Chapter 3
BUILDING A TEAM,
EVEN IF IT'S JUST YOU
When I started Beginner, I also made a list of skills and tools I had available to me. I did this mostly to inventory what I could do already so that I could focus on learning the things that I did not know how to do.
For example, I could edit in Audition, and write scripts, but I had no experience getting sponsors or writing a pitch. I did not know how to story edit Beginner, especially because the narrative was so close to home --the characters were me, my family, my partners, my friends and teachers! And I could make a barebones logo with pretty colors on Photoshop, but it would not grab the attention of professionals. I knew I needed the help of other people with skills I did not have, not just so I could learn them for future projects, but because I could not create the show without that help.
Especially for narrative shows, highly produced ones rise to the top and many others never crack the top 200 on Apple Podcast charts. Similarly, with interview shows, even if the chat shows recorded on an iPhone without editing get to the top of the charts, many of them do so on the strength of their guests or hosts. Those without celebrities and without the higher level production suffer from lack of audience, media attention and revenue.
The weird thing about podcasting is that it’s a nascent industry even as it grows quickly. The specialization of roles that exists in movies or television still hasn’t made its way into podcasting. Part of this is because of the myth of it being a low cost, low skill medium. People assume that one person can do the job and all they need is a phone, garage band and a guest. But even though the barrier to entry to podcasting is low because of the cost and equipment it requires, the barrier to entry is still high in terms of production skills.
If you end up working with other people, make sure to
read this primer on collaboration in audio on Transom.org.
Kathy Tu and Tobin Low produce Nancy, a WNYC’s podcast, together.
Once you’ve fleshed out your idea, here are all of the roles that need to be filled (even if by one person) in order to make a great podcast:
Branding/Designer
Social media
Sound Engineer
Composer
Producer
Host
Fact checker/researcher
Story editor
I’ll go through each one of these roles in order of the importance they had to me when I made my first podcast, but you can start with a different role or task.
Branding
My priorities, some would argue, were kind of whack when making Beginner. The first thing I did after writing a pitch was contact my friend, Charlotte Harrison. (She also illustrated this website!) I knew that she did design for SNL and her portfolio made me really excited to work with her on a podcast. At the time, most podcast artwork was a background photo or illustrated image with the name of the show. I wanted Beginner to have something more symbolic and aesthetically representative. To this day, I find that figuring out the visual identity of the show with someone who had the vision and the skills to make an extraordinary logo helped define the sound and content of the show. Once we finalized the colors as millennial pink and green, I often asked myself what those colors would sound like in audio. How would my dialogue, narration or music choices reflect those colors? I worked out a deal with Charlotte to pay a smaller price for more limited work, but I wanted to make sure she was paid for her excellent work. Some people will opt to design logos themselves for free or to get a friend to do a favor. Brand identity lasts you the duration of the project and is worth the investment of hiring someone good.
When making Beginner, I originally created an instagram and a facebook page, only to realize that engagement on the podcast itself was much higher than on social media. Yes, it was great when Apple Podcasts’ facebook page tagged us or when a listener slid into our DMs on instagram (and not in the creepy way), but we got that feedback via email and my personal Twitter too. Our photos were perfect for our website, but I didn’t have the bandwidth to create enough original content just for instagram or facebook to generate buzz on those platforms. So, I eventually decided to get rid of the pages. This drove listeners even more to the podcast itself and made no difference in our press or ratings, giving me more time to focus on making a better audio experience.
Social Media
For one of the podcasts I’m currently working on at NPR in LA, our dream is to hire an illustrator to illustrate each guest for instagram posts that go up with each episode. If your show requires or benefits from social media, narrow down which channels best serve your needs. Do you need a group on Facebook to build conversation around episodes? Should you create a subreddit for those dark hole discoveries for your investigative series? Or is a YouTube channel better to accompany the audio with videos? You don’t need to be on every social media channel all of the time, but you should take advantage of those that supplement your show’s purpose.
Sound Engineer
Producing, writing or even audio editing a podcast are not the same as sound engineering. Sound engineering is an art. Sometimes it’s conflated with sound design (covered in Chapter 6). Other times, it’s reduced just to board operations when recording live interviews or gathering sound in the field the right way. You can interpret it however you want, but you need to make sure that either you have the skills to sound design and mix and master your show or that you work with someone else who can. A podcast that is not loud enough, that has too much phone tape, or where you can hear the host’s P’s and S’s pop might make the listener cringe enough to stop listening. Even hearing music throughout the whole show without breaks, fades or change in tone can turn away an otherwise engaged person.
This is a spreadsheet of women in radio who sound design and mix. You can find collaborators and teammates on this list. It was originally shared on the New York Radio email list serve by Gina Delvac. She produces the podcast, Call Your Girlfriend.
Producer
That would most likely be you! But, if you don’t want to do the nitty gritty of outlining the show’s arc, booking guests, writing scripts, hiring other people, and putting together the session in Audition/Pro Tools/Hindenburg, then you want to hire a person who does all of these things! Normally, a producer helps write the show, coordinates the logistics of gathering tape, and then cuts together the rough track for the sound engineer/designer. Now, the producer can wear multiple hats and be the host, the sound designer and the composer if she has the skills and the time.
Composer
This is the ultimate luxury and often impossible without the right budget. A podcast that gets the opportunity to work with a composer instead of using music from free libraries has the unique opportunity to build a novel sound that perfectly compliments the show’s tone and content. You do not need a composer, but if you yourself can compose or are friends with musicians or have access to hire one, don’t pass up the chance. Composers and free sound libraries will be covered in more detail in Chapter 6.
Host
If you’re not creating something non-narrated and you don’t want to be the voice of your podcast yourself, then it’s time to look for a host. Before finding the right host, you must figure out what kind of voice fits your content best. Are you making a kids show and want to hire someone under the age of 15? Is your show about history told through the lens of minorities and you want to highlight the voice of a woman or person of color or someone queer? Speaking into a microphone and interviewing guests in a compelling way are skills. Someone else’s voice might elevate your show more than your own. You can ask a friend, a professional voice actor or radio personality or hire someone who hosts podcasts for a living. One way to find the right person is to audition them with an episode script or a sample episode.
Fact Checker/Researcher
If your podcast hinges on journalism or true facts, then having a second pair of eyes and ears adds more accuracy and integrity to your work. Although you can fact-check your own reporting and story, having a third party look through the facts and corroborate them with various sources is worth paying for. You can do this stage of the process after the episode scripts are complete, before you record voicing or put together a rough session. This allows you to catch mistakes before it’s too late.
Story Editor
When making Beginner, having a story editor was the most valuable in shaping the story arc. I worked with Devon Taylor, who story-edited Millennial and started now works at Gimlet Media. Though not necessary for interview-based shows, having a story editor (who is not you) for a narrative show is a must. I sometimes still go back and read Devon’s first email to me in response to a draft I sent her of episode 1 of Beginner. She made me realize that the podcast was nowhere near ready to go out into the world in its current iteration and emphasized the importance of stakes. She also pointed me to this piece of advice on good storytelling about the “But, Therefore” rule. I currently work in a podcast department with Arwen Champion-Nicks as my story editor. She reminded me of the little “e” story structure, which was covered in a great piece on Transom.org. When looking for a story editor, make sure that their understanding of narrative and character comes through in their work and don’t be afraid to figure out why the type of show you’re making is their narrative specialty or interest. You can find a story editors for narrative podcasts through this list. It was shared on the New York Radio Email List Serve and created by Megan Tan, who is currently working at LAist Studios.