OTT & Transmedia : Quick intro of myself and a question by James Hoey

Hi! Yes, I had the idea to make a podcast in the form of an audio diary of a young man or girl who is investigating mystical events. At that time, I was busy unsuccessfully trying to break into the Russian film business. But now I don't have the strength and desire to do anything.

I've thought about writing podcast scripts and pitching them, James Hoey.

Hi Arthur Charpentier. I get it. You may not realize it, but what you are feeling and going through right now would make for a good podcast. A journal of sorts, shared with listeners. There are so many places where you can host your podcast for free, with minimal setup, and you can use your phone to record to start out with. There is the cathartic benefit of venting your frustrations out loud, but it can also connect you with others who are going through the very same thing. Podcasting can be a simple affair, or a full-on production, and all levels in between. Give it some thought. Reach out if you need direction to places you can get started. This could become a large positive for you.

Scripted podcasts are a terrific genre, Maurice Vaughan. Ours is unscripted, but we have thought of opening up another one or two podcasts that were scripted. We have even considered converting one of our scripts into a podcast format. Time, though, is the deciding factor.

Is you and your wife's podcast on Google Podcasts, James Hoey?

It was, Maurice Vaughan, but when we paused it we took down our old website, thus breaking the links. We are in the process of putting all of the files back on to our new website. The first step to restarting the podcast. You can find some episodes on YouTube (we converted a bunch to audio only video) at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXgkNX6SXyUSLMR792ob3AQ We were/are experimenting with the various formats and methods of presenting a podcast. Most episodes are there, with some in an experimental video teaser format.

Thanks, James Hoey. I subscribed to you and your wife's YouTube channel. I'll check out some episodes.

Hello, James Hoey! Thank you very much! I understand you, but I don't want to create another story about a midlife crisis. In addition, it is difficult for men to talk about their problems and failures. And I want to create a project that I can be proud of.

I will be very glad if you share your experience of creating podcasts. I think I want to tell a story about a crazy psychic who considers himself a demon and whom the police involve in solving crimes. But communicating with the ghost of a witch, as well as studying witchcraft, he really becomes possessed by a demon.

Hi Arthur Charpentier. First, absolutely love the story idea. I hope we'll hear more of it soon.

Back in 2019 we decided to form our production company to attach our scripts to it, and to start creating something. The podcast, Bravo for the B-side, was an easy thing to come up with. We love b-movies (horror in particular), and indie films. We wanted to watch movies then talk about what beginning writers, directors, actors, etc..., could learn from a particular film. Lighting. Story. Direction. Angles. Anything. So, did a little research on how to launch and maintain a podcast. Then, invested in some top gear. We started to cover movies, beat by beat, then talk about lessons. I learned to engineer the audio along the way. From our first episode to our last before taking a break you can hear a definite difference in sound quality.

Along the way I would reach out to the people involved with the films we watched. We interviewed a number of directors, actors, writers, and a novelist along the way. We made a lot of close connections and friendships doing that. One group featured our logo prominently in their latest film. A writer/director named his horror villain after the nickname I gave him during our review of the film (the killer did not have a name in the first film.) It expanded our horizons, made us some excellent friends, and got us in touch with some incredible people. We were asked by Alex Cox to have him on the show. He asked us, that blew our minds. Our podcast is comparatively small in terms of listeners, yet he came to us. Same with Barney Burman (Wild Boar), he reached out. Barney is an Oscar winner for SFX makeup for Star Trek Beyond.

Setting up the podcast was not hard, nor was recording it. Production as a whole though, that's where it became time consuming. Starting with Sunday: Sunday night we would record, about 2 hours. Monday, in the morning I would launch the previous weeks recording to over a dozen platforms, then at night I would start to edit and mix the recording done on Sunday evening. Tuesday night we watch the next film and take notes. Wednesday night more mixing, sending out emails to folks in the film from the recording. Thursday night the final mix and bounce it to the final recording (most of the time). Friday night, relax, answer any emails. Saturday, that was our day (usually DnD). Sunday wrap up the previous episode with description and links and whatever, create any graphics for the episode. Then we start over Sunday night with recording the film we watched Tuesday night.

We both work full-time jobs and have a daughter, so time was limited. A lot of hours were spent making the podcast as good as it could be, promoting it, experimenting with new mixing methods or tools to engineer a better quality sound. Does everyone need to do this? No. And most don't.

There are a lot of podcasts out there that are clearly recorded on a phone with little to no editing. Which, honestly, is just fine. Just like a film, you make what you want to make and the end product is what you want it to be. Mostly. Some want a high-level studio sound but do not have the money for it, so they have to settle for what they can create given their budget. Beyond those folks, most people just want to produce a podcast and share whatever it is they want to share. Some just do them live, no recording.

So, if you add it up, 2 hours for a movie, 2 hours recording. Then add 8-10 hours mixing. About 2-3 hours reaching out to folks, answering emails, checking stats and platforms (to make sure everything is working on XXXX podcast channel) and finally another 1-2 hours researching the next movie, creating any graphics, and other little scut work.

That's how we did it, and how we will be doing it once more. Though I can knock off about 3 hours of post production now with all I have learned. If we added a scripted show to the mix, well, that's another pile of hours if we do it all ourselves.

You probably did not expect this to get as long as it did. Sorry for that. I am more than happy to share more with you, talk equipment, hosting services, all of that jazz. Send me a message if you like, we'll dive into it. If folks here are interested in the granular stuff, speak up and I'll keep the flow out here in the forum.

Cheers,

Jim

Hey Maurice Vaughan I returned the favor from all 3 of our accounts.

Thanks, James Hoey. I don't post on my channel much. Sometimes I'll post pitch material for my scripts. I basically use my channel to watch short films and videos, but I appreciate you subscribing.

James Hoey, Thank you for the detailed story about the creation of the podcast. You put an incredible amount of work into what you love. It commands respect.

Thanks to you, I realized that there is a lot of work to do to create my podcast. However, in this I can find motivation for the implementation of some project.

Arthur Charpentier I hope you will share your progress. Always here to help or listen.