Podcast editing isn’t rocket science, but if you don’t want to outsource it, most likely, you gonna do it yourself. Again. Yep.
But don’t worry.
There’s a way to ease it up. Here are five tips for easier podcast editing.
Some of them are obvious, some aren’t. Anyway, let’s dive in.
First and foremost, just think about how much time it does take to select an audio region, hover the arrow to one of the menu items, then browse through 10-20 effects, commands, or whatever, find what you need, then browse sub-menu, etc. It’s a nightmare honestly speaking. That’s why you have to follow our first tip, which is a game changer at least for me.
1. Learn shortcuts of your DAW (digital audio workstation).
It doesn’t really matter which DAW you use. What’s important, is that there are always shortcuts in every audio / video editing software. Just find the list of your DAW’s shortcuts on the internet (official website, google, support forums). In fact, you might find it in settings.
For example in Logic Pro X go to
LogicProX > Key Commands > Edit
Or hit the shortcut [COMMAND + K]
In the search bar, in the upper right corner, you can type the name of the required function. You can even change the shortcut if you want to. The list is very long because every program has tons of functions. No panic! You don’t need all of them. Just to begin with, find one or two most used editing functions and incorporate them into your workflow. For example Cut and Zoom. I guess those are the most commonly used functions. Remember them.
Next time, when you edit your podcast, try to use those shortcuts as much as you can. Once you got used to them, choose one or two more shortcuts. Repeat. After incorporating 5-6 shortcuts in your workflow, you’ll drastically reduce editing time guaranteed!
Moving on!
2. Make podcast edit project templates.
This one is huge too, but it’s more applicable to podcast recording. Nevertheless, it’s very useful. Imagine you record your podcast with the same setup every time.
Let’s say:
-3 Channels with microphones for the host and guests
-1 Stereo channel for background music, transitions, intro/outro, etc
-4 Spare channels for occasional stuff (guest’s laptop, skype guest’s voices, musical instruments, etc)
Every channel is named properly and has its own inserted effects, routing, etc. In our example, we have 8 channels to set up. Well, it’s obvious, that it takes 5-10-15 min to set it up every time. Depending on your skills, of course.
Now imagine: You don’t have to do that! How? Easy! Use project templates in your DAW.
What is a project template? Basically, it’s an empty project layout created in advance. It contains all required channels set up. All effects, routing, and leveling are done once and saved. You just call these settings when you need to. You can create different templates for different setups.
Moving on!
3. Make presets for plugins.
This is applicable for editing a lot because you probably do the same enhancements with your audio all the time.
For example, you do equalization and compression of your voice similar way by setting similar knob positions in the same plugins. Even if settings are slightly different from time to time, you can save your starting point. This way you have to adjust significantly less. It will take only a few seconds instead of minutes. So make presets in every plugin possible.
Moving on!
4. Let your ears rest before editing your podcast.
Why do you need to rest? Well, we can push our limits all the time.
You might not be physically tired, tweaking plugins, but listening over and over, and just not hearing the difference anymore. You just can’t decide what ratio is better 2:1 hard knee or 5:1 soft knee.
Sounds familiar? That’s ear fatigue. It’s our enemy number one. You can beat it only by letting your ears rest.
Spending time and resting your ears might sound counterproductive. But fresh ears let you hear everything instantly and do editing / mixing / mastering significantly faster. I’m not saying 2-3-4 times faster cause we don’t have absolute numbers here, ha-ha!
So, you got the point. Keep your ears fresh!
Moving on!
5. Organize your samples, transitions, background music etc.
You don’t even have to imagine that. You know how hard sometimes to find an exact sample, transition, or whatever on your hard drive.
Here’s what you need to do.
First of all, throw all your samples / transitions / background music / whatever in one dedicated folder. Give it some fancy name, like “My awesome samples / transitions”. Then go inside that folder and delete or move to another dedicated folder all samples that you’re not going to use.
Now, in the “usable” folder sort all files into separate groups/folders like intros/outros, transitions, background music, etc. Mark / color code files that you’re going to use the most. For example intro for your podcast. You will use it all the time.
In addition to that, make a bookmark in the file browser of your DAW. This way you almost instantly have access to required files and save a lot of time.
Here you go. 5 Tips to level up your editing workflow. If you follow at least 1 or 2 tips you will improve your results. All tips – skyrocket.
sponsored by kabgig.com – production & royalty free music, audio logos
