One of the hottest pass-times among geeks who watch too many movies and TV shows is doing a podcast about their favorite series. Star Trek is one of the broadest and most fleshed-out series in all of sci-fi. So it is a target-rich environment for enthusiast blogs, podcasts, and more. To a lesser degree, you can find Podcasts for Star Wars, Harry Potter, Supernatural, and Stargate. There will never be an end to the things that can be said about these properties. And there will never be an end to the people who are willing to say them.
It is also true that there will never be an end to the people who want to hear the ramblings, insights, and commentary from other superfans. If anything, the audience is growing. In part, this is because of the proliferation of streaming services that are keeping these catalog titles alive and digitally enhanced for new generations of viewers. It has never been easier to pick up a mic and put out a show that has the potential for an instant and fully engaged audience. Besides the obvious tech necessary to do any podcasts, these are the secondary apps that are absolutely vital to make this kind of podcast work:
A Great Notes App
When searching for one of the most used and beloved apps on the market, start that search at https://evernote.com/features/notes-app. Whether you go for the free version or opt for one of the subscription tiers, you will have access to an app that runs on smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers. This is vitally important because you never know what you will have on hand at the time you are watching through an episode for the fourth time. And when you are putting your scripted pieces together, you need the confidence that all your notes are synced across all of your devices.
Notes could be in the form of typed or handwritten text, audio clips, screenshots, and just about any other way you can get information onto a computer. The key is to be able to get that observation saved at the moment you have it. You will not be able to describe that alien that appeared on-screen for less than a second if you didn’t save a screenshot at the time. It is absolutely vital you use a note-taking app that keeps you in the moment so that you can save the moment and use it in your podcast.
A Chat App
You are going to need a chat app with advanced functionality. Of course, this supposes that you are doing a podcast with a partner. Those tend to be the best kind. True, you can go solo and talk about your favorite shows all by yourself. But listeners like to feel like a part of a community of people who are talking about the same thing. When you are having a lively conversation with one or two other people, it sounds like a conversation with many voices. A solitary voice just emphasizes the solitary nature of listening to a nerdy podcast alone. Let your listeners be a part of a broader conversation by having a broader conversation. You can even let your listeners in on the chat actions so that they can share their thoughts. Making your podcast interactive is the secret sauce.
Archival App
How much storage do you have available on your computer right now? When you start doing podcasts, say goodbye to all of it. Even if you don’t do a video podcast, professional audio has the same archival challenges as managing video content. Audio files that are not compressed are huge. You have to be able to compress them to within an inch of their lives and still preserve quality. If you want to keep all of your work, you have to have both the hardware and software to preserve several seasons of content.
Entertainment series podcasts are some of the most interesting art forms freely available today. Get in on the game and be sure to grab a great note-taking app, an advanced chat app, and an archival app that lets you preserve those shows for years to come.