Motivation on the Run

This week’s episode of Motivation on the Run is recorded on a different software program than I normally use. Audacity has been the recording software of choice because it allows for editing and converting to the required mp3 file, however it requires several extra steps in the process.

I found PodProducer about a year ago, downloaded, installed and it wouldn’t work. I messed with it for quite some time and finally went to the forums and found out that most Dell laptops won’t allow you to do some things, things required to use PodProducer. I put it aside and kept it in the back of my mind for future reference.

Listeners of the podcast know I moved to a home office a few weeks ago and with it brought home my Dell desktop from work. Remembering the PodProducer software, I loaded it and gave it a try and, sure enough, it worked. I then tested for a few weeks determining the correct setting and working to “live” mix and produce a podcast. This was the hardest part, but also the most fun.

With Audacity, I would record the different segments in .aup (Audacity) format, then in post-production, mix all the tracks and bring in the musical interludes and when finished, convert the entire file into a mono mp3. This conversion takes about 20 minutes for a 20 minute podcast. Once this was done, I had to convert all the segments I keep to mp3 (another 10-15 minutes) and store on the server. It has worked beautifully for over a year, but there was something missing.

Enter PodProducer podcasting software (freeware, btw), and the element of “live” returned to the podcast. I still record the segments, but they record directly to mp3 files tagged and named. Then I load the music clips and any other audio I need, as well as the recorded segments, and record a “live” podcast with all the fun and excitement that comes with that. This is the first one fully produced on this software and it sounds good to me. I’ll know more when I listen on my Palm in the car, the true test.

So far, so good, and I appreciate your comments on the audio quality of this week’s show which will be ready for your listening pleasure at 7:00 AM Wednesday morning.

Technorati : Audacity, Motivational podcast, Podproducer