Setting up the Perfect Work Station for Podcasting Workflow
I thought I would share a little bit today about the process behind creating a podcast today since many people have asked me where and how I put The Birth Hour together. I have suffered from back and neck pain as well as carpal tunnel for the past decade which is really sad considering I’m only 30 years old. The good news is that I’ve had many years to test out all of the ergonomic products available and know the value in putting together an ergonomic work station.
Recording a Podcast
I record using the Blue Yeti Microphone over Skype (audio only) with ecamm call recorder. Previously I used the Blue Snowball mic which was great as well but it didn’t have a mute button or a headphone port so I couldn’t hear my own voice when recording. The mute button is also really helpful for my podcast recordings because often when a mom is telling her birth story, she will talk for 10 minutes straight without me saying anything so I love being able to mute the mic and take a drink of water or whatever without her hearing me gulp.
I used to sit at the dining room table while I recorded but now I use my sit stand desk from Ergotron that I’m obsessed with. I love this desk because it just sits on top of the desk I already own and it can be adjusted up or down really easily. If I decide to upgrade to a bigger desk one day (like when I have an actual office), I can just move this desk wherever it needs to go. I also got the screen mount so that I could have double screens which is really helpful when editing.
Many of my recordings last an hour or more so being able to get up and move around a bit is so helpful. I have a stool that can be table height or bar height and an anti-fatigue mat that helps with circulation in my legs when I am standing for long periods of time.
Editing a Podcast
Editing is the most time consuming aspect of podcasting and can take anywhere from 3-8 hours to edit a one hour episode so again having the sit stand desk option is so essential. My husband helps a lot with editing as well so having the adjustable desk is amazing because we can adjust it for his height as well. We edit using Garageband which comes on all macbook computers. Most of the editing is just cutting but there are also some sound adjustments that we make as well. We’ve also learned to split the tracks at the beginning of the editing session so that if there is background noise on either end, we can cut it out completely while the other person is talking.
