We have been asked by quite a few people while we have been making these podcasts two questions…
- Why?
- How?
Well the first one we would need several years of agressive psychotherapy to answer, the second one is a little easier.
To start with I tend to create a temporary running order, based on some new ideas that I have had, and sometimes things that we dropped from the previous ‘cast. I do most of the writing, although james always writes the news, and the encyclopedia bits. We then send each other the bits and pieces that we have and re-examine the running order. We also try and bung a bit of banter in there if we can, which is unscripted, but james edits it into something usuable afterwards.We then record the bits and pieces, we use a bit of software called “Gizmo” , which is a free internet telephony thing. It is a bit like Skype, which you are more likely to have heard of, unfortunately Skype does not like anything fancier microphone wise than one that comes free in a Christmas cracker. For pictures of our respective studios, scroll down to the bottom of this page.
We record our own output at each end, using Cool Edit Pro 2. (This is now marketed as Adobe Audition, but is essentially the same) At this point things are subject to different outcomes, sometimes I will mix and edit my own bits. Although usually if it is only me in it, otherwise I send the raw WAV files to james and he works his editing magic. It has to be said that james turns my ideas and our voices into the podcast, never underestimate the difference that the right sound effect (SFX in jargon speak) or the correct ambience can have on a sketch. We then agree the final sound, as I am quite capable of editing it too, but he is better and quicker at it than me. In fact I did mix the first couple, and as you can see the later ones are better! 
James adds:
“I use CoolEdit Pro, some gravy and my fingers to edit together each individual word of the podcast into sentences. Musical accompaniment is provided through Logic Audio and a steady supply of the bobbly ones out of liquorice allsorts, which provide the ‘plippy’ sounds. When I think it’s all finished, I play the whole podcast to a captive audience of ants, and measure their disinterest using a very sensitive crapometer. Then I buff it up with an old pair of pants and send it on to Trev to upload, since he’s in charge of the internet.”
Then I upload it onto the web, and let it roam free across the world. It makes me so proud to see how far it has got. On “Salvage”, some bits were actually recorded face to face, and not several hundred miles apart, in a children’s TV kind of way see if you can tell which ones.
A page with all of our kit on it, should you be that way inclined.