More and more platforms are making the shift to video, so the question is before you: why don’t you? If you’re curious about starting a video podcast, we have a walkthrough here, but here are some of our best tips for video podcasting.
Take the time to experiment with your lighting
Lighting is one of the most important parts of video production. Too close means that you get washed out, and too far away means that shadows take over. Too strong of a light causes reflection and glare, and too weak of a light means that your recording will come out grainy. Much like you would do test recording with your microphone to find the best spot to position it on your desk, play around with your light sources to find the best lighting for you.
This is also where you can decide to play around with colored lighting. Changing the color of the lighting will change the tone and vibe of your recording. You can make decisions as simple as choosing between yellow-based or white-based lightbulbs, or get wild with some multi-color LED lighting. The world is your oyster here, so get creative! (We highly recommend the LED bulbs that change colors, as they can help you accomplish many different moods without having to change lightbulbs or light filters.)
Experiment with your backdrop and layout as well, but remember that organization will set you free
Consider your background as your co-host in your video podcast adventure. It will be just as important as you in keeping your audience engaged, so balancing between on a plain white wall and some Howl’s Moving Castle-level of maximalism is a must. Once again, though, the world is yours to command here. Play around with a green screen, invest in a lattice to hang decorations from, record against your best bookshelf, etc. Just remember that if your space isn’t organized, your viewers will be able to clue in and be affected by the vibe you’re putting off. Be deliberate with your chaos, and make sure you can still find your show notes.
How do you want to be framed?
With you and your background playing equal-ish roles in your podcast, it’s important to balance out how much of the frame either of you take up. Being too close to the camera can cause a sense of claustrophobia, whereas being too far from the camera means your viewers might get distracted from your video podcast. Look through your favorite video makers – be they video podcasters, Youtubers, etc – and find inspiration in how they frame themselves in their video. What draws you to their framing? Which one feels the most engaging? Bring that same energy to your video podcast!
Resist the urge to mix feeds
This is one of the most important tips for video podcasts, as it can affect how your podcast is distributed. Most directories will not accept a mixed feed – that is, an RSS feed that features both video and audio-only podcasts. Putting both types of episode in your feed means that your podcast will either be denied entry to directories, or experience issues later down the road. To prevent any loss of up time, keep your video episodes and your audio-only episodes on seperate feeds.
Take advantage of editing/promotion tools
One of the major grievances we hear with video podcasting is how long it takes to edit, and how it eats into time spent recording and promoting the podcast. While not everyone has a team on standby for this, there are quite a few tools at your disposal to assist with both editing and promoting your video podcast.
Descript has the capability to help edit your video podcast, as well as help you create transcripts for your content (and we’ve already covered the importance of utilizing transcripts for your podcast). Capsho can help you come up with descriptions for your podcast episodes as well as different posts for your social media, all based on the podcast episode you upload. Using these tools will help you streamline your production process, giving you more time to focus on your video podcast.
Want to learn more about video podcasting? Check out our post here.