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THE SAGA OF THE SHINING EMBLEM – Chapter VII: The Legend of Destiny:

You are no longer in the world you know. You have stepped into the Hall of Heroes, a place where all the greatest tales of adventure throughout all space and time are kept! Guided by the enigmatic and charismatic Archivist, one lucky audience member will have the chance to take part in the greatest story ever told “The Saga of the Shining Emblem: Chapter VII: The Legend of the Destiny”. Its a choose-your-own-adventure where anything and everything can happen based on the whims and choices of the audience/hero of the evening! One actor, One audience member, endless adventure! All accompanied by a live score!

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Pastor Clearwater,

It has come to my attention that your time at the Beavertail Historical Society has come to a firey end. It would appear we need to, once again, find a new placement for you. This time, I have an idea that I believe should suit your particular skill set.

Its well known that you famously defended yourself in your trial, successfully even. Therefore we would like you to act as a public defender for the city of Beavertail as the city currently has 0 lawyers and many, many outstanding trials.

We will start you out with an easy one, a simple B & E revolving around a stolen trading card. Wayne Lisby from Crumdon will be once again coming into town to serve as prosecutor and you will be arguing before the honorable Wayne Cartwright.

I would very much like to come into work without hearing you have somehow lead to another location burning down.

Featuring
Matthew Schott, Alex Garretson, and Dylan James Amick

Created by Matthew Schott
Edited by Trevor Scott
Theme Music by Chris Callahan

Produced by Julia Katz, Chelsea Rugg, and Andrew Terrance Kaberline

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Listen as the Pastor guides you through a spooky new interactive audiobook from the good people at Industrial Illusions. Listen at your own risk!*

*Note: This is not a cute way to hype the product. There are in fact real and serious legal consequences to each and every person who uses their free will to decide to listen and partake in this audiobook

• Don

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Pastor Clearwater,

It has come to my attention that your time in the employment of the local bowling alley has come to an end. I thought that you could keep yourself out of trouble at such a simple job but it appears I gave you too much credit. I spoke with the alley and apparently you impeached the religious freedoms of the patrons? A bad crime for a pastor’s rap-sheet.

Nevertheless I have found work that I believe will better suit your particular, presentational skill set. The Beavertail Historical Society is looking for a new tour-guide for their interactive tours through Beavertail history. I have secured this position for you to work off your remaining 11 weeks community service. Please, please try to stay out of trouble.

If it is difficult to reach me over the next week it is because I will be out of the office on very private business. Please do not inquire about this further, and please try to at least keep this job until I return.

Best Regards,
Ethel Laharl

Featuring
Matthew Schott, Matthew Ipshaw, and Tyler Weaver

Created by Matthew Schott
Edited by Trevor Scott
Theme Music by Chris Callahan

Produced by Julia Katz, Chelsea Rugg, and Andrew Terrance Kaberline

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Featuring
Matthew Schott, Tyler Weaver, and Matthew Ipshaw
With
Richie Pepio and Becky Granger

Created by Matthew Schott
Edited by Trevor Scott
Theme Music by Chris Callahan

Produced by Julia Katz, Chelsea Rugg, and Andrew Terrance Kaberline

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Listen as the Pastor pays tribute to a number of fallen townspeople (incidentally, many of whom have appeared on this program).

The Pastor will be organizing a “catch-all vigil” for the deceased, to be held right outside of the previous church (Now Jay Carmichael-owned skate park). The vigil will include the traditional throwing of rocks at a building (the skate park) while traditionally chanting “Jay Sucks. Pastor Rules.” The date of this event will be determined soon.

Join us for these tasteful tributes… largely tasteful due to the passing ice cream truck during the recording.

• Don

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My name is Ethel Laharl, I’m the social worker assigned to your case. As you know, your official sentence was 13 weeks community service for the crimes of “Name Lying” and “Baring False Witness Upon name of the Church”. You are therefor going to be given a job here in town which you shall work at in order to pay your debt to the town of Beavertail.

Since you have experience working with people of all ages I have decided to assign you to the John Wilkes Booth Secular Academy for Grades K-12. Due to recent tragic events, they have found themselves short one cafeteria worker. You shall be filling in for this position. Your official title will be that of Lunch Man.

You will be trained on the job by the current working Lunch Woman and are to do exactly what you are told. Its my understanding that you can be a bit of a trouble maker to I ask that you please just keep your head down, serve the lunch and make this next 15 weeks easy on us both, ok? Please contact me if you have any questions regarding your employment.

Yours,

Ethel Laharl

Beavertail Department of Social Services 

Silver Streak:
Chapter 4, Forget It Jim…

Jim Silvers goes into the sewers for the thrilling conclusion of Silver Streak. What will he find in the sewers? The Axe Man? The Pastor? Deborah Forrest? One thing is for sure, it will all end with an unoriginal and tired joke.

Created and Edited by Trevor Scott
Featuring Matthew Schott and Becky Granger

Silver Streak:
Chapter 3, The Axe Man Cometh

Detective Jim Silvers takes up smoking, switches his focus to a different case, and obtains a tape from “The Axe Man.” There’s another PSA, too, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Created and Edited by Trevor Scott

Silver Streak:
Chapter 2, Lost In The Supermarket

Detective Jim Silvers continues his hunt for any information about the missing Pastor. He starts looking at a supermarket and teaches us at home how to interrogate. There’s also a PSA.

Created and Edited by Trevor Scott
Featuring Mitchell McKenna

Silver Streak:
Chapter 1, The Hunt Begins

Detective Jim Silvers takes over the reigns of the podcast in the absence of Pastor Creedence Clearwater (Creekwater?). Jim recruits future junior detectives, sets his sights on finding the pastor, reads a letter from “The Axe Man” and delivers a Public Service Announcement.

Created and Edited by Trevor Scott

I realize I’ve neglected to actually tell you what’s going on in these episodes and accidentally been posting my emails instead. That ends now.

In the Season Finale, The Pastor invites the rest of the religious figures from the town over for an old-fashioned “Pastor-Off.” Things become tense. Someone might lose their church. Someone might lose their life. An old mystery might be solved.- Don’s Editor Note

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, I have one more email to share with you all!

Featuring Matthew Schott, Becky Granger, Alex Garretson, and Ollie Corchado
With appearances from Isaac Miller and Amelia Dudley 

Created by Matthew Schott
Edited by Trevor Scott
Theme Music by Chris Callahan

Produced by Julia Katz, Chelsea Rugg, and Andrew Terrance Kaberline

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Donald Falcon, local podcast engineer is facing murder charges after the body of his brother-in-law, one Todd Sinnoh was found last month. After a lengthy investigation by BTPD, Donald was found at his place of residence. Apparently the police had neglected to check there, assuming he had made some kind of break for it. After Dustin Sanford tragically lost his life in the Overstreet Riots, our town has been lawyer-less, although up to this point all matters of dispute have been settled by trials by combat so it hasn’t really been an issue. All that is about to change since Donald has outright refused to fight reigning champion Sharon Overstreet, opting instead for a old fashion or “talk-’em-out” trial.

Donald will be represented by his friend, local pastor Creedence Clearwater, whereas the people are bringing in Crumdon’s biggest hotshot lawyer, Michael Davenport. At this time Donald has been released on bail and the trial is expected to begin as soon as he passes his Voight-Kampff Test, proving his isn’t an android replica of the actual defendant, as per Beavertail Law. Stay tuned to The Beavertail Bugle for more on the story as it develops…by which we mean please keep subscribing to this paper. We really need to keep the newspaper industry alive in this town. Newspapers serve a lot of functions you know. Now that you are done reading this article, you could wrap a birthday present in this paper! Or line your bird cage! Maybe make a hat? Please. We need your business.

Featuring Matthew Schott, Rebecca Bassell, and Eric Austin,
with Trevor Scott

Created by Matthew Schott
Edited by Trevor Scott
Theme Music by Chris Callahan

Produced by Julia Katz, Chelsea Rugg, and Andrew Terrance Kaberline

For more from Eric Austin, check out his short form improv team, Rufus Khan!

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The body was discovered last night at 2am by local high school students Bobby Burt and Ashley Apples who were having a late night bible study in the woods. The two innocent teens stumbled onto the body which they described as “totally gross” and “not cool” before adding “ew.” According to the Beavertail PD, the time of death seemed to be sometime between two days ago and possibly two years ago. They did inform us that the former is much more likely but that its too early in the case to rule out anything. Mr Sinnoh was wearing the same disheveled suit he was last seen wearing and police say it appeared as though he had had an intense argument with someone very recently. He had on his person, $12,000 in unmarked bills, a copy of a bizarrely erotic manuscript written by his brother-in-law and a waffle from the Denny’s shoved into his pocket (although those close to the victim have informed us that this was not out of character for him). The police have determined the cause of death to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 stab-wounds to his lower torso, arms, legs and chest or the poison that seemed to be in his system based on the purple-ish hue of his face… The prevailing theory at the BTPD is that this was a suicide in which he stabbed himself 20 times with various tiny knives before succumbing to his wounds and possibly a poisoned waffle, however they aren’t ruling out some form of foul play. If you have any information on anyone who may have had a quarrel with Mr. Sinnoh, access for 20 small knives or means with which to poison a waffle, please contact the BTPD as soon as possible!

Featuring Matthew Schott, Becky Granger, and Dylan James Amick,
with Isaac Allen Miller

Created by Matthew Schott
Edited by Trevor Scott
Theme Music by Chris Callahan

Produced by Julia Katz, Chelsea Rugg, and Andrew Terrance Kaberline

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My name is Patty Audino. I am writing to you on behalf of the Beavertail Public Library to ask you to please return the following books:

1.  Investing in Incesting: The Do’s and Don’ts of Sibling Seduction – Ted Trubbish
2.  Email Management: How to Prevent Embarrassing Emails from Leaking Online – Jessica Cofagrigus
3.  The Ultimate Guide to Kidnapping! – Arthur Sawk
4.  The Prima Strategy Guide: Yoshi’s Story – The Prima Strategy Guide Team
5.  Tie Knots Like a Pro! – Frank Knotmeyer
6.  How to REALLY Tie Knots Like a Pro! – Phil Knotmeyer
7.  Real Mature, Phil, just copy my entire book series – Frank Knotmeyer
8.  Ok, just because we are brothers and both happen to write books about knots, all of a sudden I’m “copying you” – Phil Knotmeyer
9.  You are so immature, Phil. This is why Mom liked me better – Frank Knotmeyer
10.  Twisted Up in Knots: The Murder of Frank Knotmeyer – Sandy Vanilish

You have thus far accumulated a fine of $11.54. This total will continue to accumulate until you have returned all 10 books or written a note of apology.

Thank you and I hope to receive your books and/or letter soon.

-Patty

P.S. Please pick up your friend as soon as possible. The Pastor has been sitting in the children’s section in a fort he constructed from books. He’s been yelling about Mountain Dew, refrigerators, and homeless men for at least three hours now. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but it’s really disrupted Story Time.

On a totally unrelated note, does anyone know how to keep your phone from uploading voicemails into a podcast stream? My friend is having trouble with his phone. Follow-up question, what if my friend’s phone already uploaded the voicemail? Is there a way to delete it from the stream so that no one would find out it was ever accidentally uploaded in the first place? Please get back to me ASAP if you have these answers as my friend needs help with this ASAP!!!!

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Pastor,

My name is Marshall Eagleman, I work at Morris-Marker Book Publishers. Recently I received an unsolicited manuscript from an author using the nom de plume: “Don, the Man You should Marry” whom I believe to be an associate of yours, one Donald Falcon. The manuscript, titled “Insist on Love, or How I learned to love the one I am SUPPOSED to love” is nigh indecipherable. Although it started off normally enough with a somewhat farcical tale of a hard-nosed detective saving a woman in distress, it quickly turned into a stream of consciousness with Joycean levels of complexity.

As we all know, this tradition started last year after we got numerous complaints about the stack of Amazon.com boxes that the pastor had been using after his previous podium was ruined in that magic show incident. This special audio preview will give you a sneak peek at all of the exciting products you can expect to find on sale at this year’s sale! Come on down to the Church this Sunday at 3am* and check it out!

*Unfortunately that is not a typo, since the Church was built on what the town bylaws technically classify as “sacred land”, no yard sales may be held between the hours of 4am and 2am on the premises as per the Articles of Beavertail Confederacy paragraph 12 section 19

The theme this year is “Ballistic!” Be sure to dress up as your favorite characters from the hit film, Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever. There will be a costume contest with the first place winner getting a VHS copy of the film! See you all there!!

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Pastor Clearwater has a treat in store for you all today!

Reverend Bernard Kaber-Shaw has come all the way from Crumdun with his collection of hundreds of poisonous snakes.

He’ll discuss the cross section of faith and deadly venom. Strap in because its going to be a long talk that will probably cover every topic imaginable!! Bring a tissue because I’m sure it’ll get pretty emotional.

Help us fund our new play, Ph<F>reaking

Go to our Indiegogo and Donate!

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In this audio special, we will hear how the show has developed over the process. We will also sit down with Dylan James Amick, as he answers some questions about why we are so enamored with this show and its subject matter. Finally, we will also hear a trailer for the show.

OH… AND IF YOU FEEL INCLINED,
PLEASE DONATE TOWARDS MAKING <PH><F>REAKING A REALITY.
IF EVERYONE WHO READ OUR BLOG IN A MONTH GAVE A SINGLE DOLLAR, WE’D MAKE OUR GOAL! IT MEANS SO MUCH AS FRIENDS, COLLABORATORS, AND ARTISTS THAT PEOPLE KEEP COMING BACK.

I know that you need help with your podcast but frankly I don’t care. All you did this week was sit around and talk to some people from that old folks home on Birch Street anyway, no one is going to care. More importantly, I think I really messed up. You told me that women respond really well to big romantic gestures so I went over to my sister’s house with some flowers. Turns out they were having a big party celebrating the release of her husband’s fourth best selling novel. I should probably let you know I was a little drunk when I went over there. Anyway, long story short I got into a bit of a shouting match with “Todd” (Seriously, what kind of name is Todd??”) over which one of us could write a better novel so I ended up stealing his electric type-writer and locking myself in their bathroom. Well, you know how nervous I get when I need to get something done and how helpful baths can be for my nerves.

Anyway, once they put out the fire my sister told me she NEVER wanted to see me again that she was moving! WHAT DO I DO!? Should I finish the book I started in their bathroom?? It was pretty good? I could send you some excerpts maybe??? Maybe I should buy her more flowers? Get a card this time?? I really really need your advice here, Pastor. No one knows women better than you!

Please let me know soon! I don’t even care if this ends up being a description for one of your episodes, just help me!

PLEASE ADVISE SOON!!!!!

-Don

Dum Dum Dum Dum! Dum Dum Dum Dum! You know what that means (assuming you’ve read that in the correct rhythm) wedding season is JUST around the corner! NOTHING is more stressful than planning a wedding but never fear because Pastor Clearwater is here to help! With this pre-recorded wedding you can turn any wedding into a GREAT wedding (as opposed to a non-Revival Church sanctioned wedding which only has the potential to be a good wedding and may or may not lead you and your future spouse to whatever your religion’s bad afterlife is).

PLEASE DO NOT SHOW THIS EMAIL TO ANYONE!!! Now that thats out of the way, for your next episode’s description just write something about how you had on that crazy woman from the PTA and her idiot lawyer and you talked about blah blah blah I don’t care.

More importantly, you posted my last email as the description for your last podcast. MY SISTER SAW THAT EMAIL PASTOR!!! I need you to explain to her that you were just kidding and that I didn’t write that email and that I don’t really have feelings for her. Once you’ve done that and this whole thing has settled down for a while I think I’ll finally get my chance. I bought the ring and…and I’m finally ready to settle down. I love her, Pastor. Now, granted we hadn’t spoken in about 10 years and this whole incident didn’t exactly help my relationship with her (or with my brother-in-law) but you can still make this good! Please, Pastor! Do the right thing. I can sill make this work!

Oh and I’ll be over later with my Robotech VHS tapes, but you gotta have the popcorn this time! I can’t buy it every time!

Best,
Don

P.S. Obviously this goes without saying but DO NOT POST THIS EMAIL!!! I MEAN IT PASTOR!!

Featuring Matthew Schott, Caroline Drew, and Ryan Barker

Created by Matthew Schott
Edited by Trevor Scott
Theme Music by Chris Callahan

Produced by Julia Katz, Chelsea Rugg, and Andrew Terrance Kaberline

Okay, whatever.

So you’re gonna start your own brand new podcast, huh tough guy…well what’s it gonna be about? Who’s story will we be following? What kind of talent do you need for your show; actors to read scripts or guest to interview? How long does it take to produce one of your episodes with your team? How frequently will you release episodes? Where will you release episodes?

So maybe you don’t have all the answers after all, up tough guy?

Tip #1

THAT’S OKAY! These are some broad strokes that you do need to consider before you can really bring your product to market, but really they are nothing more than that; things to consider.

When Andrew and Chelsea brought the idea of expanding the work of CPT into this audio median, it was a foreign concept to a lot of us. Serial had just exploded, but a lot of us couldn’t tell you why, just that we liked it. Even our resident ‘experts’ were more podcast fans than anything else; we had no idea how much work it would be! But we did the research and the work together. We grew as personal artist by trial and error and we helped each other grow by pooling our collective knowledge together.

Tip #2

Don’t go it alone, you have to have a solid team. Podcast are a lot of work, a solid team not only helps divide the number of tasks at hand, but also helps keep you sane while you do it.

Already know what it’s going to be about more or less? Then things are looking up for you! You have your idea, now how are you going to share this story with the world?

Tip #3

Write a script, and keep an eye on the time. This took us forever to learn. You might say, “but our show is just our buddies shooting the shit, or talking about comic books.” Still, write a script. Even if it’s just for the transitions, top of show, and so forth. There is nothing that slows down a show more than the hosts sounding like they don’t know what’s next. Have fact sheets with you, we don’t want to wait for you to look something up. Time out your segments, know what the ideal length of the show is. Your podcast shouldn’t be over an hour just because you don’t want to edit anything out.

Those are the broad strokes. Find out what your show is about, surround yourself with supportive people who want to do the work, and write the script! Sounds easy right? Only to say; doing the work is tough, and if you aren’t willing to do it, it will not happen.

Here are some style-specific tips from the people who have helped us do the work on our podcasts.

Radio Plays Are Radio Work
with Dylan James Amick

When we started recording for The Grayscale, around this time last year, we had already been working on the series for over two months; multiple scripts, each with multiple drafts had been written, we had had several meetings about both the content and tone of the show, as well as endless email chains recommending movies, TV shows, and other podcast that we wouldn’t to emulate in our execution. After that we had meetings about casting; who did we know, who could play these parts, who did we want to try and work with? Then we had to find more writers for more episodes, and as we read episodes we had to make sure the parts we were writing were ones that could be played. There was  great deal of moving parts, and they all had to move as one; towards the same unified vision we had spent hours talking about.

I think Radio Plays are an incredible exciting use of the medium, but if I had to stress one thing it would be this: You cannot make it work in the moment, or in editing, it is truly all about the preparation. From initial concept to episode release, I would say that each episode of The Grayscale takes about four months to produce. Since we want to release more then three episodes a year, that means we are constantly working on multiple episodes all of which are existing in various levels of completion. As we start are second season we are trying to streamline the process by collecting scripts earlier, recording multiple episodes at a time, but that is only possible if all collaborators are on the same page. And how do you accomplish that? Through prep work and solid communication. We just started the second season, and without giving anything away, I can tell you that we are already having meetings and setting things up for season three in February 2017.

If you want to create a polished, enjoyable piece of radio theatre, than do not rush it, do not just wing it, expect things to fall into place. Do the work, the whole time, not just the one part you are excited about. The whole team has to be in, and they have to be in all the way.

A Little Word About Doing Audio-Only Improv
With Matthew Schott

I’m not gonna claim to be any kind of a master of radio-improv, but in my explorations over the past couple of years I’ve learned a thing or two.

The first and most important thing I picked on was to make sure my first forays into the medium were with people I trusted. Improv can be intimidating under any circumstances and when you don’t have any kind of physicality to fall back on it can be all the more so. When I first sat down to record the very first CCRH, I made sure to surround myself with friends and improvisers I trusted implicitly. None of us were totally sure what to expect but we started up and jumped right in head first? The result? Well, it was terrible and will never be released to the public. But you know what? We had a great time and I learned a lot of dos and donts for moving forward.

I wouldn’t record the actual first episode for another couple years but when I did, it was significantly better because I had that terrible first episode to look back on. So while I could sit here and tell you each and every little thing I learned, I think the best advice I could give someone looking to do it for themselves is to just go for it. Have fun. And if it sucks, no one ever has to know! 

Gathering Other People’s Stories
With Andrew Terrance Kaberline

It’s sometimes scary to rely on other people’s stories to make up your content, but audio from perspectives different than your own are usually radio gold. I think Sunday Night Supper is the hardest show to create (but i’m biased) because it requires so much shaping of different audio sources to turn it into one cohesive idea. 

If you are going to do a show that uses personal storytelling, then you have to be very patient. Some stories take longer to report on than others, so don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Contact multiple leads simultaneously and go with whatever is most available. Not all stories are going to be knock outs. It can be tempting to use any story you get, but you have to set a bar for your quality and stick to it. It will hurt, but you will have to throw away stories that you’ve sometimes put a lot of hours into already.

Don’t just look for stories in the area around you. Reach out to someone interesting, even if you don’t know them that well or maybe you haven’t talked to them in a while. People naturally like to tell their stories. If you give them a platform, they will take it. If you want to interview people remotely, you can record a phone call, but it will sound like a phone call. Instead, do a Skype call with your headphones plugged into the computer while both parties record their own audio on their cell phone. Then take the two files, sync them up from a common starting point (like a countdown or a clap) then you’ve got a clear interview that sounds like you were both in the same room. The difference is evident in the Skidmore segment of episode 20 vs. the Zaida segment of episode 22.

Look for those who want to plug projects, they will absolutely appear on your show! Look for one-man show performers, bloggers, actors, stand ups, charity organizers, basically anyone who has a project that involves talking and storytelling to begin with.

People can be sensitive with the information that they want to share, and you must respect that. Keep them in the loop while you edit their stories. You don’t want the first time your subject hears how they were represented to be after the episode drops.

Lessons In Being Topical
With Julia Katz

I have to let you in on a secret. I love reading, but I barely get a chance to read books anymore. Instead, I’ve become a news junkie. I think it’s because I was born for this, as the child of journalists who ended up often working as a freelance writer as a day job to support my life as an artist so far. So, as a news-enthusiast and resident know-it-all, I have a few tips for anyone who’s making a current events podcast.

Unless you already are a reporter, don’t try to be one. Being a journalist is a job that takes a high degree of technical skill. And it’s rare that podcasts work in a straight-news format – this is much better suited to written articles or television reporting. Instead, embrace your “spin” on a given issue that’s already been reported. Listen to what you’re hearing about an issue, investigate it from all sides, and then give your take. Many of your listeners won’t have done the depth of research you have on the issue and you’re providing them with perspective.

Understand the difference between “soft” reporting and “hard” reporting. Some people call these “human interest” stories. Arguably the greatest podcast of all time is This American Life, and they have mastered this approach. Instead of spending their time trying to “break” a story – and again, as an average person or non-journo it is very unlikely that you will be the first person to do so, because you just don’t have the resources to compete – take a depth approach and find a personal way to connect into the news. When Planned Parenthood became a rallying cry in politics this fall, I didn’t try to really go into the funding issue at all. What I did do was gather stories of people I knew who had been affected by Planned Parenthood. It’s the best way to embrace the podcast format and the power of storytelling. People are interesting. Find out how.

Read everything, and be prepared for the response. I hate echo chambers. Social media has made it worse. I see a lot of people relying on flawed news sources that support their point of view. It’s nauseating and it’s not nuanced. I think we can all agree that the political views of our Facebook friends can be cringe-worthy. I try to read conservative blogs. I try to read liberal forums. I try to read the comment sections on news articles and even YouTube videos, in which the most outlandish people come out of the woodwork. I don’t want to just have the opinion everyone expects of me, and this way, I know what’s coming when I hear opposition to my own view. When we decided to do a story concerning #gamergate, I knew how that community thought and responded because I personally read the forums that the movement posts in. So when a stranger posted a thread about the podcast, it didn’t bother me and I knew how to respond.

Embrace your ignorance and come out swinging. Some of my episodes, I have worked really hard on and they came out way worse than I expected. Some stuff that was easy for me generated a nice response. Try stuff and see what sticks. Everyone has bad episodes. Do a lot of episodes (we did over 50 in the first year here at CPT…), experiment, and let it all hang out.

Toys and Doodads
With the CPT Broadcasting Team

To produce a good podcast you need an audio source, a mixer, and editing software.

You can do this cheaply or for lots of cash. It depends on what the needs of your show are. If it’s just going to be you talking, or maybe two people talking who don’t mind being close to each other, you can do it all for under $50.

For the cheap people, get a usb microphone that talks directly to your computer. This way, you don’t have to get a mixer, because your editing software (Audacity is free across all platforms, and garageband is free for Mac people) will mix for you. Maybe you want to record people in the field too. You don’t need to get a microphone for this, just use the one in your smartphone.

You’re saying “I’m not cheap. I want to do a multitude of shows, just like you guys!” Great, then let’s go through what we use, and why.

Audio Source

The audio you hear on The Grayscale, Sunday Night Supper, and most episodes of CCRH and SJW comes from MXL small-diaphragm condenser microphones. I’m not going to get into the difference between small and large diaphragm and condenser and dynamic, but what I will say is that the mics we use have provided professional sounding vocals for all of our needs from narration to acting, and with very little issue. We have four of them, but just one or two is enough. For on-the-go interviews and recording when we travel, we use the mics in our phones, with a small attachment like the iRig Mic Cast, that adds a little more control. We have also used a Blue USB Snowball mic in a pinch, but it does have a clear difference in sound quality (see the first episode of CCRH to compare the MXL in the opening to the snowball in the interview portion of the show) and requires more prep to the recording room for ideal audio quality.

Mixer

We have two mixers, both from Tascam, the 2×2 and the 4×4. The numbers correspond to the inputs and outputs available. Podcasts don’t deal with the outputs all that much, so what the input number tells us is the exact number of microphones you can record with. The bad part about a mixer is that they usually won’t work with USB mics and you must make sure to do your research beforehand to ensure that they will talk to your computer and operating system. The positives about a mixer are amazing. They allow you to monitor your levels as you are recording, and to  adjust the levels of volume for the microphones in real time. The mixer also has less issues with static/metallic sounding audio than a usb mic going directly into the computer. If you can afford it, the mixer and microphone with a cable are the way to go.

Editing Software

We mainly use Audacity. It is a free open source editing software that is updated constantly, has a number of features, and has a billion youtube tutorials for anything you don’t know how to do. The members of CPT are split on Audacity. Andrew and Julia love it for their story/journalism shows. Matt finds that on his non-mac, Audacity crashes a lot. Chelsea knows that for the effects and more complicated editing that a radio drama like Grayscale requires, Audacity doesn’t cut it. If you want to level up, you can shell out some money for Logic or Pro Tools. You can also use Garageband, which is just fine for the basics. If you are doing layered effects, you can mix and match software, example, for many of the effects on Grayscale, Chelsea will edit the dialogue in Audacity but create the sound in the film editing software Final Cut.

Other Gadgets

XLR cables. Can’t have enough of them. Headphones. Get a few good pairs, some for editing purposes, and others for your guests/actors to use while recording so they can hear themselves. Speaking of, you can get a headphone amplifier for pretty cheap that plugs into your mixer, and allows everyone to monitor the levels at the same time. We have found that for radio dramas or just recording narration, that we sound better when we’re standing up rather than sitting down, so mic stands and music stands are great for accomplishing this and also for getting rid of any sounds that come from fumbling around holding scripts.

About 3000 words into this guide, it’s evident that there is A LOT to think about when deciding to make a podcast. Do we have all the answers? Absolutely not! You’ve still got to think about marketing, hosting, scheduling, logos, music!

It’s daunting. Don’t let that stop you. The most rewarding part of making podcasts is getting better at them as you go along. The advice we would give you a year from now would be much different that what we are giving you now. It’s a learning process. One that builds real, marketable skills.

It’s a noble endeavor. Now go out and make it count.

WANT MORE FROM CRITICAL POINT THEATRE? OF COURSE YOU DO.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCASTS ON ITUNES.
VISIT OUR WEBSITE.
DONATE TO OUR WORK.

In the first of these shorts, Pastor Clearwater answers a touching letter from a young boy seeking guidance. Take a listen and maybe you too will find yourself inspired while you drive.

***Although as a legal note, no matter how compelled you may feel to “let Jesus take the wheel”, The Revival Church issues this stern reminder that Jesus was alive in a time WITHOUT CARS and thus does not know how to operate one. Any damages to persons and or property due to Jesus’ negligence while driving are not the fault of Pastor Clearwater or The Revival Church***

WANT MORE FROM CRITICAL POINT THEATRE? OF COURSE YOU DO.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCASTS ON ITUNES. 
VISIT OUR WEBSITE. 
DONATE TO OUR WORK

Pastor,

I got your email about your podcast. I think thats great that you want to do one! I’d be more than happy to help you come up with a name for your first episode. Why not, “Meet Pastor Clearwater!” or “Police, Chiropractor, Dog-Walker” In terms of a description for the episode, thats pretty simple. Just copy and paste this:

“Pastor Creedence Clearwater of the Revival Church debuts his podcast investigating the small town of Beavertail, Nebraska. His guests include homicide detective Jim Silvers, chiropractor and affluent man Ryan Parsons, and dog-walker Norman Whittler. They discuss numbers, scary music, and try to get to the bottom of the cold case of missing person Deborah Forrest!”

That should serve pretty well as a description on iTunes. As for your previous Email, I don’t think I have the capacity, nor do I think its ethical to edit John Grisham‘s voice to have him promoting your podcast. I don’t even think it would boost numbers that much as I don’t think many people know what he sounds like. Let me know if you have any other Podcasting/Sound Editing questions.

Best,
Don

Subscribe to CCRH on iTunes

Featuring Matthew Schott, Trevor Scott, Will Jennings, and Alex Garretson

Created by Matthew Schott
Edited by Trevor Scott
Theme Music by Chris Callahan

Produced by Julia Katz, Chelsea Rugg, and Andrew Terrance Kaberline

WANT MORE FROM CRITICAL POINT THEATRE? OF COURSE YOU DO.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCASTS ON ITUNES. 
VISIT OUR WEBSITE. 
DONATE TO OUR WORK

Hello people of Beavertail,

Pastor Creedence Clearwater, from the Revival Church is launching a brand new podcast. He sent me over an ad to play in order to “get people more excited than that time the Hostess truck accidentally delivered two extra boxes of snowballs to the gas station”

The files he sent were…difficult to manage to say the least, but i’m pretty sure I got the audio file he wanted to have played as an advertisement.

Please join us this Sunday for the official launch of the Creedence Clearwater Revival Hour. Pastor Clearwater will be holding a special fundraising event in honor of the launch, at his church from 9AM to 9:45AM.

It’ll be held in the Church Parking lot, as Pastor Clearwater is still awaiting the new set of church keys to come back from the hardware store. If you’d like to stop on by, he’ll be playing the podcast from his car speakers and serving grilled cheese sandwiches. Please BYOB (bring your own bread).

Any and all donations will be accepted and are encouraged.

Thanks and enjoy the podcast!

-Don, The Sound Engineer

You can listen to the audio version of the address, or you can read it in text form

Andrew addresses why we do podcasts (1:15), what we learned from year one (2:20), and what we are going to bring you this year (4:25)

THE STATE OF THE PODCASTS ADDRESS:

Hello podcast listeners all around the world! This is Andrew Terrance Kaberline, Critical Point Theatre ensemble member, and CPT Broadcasting Podcast Head Honcho. Thank you, as always, for listening in.

February 14th is coming up, and you know what that means? Well, yes, Valentine’s Day, but it also marks one year of CPT Broadcasting. It’s our one year anniversary, what did you get us?

Just joking. Having you listen is a gift enough. We did get something for you though, and that’s four new episodes of our podcasts dropping simultaneously. We do it because we love you, and  because we love podcasts too.

February 14th, we will have new episodes of our podcasts,
including the award-winning anthology series, The Grayscale, Sunday Night Supper, SJW, and a new show we are very excited about, The Creedence Clearwater Revival Hour.

Why Podcasts?

At Critical Point, we want to create art that pushes beyond the boundaries of storytelling, and crosses media as if we’re passing through states of matter. We want the podcasts to inform our theatrical shows, and vice versa. This year it is a goal to connect the social identities of our various projects to help you, our listeners and viewers, to experience and enjoy our work on a larger level.

What does that mean? That means you will see crossovers and tie-ins, aiming at a larger Critical Point Universe. We want the story to go beyond the stage, the recording booth, the page. We want it to continue into your homes. A great example of this work is our twitter fiction story that debuted last week revolving around The Grayscale character, the Voice Inside Your Head. We told a story about his work life using Twitter as our stage, and the story will continue sonically on The Grayscale Podcast. This is just a taste of the kind of expansion we hope to bring you.

What Did We Learn In Year One?

We learned what worked and what didn’t work. We decided to go all-in on a medium that we had no experience working in, and we learned how to adapt. The proof is in the pudding. If you don’t believe me, just go listen to our first few podcasts last year compared to our season finales. We became better mechanics, technically improving the listening experience and recording efficiency. We became better painters, gaining confidence in how to best tell a story through sound. And in a way, we became better Morticians, since some of our podcasts didn’t make it to year two.

This Is_ was the first to officially be cancelled. The show was ambitious in idea and scope, and with limitations of time, resources, and quite frankly, our understanding of how to go about doing a show like that, we were not able to reach the quality we had hoped.

Something Old, Something New has been put on hiatus. This is not a decision based on the effort of Matthew Schott, who was a wonderful showrunner. Matt did a fantastic job at tweaking the format of the show throughout its run, and the quality improved. While SOSN will be on hiatus, there is still the possibility to have special episodes released on the CPT feed throughout the year, such as Matt’s recent “year-end review” Tuesday Thoughts.

Here’s The Word has also been put on hiatus. We love poetry and we love the contributions of Matthew Kaberline. This decision is more of a result of busy work schedules and a type of show that doesn’t fit directly into the mission of Critical Point. There are talks of continuing HTW independent of CPT, and once more information is known, we will share it with you.

What We Have In Store This Year

Lots of new and original stories, all starting on February 14th. Last year, we learned how to make audio stories, this year we want to learn how to make them better.

Before, our aim was to just release as much content as possible. We are still going to release a lot of content this year, but there will be a finer focus on the quality of each episode we release.

We have four shows currently in production, and each will have their own iTunes RSS feed. We will also continue to have the overall Critical Point Theatre iTunes feed. This will include all episodes of each of our podcasts, as well as special podcast updates not under any particular show banner. I will continue to be your Head Honcho, and Chelsea Rugg will continue as Podcast Production Manager.

The Grayscale enters season 2. This season, the choice is ours, as The Voice Inside Your Head continues to investigate human behavior through an unusual lens. This season will include ten episodes, released on the first of each month. While we will bring back many of the writers and actors who made season one so special, we will continue to strive to bring at least one new voice each episode. Dylan James Amick will continue as showrunner.

Social Justice Warrior will continue where it left off in 2015, and explore culture gone viral when it comes to feminism and activism. The format of the show will continue to evolve, combining interviews, reporting, and editorial-like commentary. The show will continue with a new episode each month. Julia Katz will continue as showrunner.

Sunday Night Supper will be back, shedding the restraint of any “season” labeling, and will continue moving forward. New storytellers will be heard, new topics explored, and new formats will exist. There will be a combination of personal stories, narrative stories, and even some montages. SNS will air episodes every other Sunday. There will be roughly 20 new episodes this year, and some re-broadcasts of old episodes, with updates and new content included. I will continue as showrunner.

Creedence Clearwater Revival Hour is our newest addition. A
n improv-based look at the fictional town of Beavertail, Nebraska, and its kooky inhabitants, led by the always desperate Pastor Creedence Clearwater of the Revival Church, no relation to the band. Fans of shows like Comedy Bang Bang, Parks and Rec, or Welcome To Nightvale, will enjoy the humor and world-building, as every detail spoken about the town becomes canon. There will be a full episode on the first Monday of each month, and a mini-sode on the third Monday. Matthew Schott will act as showrunner.

That’s what we have in store for you all this year. Thank you for listening, and please remember to subscribe to the shows on iTunes, and tune in on February 14th to make it a happy Valentine’s Day for all!

Goodnight!