How to Edit a Video Podcast

Anyone can be a podcaster; the only difference is how you edit and organize your content and the experience you leave behind in a listener's mind. An avid podcaster must master the art of editing, which revolve around three things;

• Finding the right moment to cut, add sound effects, and take breaks or the creativity side of podcasting.
• Physical, mental, and financial investment. What do you use for editing? Are they software? How many hours do you invest in editing a single episode?
• Number of camera angles such as a bird's eye view or low-angle

From the above aspects, editing a podcast is no easy feat. Just like jewelers, podcasters must invest a lot to produce evergreen, captivating and addictive videos, and audios. Without further ado, let us take you through a simplified process of editing podcasts.

Plan for Editing Even Before You Start Recording and Interviewing

Planning for editing helps you develop a framework that will direct you through the entire process. In fact, having a reliable editing plan simplifies your job from recording to posting.

In this stage, you will define things like:

How long do you want your podcast to be?

Here you will understand how much fat you need to shed off or add to your content.

As a beginner, aim for episodes that run for less than 30 minutes. Working with short episodes allows you to hammer down critical points in the narrative before the audience loses interest. Most importantly, you will save the time it takes to produce each episode.

What is the content of each episode?

As we have said, keeping your content as meaningful and understandable as possible is the ultimate way of delighting your audience. To achieve that, you must ask yourself, will this be meaningful to my audience? before adding anything to the episode.

Likewise, provide a clear and complete picture of your story by including all essential details.

Where are your audio and video files?

Podcasters often record and store files, especially interviews, in different devices or folders. Before you start editing, make sure all files are in a known location. Furthermore, if possible, arrange them according to the flow of the story.

Sound Design

Podcasters with unprecedented popularity have one secret; they know how to capture emotions through soundtracks and music effects. You, too, should learn from them.

Though selecting appropriate soundtracks is subjective, experience plays an essential role here.

Understand your audience and apply the following tips to develop memorable episodes.

Your intro should be perfect

A unique intro, whether a soothing jingle or anything that will push your audience over the edge like suspenseful music, leaves an everlasting mark. It hooks up your listeners, and before you know it, you are commanding over millions of them.

Music should be part of the deal

Seasoning podcasts with music keeps your listeners and viewers engaged, heightens the mood, and amplifies your objectives. Just find a strategic moment in the podcast to incorporate a few seconds of music.

Mixing and Merging

This is the most technical part of podcasting. First, you must go through all your files to ensure they have the perfect pitch, reverb, color grades, and track level.

Fundamentally, mixing entails cutting, syncing, and merging different audio and video files to create one video.

Begin by organizing your clips and if you have already done it during the planning process, no problem; redo it again.

Of course, it won't take much of your time, but it will reduce the chances of excluding critical minutes.

When mixing;

• Adjust the color grade
• Add video overlays and effects
• Use a compressor to improve the audio quality
• Balance frequencies with equalizers (EQ)

Mastering

Mastering is a microscopic process that addresses the project as a whole to test for consistency and quality.

Just sit down and rewatch the entire video, noting inconsistencies and anything you feel is out of order. Then, if there is a problem, go back to mixing.

Lastly, transfer the file into a storage device in preparation for posting.

Now that your podcast video is ready, there is something we haven't yet told you; choosing the right software.

Consider:

• Professional recommendations: expert podcasters and video editors may recommend a specific software they believe is the best. Listen and take notes from them.
• Price: start with software that provides free trials before moving to paid plans.
• Features of the software: choose a program that you feel will meet your demands.
• Don't be quick to conclude about a certain software: take your time, read reviews, test and come up with pros and cons before concluding that an editing software is not worth it.

Try out the following video and audio editing software;

• Pro Tools- $30 per month for standard users
• Adobe Audition-  $21 per month, and with upfront payments, you can unlock discounts off.
• Hindenburg Journalist- price starts at $95 to $500
• Audacity- free
• iMovie- free for Mac users‍
• DaVinci Resolve- free
• GarageBand- free

Final Thought

We have summarized all you need to develop well-polished delighting podcasts videos. Try mixing using soundtracks, and don't forget to create a plan. We have also recommended some software. Let us know your experience with them; we are eager to listen to you.