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Digital Media > Build Your Own Podcast on Mac or PC

What is
Podcasting?
Podcasting on a Mac Audio Enhanced Video
Podcasting on a PC Audio Enhanced Video
Add Your Podcast
to iTunes
Resources

Building an Enhanced Podcast

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In this tutorial, we will show you how to create an enhanced podcast (audio plus still images) using a
Mac computer and iLife ‘06. To learn more about the various podcasting software available, check out our Resources page.

Building an enhanced podcast is very similar to building an audio podcast. If you've already mastered audio podcasting, skip down to Adding Images.

Technology Requirements

(most items available for sale at UC Computer Store and possibly on loan from ITC -- call 974-9670 to
find out more)

A Mac with the latest version of Mac OS X and iTunes

Recording Equipment (laptop-embedded microphone, small desktop
microphone, etc.)

iLife ’06 (GarageBand, iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD, iWeb) - bundled with OS X

GarageBand

What is GarageBand? It's an audio editing program that allows you to record your voice, add sound effects and music, and import images or video to accompany your recordings. It's fairly comprehensive, and among the easiest-to-use software on the market. You'll use GarageBand to blend all of your podcasting elements and compress them into a web-ready format.

Exploring the Tracks
Open Garageband and explore the interface. Select New Podcast Episode. When prompted, type in a project name and click "Create". When the project opens, you will see five tracks: Podcast Track, Male Voice, Female Voice, Jingles, and Radio Sounds. The Podcast Track holds images and other media. The voice tracks are designed to optimize pitch and other vocal characteristics. Jingles provides opening, closing, and transitional music for your podcast, and Radio Sounds offers traditional audio fare such as creaking doors or ambient crowd noises.
Watch a Video Demonstration

Recording the Audio

Prepare your recording device. If you're using an external microphone, plug it in. Check your computer’s audio settings by going to System Preferences > Sound > Input. Set the Garageband settings by going to Garageband > Preferences. Choose Audio/MIDI and select the name of your microphone. Select the track you wish to record to ("Female Voice," for instance) and click the track's red record button to enable recording for that track.
Female Voice Track. Record Button.

If necessary, drag the Playhead (the vertical red line) to the beginning of the timeline (remember that the location of the Playhead indicates where the new microphone audio will be inserted). Click the main Record button and begin speaking. When you’re done, click the Record button again to stop recording. Drag the Playhead back to the beginning and click Play to listen. Bravo!
Watch a Video Demonstration

Editing Clips

Click and drag the beginning or end of a clip to change its length. drag voice clip

Click and drag in the center to move the entire clip. To delete, select a clip and press Delete on your keyboard.

Adding Music and Sound Effects

Add a jingle. Click the Loop Browser icon directly below the track names.

When the menu appears below, select Jingles.
select jingle

Choose a style...
choose "Cinematic" style

...then drag a specific jingle up to the Jingles track and drop it into the timeline.
drag "News" jingle

Voila! Drag and edit it in the same way you edited the voice tracks.

To add sounds, select Sound Effects in the same menu. Choose a style and specific sound, then drag it up to the timeline.

Mixing the Tracks

Set the Ducking

You may want to reduce the volume of jingles or sound effects when voice tracks are playing. To do this automatically, look for the tiny arrows at the right edge of the Mixer column. Give the voice tracks a dominant setting by selecting the Up arrow (orange). Give all other tracks a non-dominant setting by selecting the Down arrow (blue). This is called Ducking.

Track Info Icon

To adjust Ducking settings, select a layer and click the Track Info icon on the right. Select Master Track, then click the Details arrow. Find Ducking Amount at the bottom of the list. Drag the slider to increase or decrease the degree to which non-dominant tracks will audibly drop below the others.

Adding Images

If you haven't already, take a moment to place your photos into the iPhoto library by connecting your camera or portable storage device to the computer, opening iPhoto, and clicking Import. When your images appear in the iPhoto Library, they will also appear in GarageBand (Trouble with images? ITC can edit and prepare photos for you).

When you are ready to add images to your podcast, click the Media Browser icon (in the bottom right corner).

Select Photos.
Photos

Navigate through your iPhoto Library. When you find an image you like, drag and drop it into the Podcast Track.
Drag to podcast track

If you want a particular image to act as a bookmark in your Enhanced Podcast, click the Track Editor icon (bottom left) and look for a layer containing that image.
track editor

While you’re here, fill in other details for your images. In the Chapter Title column, next to the image, type the title you’ve chosen. If you’d like the image to display a link, scroll over to the URL column and type or paste in a url. Follow up by typing the name of the linked site in the URL Title column.
Chapter Title

Choose an image to represent your podcast when it is viewed online. Drag this image to the Episode Artwork area on the left.

Adding the Description

Remember that the podcasts you saw in iTunes had titles and descriptions. You’ll want to create these for your podcast as well.

With the Podcast Track selected, click the Track Info icon (next to the Media Browser icon).

Fill in Title, Artist, and Description.
Icons

Exporting the File

In the menu, choose Share > Send Podcast to iTunes. GarageBand will prepare and save the file, and iTunes will open. Find your file in iTunes by typing the title into the Search box on the upper right. Once you've found it, control-click or option-click the file and choose Show in Finder. While pressing the Option key, drag the file to the desktop. (iTunes has a dense internal file structure. Placing a copy of the file on the desktop will make life easier when you upload the file. After you've uploaded, you can delete this extra copy on the desktop.)

You’re almost done.

Posting to the Web

Now you’re ready to place your files online for public or student viewing. You have two main options:

Volcasting@UT
Visit Volcasting@UT. If you don't have an instructor account, choose Request Volcasting Course and follow the instructions. When you receive a confirmation email (within the next day or so), go to Upload your Podcast. You will be asked to enter information about the podcast. To attach the file, navigate to the file you placed on your desktop and select it. The file appears, with description and RSS feed, under View Courses.

Volcasting@UT can be viewed by the public. UT instructors and their students can upload to the site.

Blackboard (Online@UT)
Post your file to the web. You can upload it to Volcasting@UT, UT's Digital Media Services, or your own site or blog. When done, make a note of the URL.

Log in to Online@UT, choose your course, and navigate to a Content Area. In Edit View, click Add External Link. Give your file a short but descriptive name and add the URL. Under Text, add any necessary details.

Your podcast is online!

Posting Your Podcast in iTunes

Interested in adding your educational podcast to the iTunes directory? Visit our Add Your Podcast to iTunes page.

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