The Art of Podcasting from Anywhere: A Traveler’s Guide – PCI 407

Welcome. I'm Mike Dell, VP of customer relations here at Blueberry. And I'm Todd Cochran, CEO and founder of Blueberry Podcasting. And today, we're gonna talk about podcasting on the road. You're listening to Podcast Insider hosted by Mike Dell, Todd Cochran, and Mackenzie Bennett from the Blueberry team, bringing you weekly insights, advice, and insider tips and tricks to help you start, grow, and thrive through podcasting, all with the support of your team here at Blueberry Podcasting.

Welcome. Let's dive in.

You know, Mike, just having come off of 2 months of being on the road and recording a podcast while traveling, You know, I actually was pretty lucky. I didn't find it challenging at all, but I know some folks can find it a bit challenging. And today, we're gonna really talk about

with the right preparation tools. It can really be done smoothly and and, I think that's the most important thing, because it doesn't have to be a challenge at all and then you don't have to pack a lot of gear to be able to, to have a successful recording remotely. No. Sure. You sure don't. And, you know, I listen to your shows while you're gone and, you can't really tell the difference. So I guess that's the goal.

Yeah. And, you know, I think that, I tried to go with a semi pro solution but also be not have to carry too much stuff. Now,

I did have a, a professional microphone, a Shure SMB 7. So that's a little bit heavy. And I did have the, the mini RodeCaster, whatever they call it, the tiny one. Mhmm. So, that that really combination with a couple of cables and I was really be able able to do everything I normally do, when I'm in my or was in my regular studio minus, you know, I wasn't doing no video obviously. But really, I think I could have gotten away even with less gear.

Maybe even going all the way down just to having a a USB microphone like an ATR 21 or 22100, and some earbuds. I I think it could have been as simple as that. Yep. So, you know, I really think it all depends on, you know, how long you're gonna be traveling and then how many shows you're gonna be doing on the road. For me, it was 59 days, 7 episodes. So for me, it was important to have a little better, solution than just the than the USB mic.

Right. Well, you're kind of, remote recording right now

since you don't have your permanent studio yet. Yeah. I'm back I'm in my loft, and I'm on a SMB 7 USB mic from Shure. I think that's whether it's sm7. Maybe that's the number. Something like that. Yeah. And it's, basically, I've got the, headphones plugged into the back of the mic and the USB cord plugged into the Mac and and here we are. So again, you know, it doesn't have to be that complicated. Now I would say the the planning needs you need to make sure you you basically set this up. Yeah.

Ahead of time. Yeah. And then what I did is I made a a permanent go bag. It's just a little bag that put everything in and and, and then that gear went in a, excuse me, went in a, a small carry on. A half of one side where I had, you know, I also had some other stuff too. I had a like a GoPro and some stuff like that. Some extra batteries that I couldn't check and check luggage. So that just got through in the overhead,

along with my computer and stuff. So, for that instance it, you know, I basically had everything really it probably could have all fit in a knapsack if I really wanted to push hard. But the only thing that I did throw in my suitcase was the, the boom arm. You know, I went that far. And again, if you don't wanna carry a boom arm then, you know, maybe one of those old table stand, Mike, will work real well too. I take it a little bit lighter than you do. Usually, I pack my little, Zoom

H5 recorder. I got a little,

I guess it looks like an ammo box, but it's plastic. And I've got my, h5 recorder or the microphone, which in my case, I I don't know, just a regular XLR dynamic mic handheld. I think it's a Sennheiser, but, don't know. I haven't looked in in a while. But, you know, that little thing does just fine. No problem whatsoever, but I'm, you know, doing

any. I'm doing solo recording or I'm walking around and, you know, talking to people or whatever and, you know, kind of the man on the street sort of thing, and that that works really well because I can walk around with it. But, you know, make sure when you're using something like that that you bring the extra batteries. You you know, if you're gonna have you're gonna sit down with an interview with

somebody. I did an interview at a a trucking show a while back, and I brought 2 microphones and and that recorder, and that worked great. You know? And I can control, you know, just on this little recorder. So I I didn't even bother with the big mixer, but, you know, that, what do they call that? Now now I'm gonna have to look that up. The the Roadcaster

Mini or whatever it's called. Yeah. It slipped my mind too. But, you know, I I think too, if you think about the the depending on the situation, as long as you got good good internet connectivity. I'm sorry. For some reason

I'm coughing here. If I have good internet connectivity, one thing I tested was the new Adobe podcast And, basically, we were able to bring 2 people right in to Adobe podcast and, they have a free trial right now where you can record for 30 minutes up to 30 minutes on a free account. And so that worked real good for 2 people coming in as as a multi host Mhmm. And getting a high quality, recording.

Of course, there's a lot of other third party services out there that you can, you know, have 2 co hosts or 3 come in and record, as long as everyone is, you know, got good internet. Yep. Yeah. We're using, Clean Feed for the first time

here. Decided we'd try something new. So hopefully, it sounds decent. But, you know, the thing about, you know, podcasting mobile, it's not too much different than podcasting from home. You you know, it might have less equipment or, you know, more challenging areas, but, you know, some of the equipment you might wanna consider is a portable recorder. Of course, your laptop works as well. A phone could work.

There are some adapters where you could put a decent microphone on a phone, but, you know, may not work quite as well as, you know, a dedicated recorder or a computer or whatever. You know, you want your microphone, USB dynamic mics are usually best. The ATR, the q2u, and, or, you know, that thing you're using. The, SM 7, I think it's called. Yeah. SM 7. Anyway, it's the, you know, the nice Shure one. And I think that's the one Mackenzie uses too when she records, and, you know, it's

decent. Make sure you have headphones. I mean, you wanna monitor yourself. Most of these USB mics have a plug that, you put in, and you can hear the other person on the other end if you're doing a a multiple. Windscreen. If you're gonna be outside,

make sure you have a decent windscreen. I have a, I have a, believe it or not, a dynamic lavalier mic that takes a lot of lot of preamps, so you sometimes need to, you know, crank crank it up a bit, but, and I have this dead cat filter that goes on it, and I can walk around in 30 mile an hour winds, and you can barely tell that it's windy. Yeah. But if you have an a regular mic Sure. Sure. That is you basically are not going to, you're not gonna be able to

mask win without something more impressive. Right. For sure. And then, you know, don't forget all your cables and adapters. I mean, you know, I don't how many times I get somewhere and, like, oh, crap. I don't have a USB cable here. It's like a run to Best Buy or whatever is local to to pick something up, and then, you know, got a pile of them sitting here because they I forget them all the time. So don't

forget all your cables. You know? In fact, test the whole setup out before you take off on your trip. You know, a mic stand or a mount like you did with the boom arm when you were gone, and that works. And, of course, camera lights and a mount if you're

gonna do video. But, you know, just have your equipment together and tested before you take off because nothing is worse than, you know, getting somewhere and then, you know, have the equipment not work the way you thought or, again having the wrong stuff.

What I find is when I'm remote, my show pacing is a little bit different. I don't know what it is. It's just kind of the way it it happens. It's I don't know if it's a matter of I don't know. It just feels a different environment. Yeah. It's the environment probably. Yeah. Because my shows normally when I'm home is are about 50 minutes. But then when I'm on travel, they end up being about 40. So it's a little weird on how the how

it's how the pacing is different. And you know, maybe I'm excited to get on to the activity of of on travel and you know, maybe that's on my mind. Who knows? But the, couple of people noticed it and mentioned it in a in a, you know, recent comment back to the, you know, back to the show. So I think that, your your mileage is gonna vary depending on the show that you create. But again, this planning ahead allows you to continue to produce your podcast while traveling.

And again, by preparing your content, choosing the right portable equipment, finding a decently quiet recording location. Hotel rooms are are great for this. Most of the time. Yeah. Most of the time. And you can maintain your podcast quality on their own with a really a bit of organization flexibility. You really can integrate podcasting into your travel routine. I think that's the most important piece here. So, I think that, make it work or

maybe take a break. And if you've been again, I I be cautious on taking a break, especially too long of a break. But if you've been doing your podcast for a couple of years, maybe it's okay to take a couple of episodes off. Sure. Sure. And you know, like, if you're gonna go out and do, you know, a multi person show either, you know, in person, like, if you're gonna go somewhere to interview somebody, make sure you bring a mic for them.

Because, and you've you've told me this before, Never hand if you only have one mic, never hand the mic to the guest. It's because you lose control of it that way. And but, you know, if if you can, you know, if your recorder allows you to plug into microphones, a lot of computers won't allow you to do that with 2 USBs. Just be keep that in mind. So always test everything. But, you know, bring a mic for the other person or don't let go of the mic if you're, you know, if you're,

interviewing somebody in person. If it's remote, make sure, you know, you have a decent Internet connection or as best you can. Wired Internet is always better than Wi Fi, but, you know, do what you can do. You know? It's never gonna be perfect. A lot of these remote recording softwares, though, record locally, which is kinda handy. And then the file gets uploaded, you know, as if it's a local recording

from your remote guest or co host. And it doesn't work any different than, you know, if you're at home, but usually at home you have better Internet connection. Some of the places that, you've recorded are pretty crazy. You you know, back in the early days of going to CES, I know you guys you and Andy did, did shows, either from the hotel room or the show floor or something like that. Oh, yeah. We've experienced it all, to be honest with you.

You know, when I was working as a courier, I used to do my show while I was driving. So I would have this you know, be careful with that. Don't don't fiddle with your, recording stuff while you're driving, but I'd have edit set up with a remote, you know, with a remote recorder and and, you know, that lavalier mic and, you know, I hit record, and I just, you know, talk. And, you know, it's probably pretty boring, but it was fun. You know? So, you know,

it might mix it up a little bit by, doing something that you you remember back in the day, they had these things called sound seeing tours? Yep. Father Roderick and Adam Curry, the the 2 I remember doing a lot of that. And that was that was neat too. You know, they would just walk around with a with their I think at the time it was Sony MiniDisc recorders or something, but, the recorders have gotten a lot better, and the microphones and and everything. So, you know, you know, mix it up a bit.

And, you know, don't don't be afraid to, to experiment. Hi, Mike. I think you've, you've covered the gambit here. Okay. Very good then. Yeah. Like I said, just just make sure you have all your stuff. That's the thing. So, anyway, thanks for listening. Make sure you check back next week for another episode of Podcast Insider, which you can find over at podcast insider.com. Thanks for joining us. Come back next week. And in the meantime, head to podcast insider.com for more information.

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