Ready to create a podcast?  Here is a quick overview of how it's going to work, with links to in-depth information.

1.  Watch, listen, learn.  No idea yet what kind of podcast you want to create?  Listen to / watch some podcasts that are already out there.  Browse the iTunes directory by clicking on the podcast button at the top of the iTunes store window.  Featured podcasts will appear.  You can also take a look at the Apple employee recommendations window.  When you click on a podcast image, the podcast description and ratings will open.  You can download back episodes from the list of episodes that appears below.  You can subscribe by clicking on "subscribe."  Once you have found podcasts you like, when you open up that podcast's description page in iTunes, look to the right for podcasts that others subscribe to that are similar to this one.  You may also want to check out my podshow formats page, which lists show formats and examples from each format.

There are several podcast directories on the web.  For video podcasts, try:

PodGuide.tv

Or choose a directory from this list.  The problem with some of these directories is that you have to wade through a lot of poor quality work before finding something worth your time.  Might be best to stick with browsing iTunes in the beginning; when you begin to discover podcasts you like, you can go to the web sites associated with these podcasts and look for recommendations.

Important note!  Look for "explicit" tag to alert you that there might be offensive content in a podcast.  Sometimes the explicit tag is attached because of the presence of some profanity but little else that might be considered offensive; however, some podcasts marked "explicit" contain pornographic or other potentially shocking / extremely offensive content.  Use your best judgment when browsing; ask yourself: would I feel comfortable watching this with my parents?  If you wouldn't, it's probably best to move on to something different.  There is plenty of good content out there;  don't waste your time on media that  is clearly in poor taste.

As you watch and listen, consider aspects such as format, audience, purpose, tone, and message.  What kind of audience do you want to reach?  What will your purpose be?  What tone will you use?  What will your specific message be, if any?  Will you choose audio or video for your medium?  Consider the medium that will work best for you as a beginner.  Consider this list of formats for podcasts, with recommendations under each format.  Note that you can create a video podcast made with pictures, if you aren't ready to shoot a video with a video camera.

Feeling overwhelmed and in need of inspiration?  Watch "Be Kind Rewind."  This movie will make you want to dive into the world of weird and creative on-the-fly video.  Maybe you'll feel like grabbing some playdough and making a claymation version of your most memorable playground incident from childhood.  Maybe you'll want to shoot a video from the p.o.v. of your cat.  Remember we're all amateurs here; nothing has to be perfect.  Silliness is allowed.   Just don't break the equipment.  :)

2.  Plan your podcast project.  Create a new page on this wiki using the podcast project template and begin filling in the fields.  To do this, click on "create new page."  Choose the podcast project template from the list of templates.  Name your page.  From the pulldown menu of folders, select "podcast project documents."  Now you're ready to work from the template.  You may need to create a separate document with a text script or storyboard.  If you are working with others, be sure they are contributing to the project document.  To retrieve your document after you have saved it, be sure to look in the podcast project documents folder.

3.  Record your podcast. 

For audio field recordings (live recordings of things happening in the world), you'll need to check out an Olympus voice recorder (or use another if you have one of your own) and an external microphone (Shure SM58 or other if you have a better one).    For video field recordings, you will need to check out one of our miniDV camcorders or use one of your own.  See links to guides for these devices on sidebar at right.  Once you've completed your recording, you'll need to load the recorded files, using whatever method is appropriate for the device.  Almost all video will be loaded through iMovie with a firewire cable.  Photos are loaded through iPhoto.  Audio from the Olympus recorder is a little trickier (can't load it straight into Garageband).  You will see instructions for moving files from devices in each device guide.

If your podcast will be just you (or you and a few others) talking, you can use the Macbook and a Blue Snowball microphone (the one that looks like a snowball).  Hook the mic up to the mac through a USB port (left side) and the mac will immediately recognize it.  Find a quiet place.  Open up Garageband and check out the Garageband guide page for how to record your podcast.  Please DO NOT use the built in microphone unless you absolutely have to.  Don't forget your script or any other notes. 

4.   Obtain any additional media you want to mix into the recording. 

If you need music, you may wish to use jingles built in to Garageband.

If the jingles aren't doing it for you, visit some podsafe music pages to get music that can be legally used without copyright infringement.  Here are some podsafe music pages:

Magnatune

Podsafe Music Network

Podsafe Audio

Garageband.com

Jamendo

Note:  Don't expect it to take five minutes for you to find the perfect song on a podsafe site.  The quality of the music on these sites varies widely; it can be frustrating to find just what you need if you are in a hurry.

In some cases it's allowable to use a small amount of copyrighted content.  There are "fair use" guidelines that can help you decide:   fairusechecklist.pdf.   As a general rule, don't use more than thirty seconds of copyrighted content.  YouTube is now using software for a pretty severe crackdown on copyrighted content.  See YouTube's page on copyright violation for more information.

Another option, for independent music fans:  indy record label sites will often post sample tracks that that may be downloaded for use in podcasts.  Read the fine print carefully, please, before using.  Policies change frequently.

If you want to add pictures to appear at various points in the Podcast,  you can use the Podcast track, which appears as the top track in a Garageband podcast project.     bring them in on your flash drive or on a CD.  To load images from a camera, use the USB cable and load the images into iPhoto.   iPhoto plays well with Garageband, so it's easy to move them into your GB project using the GB media browser.  If you bring in prints of older photos, scan them using the scanner in the library and save them to a flash drive.  You can import the images to iPhoto after they are scanned.

5.  Edit and mix recording.  For video, use iMovie.  For audio, use Garageband or download a free copy of  Audacity if you know you are going to want to do a lot of  editing at home. We have tutorial videos available for iMovie and Garageband.  These videos are loaded onto some computers -- see Ms. Hodge if you can't find the application called "N.E.D." on your machine.  If you can, launch it and click on the appropriate tutorial on the menu at the left.

Note:  if you are doing a photo slideshow, try editing all audio in Garageband and exporting as an mp3.  Then use iMovie to create picture slideshow with Ken Burns effect if desired.  You can drag your mp3 file into your iMovie project as background music and it will play normally (won't be ducked unless you add other sound clips in iMovie, which shouldn't be necessary.  If you find you need additional sound, go back to Garageband, add to project, then delete background music track and repeat process of adding new bg track in iMovie). 

6.  Export recording as an mp3 (for audio files) or mp4 (video files).  In iMovie, you can simply share a video with YouTube selected in the size options and it's ready to go for web.

7.  Share your work by posting on a web site or sending out as a podcast on an rss feed.  How do you generate an rss feed?  When using a Mac, the easiest option is to use iWeb and create a podcast page.  iWeb will create a feed and submit it for you.  For video podcasts, I recommend creating a YouTube channel in addition to a video podcast.  YouTube has easy to follow instructions for creating a channel.