Podcasting 101

The more I talk about this idea of creating a podcast with some friends, the more excited I get. We sat together talking about this idea for hours yesterday so I decided it's time to look more into what we need to do to make it happen.

I found a wonderful website that gives a fantastic introduction to what you should do before pressing record. If anyone is interested in learning more, check out The Podcast Host.

I think the best way forward is look at each chapter and start breaking down the why, who, and how this podcast will work. As this idea is further vetted out, things will evolve, but here is my point of view today

What's your podcast for?

This podcast is going to be a fun, passion project to discuss the nostalgia we all have for movies from our youth and films from years ago that range from terrible to excellent in the opinions of others. I picture this podcast being in 3 parts per movie (see below on "How long should a podcast episode be?").

Who is your podcast for?

It is am important step to understand who your audience is with everything you do. Customer-centric design is critical when developing products as it is important for podcasts.

The audience that we're targeting are movie lovers that love to talk about entertainment. They have a sense of humor and don't take things too seriously. They love movies from the 80s, 90s, and 2000's and appreciate the various genre films. While we will likely explore movies outside of those decades, a majority of our films will be in that range.

Give them a reason to listen

For our first season, we're going to pick our first 10 movies based on what we think will be enjoyable to take a look back on and share. We'll then collaborate with listeners and decide which films we should take a look at for the following seasons. We'll continue to grow and learn what works for us, what listeners enjoy, and make sure the show gets better every season.

Naming your podcast

I won't be selecting a name on my own, but knowing myself and my friends that will be co-hosting, we'll come up with something witty :) More on this topic in a future post

How long should a podcast episode be?

I picture this podcast being in 3 parts per movie:

1. We will have a short (approx 30 minutes) discussion about our preconceived thoughts about the films, what we remember and some history behind the movie.

2. We will sit together and watch the movie and make commentary throughout. We'll laugh, joke, and share our observations. Due to most movies being between 90 and 150 minutes, these sessions will be long-form.

3. We'll share our final thoughts about the movie and share listener feedback as our community grows. (30 minutes)

How often should I release new episodes?

I imagine with the first season, we'll do a lot of the heavy recording in advance and release the long episodes reviewing the movies on a weekly cadence. After thinking more about this, we may do a brief introduction as a part of the live-watch session, and have the review episode a few days later... I think it is important to have the introduction and live-watch sessions weekly or bi-weekly so that there is some breathing room between movies. This is still to be determined. We may start with just one episode a week to introduce the movie, watch and comment, and final thoughts. I would rather not split a movie into two different episodes as it disrupts the flow, but we'll discover what works best through collaborating and feedback.

Choosing a podcast format

I've hinted at this a lot so far, but this podcast is going to be a round-table format with myself and my closest friends: Dana, Chris, and Dan. While we all love movies and entertainment, we actually have very different tastes in many of the movies we watch. I'll give a full introduction to all of us in the future, but we are well equipped to cover everything from comedy, to action adventure, to horror, to psychological thrillers, to popcorn-flicks, and everything in between.

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All I can say is we're going to have a lot of fun learning and laughing together. When the 4 of us get together, it's not rare for someone (usually me) to spit out a beverage because we're laughing so much. I can't wait to have you join us for movie night