I am trying to figure out the most efficient way to do something.
I will record a short intro for my upcoming podcast, and a short “outro” that will go at the end. These clips will include some vocal + music that will fade out and in respectively.
What I would like to create is a template that I can load, with the intro and outro already in place, and just record the show or drop a recording of the show into the template and blend it before converting to MP3.
You can certainly pre-package the intro and outro, but I don’t know about having them automatic.
Import the Intro to Audacity and Append Record (Shift-R). That will start your show after the intro stops. The other end is harder because Audacity does not have Append-Import. For that one you’ll need to Import the outro and copy/paste it to the end of the show.
I can feel you plan on pressing a button, record the podcast and go home. It usually doesn’t work like that. I think after the first one you’re going to need editing and processing so you’ll be doing additional work anyway.
Also, do all your work in WAV or other very high quality format and save the archive in WAV. Only convert to MP3 at the end. Audacity doesn’t edit MP3 well.
Thanks Koz, that along with some tutorials I found gives me a good idea of what I need to do.
You’re right, I was hoping I could create a template with the intro and outro already in place, and just press “Record” and do the show. Then maybe a little editing and done.
You were planning on using the Network Radio Broadcasting model.
The station ID and maybe a brief promo comes out of New York Central Control. At exactly ten seconds after the hour, Washington Studios go on line until the network break at exactly 30 minutes after: 30:00:00 – and they have to stop talking at exactly then because New York is going to throw it to Chicago for the daily financial update from the Mercantile Exchange.
“But wait,” I can hear you say, “What I wanted was a process that automatically placed the outro no matter where I stopped.” That’s not a template any more. That’s a subroutine, program, chain, or custom batch process.
You can simulate the Network Radio Model by placing the intro as I said, import it and append your show recording to it. Import the outro to a second track and using the Time Shift tools, push it forward in time to where you expect to stop. Stop talking at exactly the right time and Audacity will play the outro right after you stop talking. Export the show and Audacity will meld the whole thing together.
The chances of you getting the timing right for that is zero. The radio people have been doing that for years and can feel the second hand coming around.
Some people have a sneaky theme approach. The outro theme song starts sneaking in Really Low and slowly gets louder until the closing announce. If you’re good you can sense the music and figure out when to stop. “Well, I can tell by the music…”
I think the dual import thing and then copy and paste is your best bet. It’s versatile and you can tune it at the time of the show post production – which I predict is going to be a lot more extensive than you think.
There’s a 3X rule. The minute you start editing, filtering or post production, figure on three hours of work for a one hour show. Sometimes at least three.
The way that I would do it would be to record and edit the intro, then export as a WAV file. Then restart Audacity with a new project and record / edit the outro and export as a WAV file.
Now record your show and edit it as necessary. If you have multiple audio tracks, use “Tracks > Mix and Render” to "mix it down into one track and Normalize to -2 dB.
Then import the intro and outro. Use the Time Shift tool to align intro, show, outro. Export a backup copy of the show as a WAV file, and the podcast version as MP3 or whatever format you need.
I sure appreciate all this good advice. Steve, what you described is exactly what I did last night. I recorded the Intro and Outro and exported them as separate WAV files. Tomorrow I will record the first show, then import them into Audacity and use the time shift tool as you described.
