How do you turn online talks into compelling video podcasts?
Take the opportunity
Whilst all meetings have been taking place online throughout the COVID-19 restrictions, it hasn’t stopped many organisations using this as an opportunity to continue to be creative, by producing content to share with internal colleagues or to a wider audience. Adarak has been helping businesses and universities continue to connect with customers and stakeholders through audio and video podcasts.
This has the advantage of being a highly affordable method of creating content, without the need for a camera crew, lighting, and all of the coordination required when commissioning a video project. Podcast participants can record high quality audio using their smartphone, and conduct the conversation over Zoom or Teams.
Case study: University of Leeds
The Arts and Humanities Research Institute at the University of Leeds wanted to produce video and audio podcasts based on series of conversations to explore the future of their field, and the research being conducted within the institute. The aim was to engage with fellow researchers, especially after a long period without in-person events, as well as be accessible to a wider audience of academics and stakeholders. Adarak assisted with planning the recordings, explaining how to get the best possible quality, without the need to purchase any equipment.
What do you need?
A laptop, a smartphone, a set of headphones/earphones. That’s it.
The participants at the University of Leeds conducted their conversations over Zoom, and each person used a voice recorder app to separately record their audio, leaving their phone on their desk. They plugged headphones into their laptops for the Zoom call, and had a conversation just like any other online call. Using headphones meant their phone recording is a high-quality version of just their side of the conversation. They also used Zoom’s built-in recording feature to serve as backup audio, in case something went wrong with their phone’s recording.
The two audio recordings from the conversation were sent to Adarak, who combined this into one high-quality audio podcast, edited for clarity, and some audio mastering applied.
Sharing your podcast
Once you have your final audio podcasts, getting these online is a simple process, and there are plenty of articles like this one covering this specialist subject in detail. However, to ensure you actually reach your audience effectively, you need to consider how to share this with them in a way that fully engages them. In the case of the University of Leeds, they commissioned Adarak to also create abridged video versions of the whole podcast series, designed to be shown at online events.
Throughout May and June 2021, these events allowed the attendees to watch the video podcast as a group, which was followed by a Q&A session with the speakers. Adarak added visuals in the form of images provided by the speakers, as well as properly-sourced stock imagery relevant to the topics being discussed. These events and videos were very well received by the university, with positive feedback from many attendees.
“ I just wanted to extend our thanks for your tremendous support and hard work on these podcasts.”
Find out more
Dan Waters runs Adarak, a Leeds-based provider of professional and affordable videography, photography and aerial footage. We’re here to help you turn your ideas, products, and case studies into something you’ll be proud to share.