that section of the house or apartment reserved only for you or your closest companions, surround yourself with high‐tech equipment, and test your skills before an audio rig and computer eagerly awaiting input. When Tee was moving his studio from the upstairs office to the basement, he asked the wife if he could build a slide‐away bookcase in the foyer with either a high‐speed elevator or a fireman's pole to slide down into the heart of the recording sanctuary.

That idea was quickly shot down. The jury is still out on the underground garage, its entrance concealed by either a waterfall or a folding Danger: Dead End sign. (No, really, podcasters need that.)

Why, you ask? Because sometimes you need to take your show on the road. In this practice, you assume the journey of an audio ronin, facing the challenge of capturing quality sound outside the studio. You've worked very hard to achieve a solid noise floor from within the confines of the studio, and now you step out into the wide expanse of the real world with all its air traffic, chirping birds, enthusiastic audiences, and general noisy ambience. How do you quell that, or should you even try? Is it possible to take your show on the road and produce the same audio quality as your home studio? ...