I have spent the last week creating my first podcast. Initially I got in touch with a number of potential guests on instagram asking them if they would like to take part. The subject of this podcast coincides with my dissertation (How Covid will impact the consumer’s buying habits in relation to fast fashion) therefore I messaged a number of female entrepreneurs who have started their own fashion/jewellery brands routed in ethics and sustainability. I got in touch with Izzie Berner, founder of Rhimani, Sally and Lettie Hawarden, founders of The Design Studio and Laura Von Behr, owner of a vintage studio in London. I was pleasantly surprised at how many responses I got showing an interest so I compiled a document (see below) that laid out all of the details of getting involved with the podcast and awaited further contact.
I only received a response from Laura Von Behr but if I’m honest I was really pleased as she was my top pick to come onto the podcast. She has a very good following (11.7k) and is super knowledgable on the subject of sustainable fashion. Once I sent her the information sheet we arranged a time that suited her and I scheduled the Zoom meeting and sent her a consent form (see below). We recorded on Friday 7th August and I was so pleased with the result and Laura seemed to have really enjoyed being a part of it.
I found it quite difficult deciding what to include in the podcast as the main interview with Laura so I spoke to my supervisor. Hannah advised that I listened to Radio 1, watched Good Morning Britain, This Morning and bought a couple of gossip magazines to see how they split their content up. This research inspired me to add in two segments; the ‘internet sensation of the week’ and ‘hero of the week’. The aim of this was to get two extra 10 minute segments to break up the content and make the podcast more digestible and engaging as just listening to two people having a conversation for 45 minutes can be quite dull. For these segments I asked my friend Freddie Ward to be my internet sensation of the week guest star who has agreed to be a regular on the show. I think that this adds interest but also maintains continuity. We chose to discuss Jordan Firstman as our first internet sensation as he has really come into the spotlight during lockdown. Obviously my hero of the week will change each week but I thought this was a good segment to add in as it brings positivity and also gives people who may be under-appreciated the recognition that they deserve. For this podcast I asked my friend Lara Horne to take part. Lara was a student midwife during the pandemic and managed to qualify early as a result of working flat out during Covid.
To begin with I must admit that I was very apprehensive about creating a podcast series as I felt quite intimidated by the prospect of using new software and recording the podcast itself. Having spoken to James Brown at the beginning of this process he advised me to simply record the content via Zoom as this would give me an MP4 file. This has worked very well although occasionally I would find the connection cut out meaning I, or the interviewee, would have to repeat their sentence to ensure clarity. Once I had finished the recording with a guest James advised me that I put it into Adobe Premiere Rush.
Honestly, this terrified me as I am really not very proficient or experienced with this software. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to use it at all or that it would take up an excessive amount of my time which at this point is very precious. However, once I had watched a few YouTube tutorials and spent some time experimenting I got into the swing of things and surprised myself at how easy I found the editing process. After every recording session I put the MP4 file straight into Premiere Rush and got to editing. This meant that I broke it down into bite sized chunks rather than leaving it all to the end and getting very overwhelmed. I finished editing the final segment on Saturday after recording with Lara and I have almost finished the first podcast — I just need to add an outro. I have put a little soundbite below of the internet sensation of the week to give a taster of the podcast (Ignore the background noise that is not in the actual podcast).
I am actually so pleased with the result. Although it is difficult for me to know if it is engaging to listen to for other people I feel that for my first try it is pretty good. I have surprised myself at how much I enjoyed editing it and creating the content and can’t wait to start the second one. The one thing about the first podcast is that I didn’t manage to get a musical guest but I have been in touch with a friend of mine who is happy to come onto the next one and sing live! The idea is that there is some continuity with each podcast but it isn’t rigid in its structure or content so that listeners don’t get bored and are kept on their toes.