First test
Off the cuff rehearsal

With some extra time on my hands during the quiet, introspective pajama-wearing days of Corona, I thought maybe I should start a podcast, because there simply aren't enough of those. Plus I might have things to say, thoughts to share.

This one is about narrating photography and memories.

The first step was figuring out how to capture sound in a convenient, easily reproducible way—not just at my desk, but anywhere deep thoughts might occur to me. I opted for a Zoom H5, which had been tucked away in a drawer waiting for the next time I might meet up with a friend for a field-capturing trip. Which wasn't exactly looming.

This then sent me on a journey of how do I properly mix and master my voice to get intelligible, broadcast-ready audio loud enough—or at least on par with other podcasts?

I discovered the word sibilance while on that journey, and how my many, many S's sound up close to a dual microphone. That and plosives—sudden bursts of air during speech caused by B's and P's. There's a word for that—a particular sound or sound sequence that (at least in a general way) suggests a certain meaning: A phonestheme.

I ended up using a app called Hindenburg to process my voice—it's built for that: podcasts, broadcasts, things like that, and makes working with long dialogue really enjoyable.

The first you'll notice is I didn't fare too well in terms of audio quality and managed to overly process it, despite that amazing tool. But it was first stab at it, a first try, and outside the sound that could use some love, I'm happy with it.

Other foley sounds were also captured with the H5, all of which was pretty fun.