Podcasting is quite common now. So when one of Tuber’s clients wanted in on the action, we jumped at the opportunity. After much brainstorming and fine-tuning, we are proud to announce the podcast went ‘live’ on June 24. Having worked in radio news at the start of my career, a podcast was somewhat familiar territory. After all, all you need is a host, interviewees, a list of questions, mikes and easy-to-use software for editing and uploading purposes. Provided you already have access to a recording studio, which we did not. Our team scoured several sites before settling on The Hive Studios. They have a fully equipped studio that supports recording and editing content. There is an on-site café as well, which we found most useful especially when working on back-to-back recordings in a single day.

The Hive Studio’s recording room

While we searched for a suitable studio, our team concurrently liaised with our client to decide who would host the podcast and finalise a possible list of interviewees. This involved a lot of scheduling among various parties, who were generally very accommodating. Possibly the only complication we faced was the Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) COVID-19 restrictions that came into force on May 16, 2021. Thankfully, we managed to finish all our recordings without breaching any rules. The real challenge came during post-production. Generally, words and phrases like “you know”, “right”, “um”, audible breathing, and other “mouth sounds” and background noise can be distracting and would be snipped. But we also wanted the conversation to flow as naturally as possible, which is something our art director had to keep in mind as he made the edits. There was also the need to ensure audio levels for all the speakers were fairly consistent to avoid a situation where one person sounds as if they were talking over the other.

The Challenge Podcast’s host, Douglas O’Loughlin (left), speaks to seasoned podcaster Rovik Robert in our first recording session held before COVID-19 restrictions were announced in mid-May 2021.

While podcasting is a largely auditory endeavour, other elements cannot be understated. The creative process in putting together a podcast also includes album art and music for branding purposes. In addition, each episode requires short notes that serve as synopses on platforms that host podcasts. Our editorial team also polished transcripts of the conversations so they could be uploaded to the client’s website. There are considerations too for images and blog posts for social media accounts, so that the podcast could potentially reach a wider audience. Which brings us to another important point: Strategy. What are the themes we aim to cover for our target audience? How do we plan to increase listenership? How do we collate feedback? All this information goes a long way in determining the trajectory of the podcast as we plan more interviews and topics. So do give us a listen here (in case you missed it above) and share your thoughts.

Illustration by: Liew Xinyi