Podcast Remote Recording Templates
This guide would serve as an essential technical breakdown for the most common possibilities in a remote podcast recording setup.
Typical recording scenario variations
a) Host(s) and guest(s) have essential recording equipment.
b) Host(s) and guest(s) do not have essential recording equipment.
c) Either of both sides have essential recording equipment with the other not having.
General Equipment Requirements
1. Laptop/Computer with recording software
2. Audio Interface
3. Microphone (Condenser, Dynamic or USB)
4. Microphone Cables
5. Internet Connection
6. Closed-back Headphones.
7. Microphone stand
8. Microphone pop filter
9. Online recording/meeting platform (as applicable)
10. Mobile phone with voice recording application.
11. Earphones/Headsets (Bluetooth or wired) with an attached microphone.
Pre-Recording Checks & Procedure
Ensure the recording environment is as quiet as possible, free from distractions and background noise (Air
conditioning, refrigerators, neighbors, kids etc.)
Ensure room acoustics are as suitable for the recording as possible, avoid echoing rooms; in the case of a
room prone to echoes, place furniture, couches, and other soft absorbent material in recording area (recording in a
cloth closet helps this situation).
Setup the computer and the recording software as necessary (either from scratch or using a template)
Setup the audio interface and microphone, calibrate the input level either aurally, with a VU meter or visual
indicator.
Setup the microphone on a microphone stand, do not hold the microphone to avoid unnecessary vibrations,
wind y movements and cable connectivity issues.
Place the pop filter on the microphone and set the microphone at a comfortable speaking distance from the
mouth; however, ensure the microphone isn’t too close to avoid plosives and harsh frequencies or too far to avoid
picking up a lot of the room sound if it isn’t properly acoustically treated.
Put on the headphones and ensure they are well fitted on the head/ears to prevent bleed into the
microphone.
For situations where both parties do not have proper recording equipment and would be using the online
platforms, ensure the internet connection is strong and that the online platforms have also been adequately tested.
Recording Procedure
For case scenario (a), immediately both parties are setup and are on the call, they should both either say a
cue word, or clap so the synchronization of the audio clips would be seamless in the post-production phase and
proceed to have the conversation.
For case scenario (b), the party without the recording equipment would be recording into their mobile phone
and as such would need to put it on airplane mode so calls and notifications do not interrupt or disrupt the recording.
The said party continues the call/conversation over the virtual meeting platform while simultaneously recording their
voice into the voice recording application on the phone by means of earphones (Bluetooth or wired)
The synchronization cuing process should also be repeated here.
For case scenario (c), both parties would either be recording into their mobile phones as explained above
while having the virtual call on a computer or web platforms like Riverside.fm, Zencastr, Zoom or Cleanfeed can be
used to record the podcast over the internet after which the audio and/or video files are downloaded.
The various scenarios have their pros and cons but generally, scenario c is very inexpensive and requires minimal
equipment but is at the expense of the audio quality especially when done strictly over the internet.
Scenario a however can go from slightly expensive to very expensive depending on the type of equipment in use but if
done properly, delivers the highest quality of audio.
