SBG - Podcast

Does anyone fancy contributing to a Sheffield Board Gamers podcast? I would like to start producing one, probably once a month to start and just chat about the games I've played, maybe do a review, talk about upcoming games etc. You wouldn't have to commit to it every month, perhaps we could have guest slots and have different people on each episode?

I'm kind of curious to try something like this, Rik. I don't think I'd be very good at it but I think it would be an intersting experience!

What are you thoughts on format? Number of particpants? Where/how did you intend to record it: in person or over t'internet?

I believe PaulyG had a podcast at some point in the past. Wonder if he, or anyone else who has done it before, might have any thoughts...

SamVS wrote:I'm kind of curious to try something like this, Rik. I don't think I'd be very good at it but I think it would be an intersting experience!

What are you thoughts on format? Number of particpants? Where/how did you intend to record it: in person or over t'internet?

I believe PaulyG had a podcast at some point in the past. Wonder if he, or anyone else who has done it before, might have any thoughts...

Cool, thanks Sam. I'll probably not be very good either so no worries there! I'll probably create a Google doc and have a running order what games you want to talk about etc. Probably an informal chatty format to start and see how it develops.

Good point about paulyg maybe he can give us some tips!

I did have a podcast for a short while! I'm no expert but these are my tips:

- I would avoid having more than 3 people in a conversation unless they're all in the same room or else you'll end up with a massive editing job.
- The thing that is most worth investing in is at least reasonable quality microphones - the Zoom recorders are great and also let you record on the move in good quality. Even gaming headsets are vastly preferable to using a built-in computer mic.
- If you're recording conversations remotely over Skype then you can do a couple of things: 1) have one person record everything using something like Skype call recorder (this is easier, but the remote person will be lower quality) or 2) do a 'double-ender' where each person records their own end of the call locally and then one person edits them together (this is a bit more work, but sounds better).
- Keep it short and to the point (it sounds like you already have this covered if you have a running order, etc.)
- Announce your release schedule and stick to it as much as you can.
- There are loads of podcast hosting sites, and I don't know which is best but I think libsyn is ok? (When I did it I hosted the files on my own server and used Feedburner which was ok at low volumes but could risk a nasty bandwidth bill if you get popular!)

paulyg wrote:I did have a podcast for a short while! I'm no expert but these are my tips:

- I would avoid having more than 3 people in a conversation unless they're all in the same room or else you'll end up with a massive editing job.
- The thing that is most worth investing in is at least reasonable quality microphones - the Zoom recorders are great and also let you record on the move in good quality. Even gaming headsets are vastly preferable to using a built-in computer mic.
- If you're recording conversations remotely over Skype then you can do a couple of things: 1) have one person record everything using something like Skype call recorder (this is easier, but the remote person will be lower quality) or 2) do a 'double-ender' where each person records their own end of the call locally and then one person edits them together (this is a bit more work, but sounds better).
- Keep it short and to the point (it sounds like you already have this covered if you have a running order, etc.)
- Announce your release schedule and stick to it as much as you can.
- There are loads of podcast hosting sites, and I don't know which is best but I think libsyn is ok? (When I did it I hosted the files on my own server and used Feedburner which was ok at low volumes but could risk a nasty bandwidth bill if you get popular!)

Thats great info, thanks Paul.

This podcast, about starting/hosting a podcast, is also pretty decent listening though it's worth just picking out episodes which have topics that you're interested in. It tends to be a bit repetitive and some of it is aimed at very large podcasts (e.g. sections about selling ads or buying very expensive audio equipment).

http://5by5.tv/podcastmethod

And I'd be happy to guest some time!

I've no interest in being on-air but if I can provide any form of technical or logistical assistance then I'd be interested in helping out!

DaveB wrote:I've no interest in being on-air but if I can provide any form of technical or logistical assistance then I'd be interested in helping out!

Thanks Dave!

Hey, how's this for an authentic SBGC experience: we set up a mic in the club on a Tuesday and just record there, in a corner of the room. The mics would have to pick up the recorded voices clearly over the background noise, but if that's possible the bustle of the room would actually be a charming gimmick. Every now and again you'd hear Angelo shouting at Catan, or somebody being loudly accused of being a spy, or "You sunk my battleship!", or whatever. And anyone who was feeling brave could feel free to just sit down at the recording table and interrupt us or join in. It would be absurd and a mess, but potentially amazing XD Just spitballing

I'd be up for being involved in some fashion.

SamVS wrote:Hey, how's this for an authentic SBGC experience: we set up a mic in the club on a Tuesday and just record there, in a corner of the room. The mics would have to pick up the recorded voices clearly over the background noise, but if that's possible the bustle of the room would actually be a charming gimmick. Every now and again you'd hear Angelo shouting at Catan, or somebody being loudly accused of being a spy, or "You sunk my battleship!", or whatever. And anyone who was feeling brave could feel free to just sit down at the recording table and interrupt us or join in. It would be absurd and a mess, but potentially amazing XD Just spitballing

Hi Sam sorry, I meant to catch you yesterday and have a chat about it but I didn't get chance!

Doing it on a Tuesday is a good idea but I think the background noise would just be too much unfortunately. If the other small room was free we could use that but if we are doing it on Tuesday it would eat into gaming time. Maybe it's something we can come back to once we have found our feet a bit?

Scott_Fryer wrote:I'd be up for being involved in some fashion.

That would be awesome, thanks Scott.

I too would be up for being involved.

Yep, you make good points Rik

Alternatively, you could just record a little insert clip on a Tuesday night. Perhaps someone has just played something brand new and you could ask them what they thought about it for 2 mins as a tease for a fuller discussion on a future episode? I think listeners are more forgiving of a bit of background noise if it's a short 'on-location' segment rather than the whole podcast.

paulyg wrote:Alternatively, you could just record a little insert clip on a Tuesday night. Perhaps someone has just played something brand new and you could ask them what they thought about it for 2 mins as a tease for a fuller discussion on a future episode? I think listeners are more forgiving of a bit of background noise if it's a short 'on-location' segment rather than the whole podcast.

This is a good idea I feel

paulyg wrote:Alternatively, you could just record a little insert clip on a Tuesday night. Perhaps someone has just played something brand new and you could ask them what they thought about it for 2 mins as a tease for a fuller discussion on a future episode? I think listeners are more forgiving of a bit of background noise if it's a short 'on-location' segment rather than the whole podcast.

Or possibly a brief bit of on-the-spot commentary on some pivotal moment in the middle of a game. You could have a player describe the situation and why it's important, maybe have Angelo explain why it's f****g b****t because someone stole the space he needed.

I think this is a great idea. I am following with interest.

I would be interested in joining in at points if you wanted (I can provide a viewpoint from an independent games publisher, or report about conventions further afield, e.g. Tabletop Scotland in August)

When I was on the We're Not Wizards podcast it was conducted through Skype. We both used headphones and recorded our own dialogue using Audacity (this should minimise echo). At the start all participants count down from 3 and then clap - apparently this helps with synchronizing the different audio tracks for editing.

TomL wrote:I would be interested in joining in at points if you wanted (I can provide a viewpoint from an independent games publisher, or report about conventions further afield, e.g. Tabletop Scotland in August)

When I was on the We're Not Wizards podcast it was conducted through Skype. We both used headphones and  recorded our own dialogue using Audacity (this should minimise echo). At the start all participants count down from 3 and then clap - apparently this helps with synchronizing the different audio tracks for editing.

Hi Tom thanks for getting in touch regarding the podcast. We have done a test 'episode 0' and we have a whatsapp group and a google doc set up for the next episode. Can you pm me your mobile number please and i will add you to the chat group.

paulyg wrote:I did have a podcast for a short while! I'm no expert but these are my tips:

- I would avoid having more than 3 people in a conversation unless they're all in the same room or else you'll end up with a massive editing job.
- The thing that is most worth investing in is at least reasonable quality microphones - the Zoom recorders are great and also let you record on the move in good quality. Even gaming headsets are vastly preferable to using a built-in computer mic.
- If you're recording conversations remotely over Skype then you can do a couple of things: 1) have one person record everything using something like Skype call recorder (this is easier, but the remote person will be lower quality) or 2) do a 'double-ender' where each person records their own end of the call locally and then one person edits them together (this is a bit more work, but sounds better).
- Keep it short and to the point (it sounds like you already have this covered if you have a running order, etc.)
- Announce your release schedule and stick to it as much as you can.
- There are loads of podcast hosting sites, and I don't know which is best but I think libsyn is ok? (When I did it I hosted the files on my own server and used Feedburner which was ok at low volumes but could risk a nasty bandwidth bill if you get popular!)

I remember listening to your podcast a couple of years back, I really enjoyed it. However, I can't remember much about the content (other than you talked about cheese a lot!)

...I'm also happy to help, Rik!

PaulC wrote:...I'm also happy to help, Rik!

Cool, pm me your number and i will add you to the chat.

Episode 1 is available for download now! Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen, for all the suggestions and support. It really is a club team effort and Im looking forward to producing more episodes.

https://www.podbean.com/ea/pb-knhaf-b4e677

We have a podcast! Episode 1 is live now on Podbean. Give us a listen!

Board Game Podcast hosted by the Sheffield Board Games Club members. Rick and Tom C are joined by Tom Lovewell from Redwell Games and we discuss his new game Six Gun Showdown. We review Yamatai and Spectaculum, talk about our UK Games Expo experiences, and Evan tells us about Steamrollers. We also discuss rules mistakes and rule books in general.

You can also watch an enhanced version on our Youtube channel.

https://youtu.be/rlXWfsCCiqQ