EDITING Software for PODCASTING

Amber Beels 0:01
Okay, I know I want my podcast episodes edited, but which software do I use? Let's talk about that.

Amber Beels 0:11
You're listening to Practical Podcast Tips.

Amber Beels 0:13
My name is Amber Beels. And

Amber Beels 0:15
today I'm going to cover tip number 35 editing software for podcasting.

Amber Beels 0:20
There's so many different types of editing software's to choose from. So I'm gonna try to help you through that. Alright, so as you know, there are so many different editing software's out there, there are video ones, they're the ones just for audio, there's some for Macs, or some for PCs, or some for your tablets or some for your phones. Where do you start? I know this can be overwhelming. And some of them are really expensive. Some of them are free, some of them are expensive, some of them are subscription. And, you know, it's really hard to figure out which one will work for you and work for your style of editing. The first thing that I could tell you that would help is what are you going to record and edit on? Are you recording on a laptop, are you recording on your phone, on a tablet, on a desktop, maybe you're even recording on like an external recorder and then taking the SD card and putting it into your computer to edit it, whichever way, just decide on what way you're going to record and decide how you want to edit it. If you want a little bit more control, I would say editing it on a computer will give you a little more flexibility, though there are a lot of really good applications out there for both Android and for Apple, that allow you to be able to edit your episodes just fine. So just find whichever way you want to do it. And then I can guide you from there. So if you're going to do either a tablet or a computer, I would say use a video editor. Now I know some of you are a lot of you probably only have an audio only podcast. So you're saying Andrew, why? Why should I use a video editor, I only have audio? Well, I'll tell you why. One, if you ever in the future want to have a video podcast or vodcast, you don't have to learn a whole new other system, you're able to just add that visual component to it and you're using the same editor, nothing new, you just add a new element to it. And all your tools will work the same. You kind of future proof yourself. If you start with a video editor, plus video editors, there's a lot more of those. And there are just audio editors, they're gonna have all the tools that you need, in order to make your episode sound professionally put together and have the vibe that you're looking for. Now that you know that you're going to use a video editor. Now you have to ask yourself, do you have a Mac Who do you have a PC because there's different editors that work on both. And some of them, they just work on one or the other. We are a video production company. And so one of the best editors that we've used, at least in the past is Final Cut Pro 10. Now I know there's a lot of haters out there. But it's a software that we know that we love, and we know it in and out. And I really love it. Because it's super easy to use, it's a little more intuitive than a track based editor, it uses what's called a magnetic timeline. And it's gonna work similar to iMovie. Now, Final Cut Pro 10 is a cost of $300. But it's a one time cost. So once you pay that $300 You have it for life, and you're gonna get all the updates of the software updates. And you're going to be able to use that for the rest of your life. As long as you have an Apple computer, you can use it. So we really like Final Cut Pro. But if you are on a budget and you want to do something that's free, or you know, a lot cheaper than I might suggest iMovie iMovie is going to act a lot like Final Cut Pro 10 is just going not going to have as many features of Final Cut. So maybe if you're just starting out and you want to start with iMovie and you really liked the way the workflow works, and so you decide to make the investment in purchasing Final Cut, then go for it.

I mean, that's a really good way to see if that editor is good for you. Now, if you have a PC, you have a few more options. One of them is Adobe Premiere. A lot of people use Adobe Premiere to be able to edit their videos and their podcasts. Now Adobe Premiere is a cost of $25 a month it is a subscription. However a lot of people love it. It's super easy to use. And it is a tract based software. So once you kind of learn how that works. You have The different tracks one track will have like video. And then you could have separate audio tracks, there is more of a possibility of having what's called a gap or gap clip. And that's when your tracks don't line up. And there's a little bit of a gap. Now, if you just have an audio only podcast, it's not going to be a huge issue, it's more of an issue for if you have a visual element, or if you have a vodcast, it's going to be a little bit more of an issue, you just might have an extra pause in your podcast, which isn't a huge deal. And it's something that you can get used to and learn how to deal with and learn to look out for. So let's premiere, there is another one called DaVinci Resolve. And I think I've mentioned this in another episode of mine, we have switched over just recently from Final Cut Pro to DaVinci, for editing all of our videos and our podcasts, all the podcasts that we manage. And I'm not gonna lie, I was a little hesitant I still am. It's a learning curve for sure. I mean, when I first started editing, I learned on Final Cut Pro seven, which was track bass at the time. Now it's magnetic bass. And I remember going from seven to 10. And just wanting to throw my computer out the window, because I was like, I don't understand what's going on. But it took about one week. And then I got I really got used to the magnetic timeline workflow. And I learned to love it because now I'm going back to track bass, and I'm like, Ah, I have to remember all those years ago, how track bass works and what it's doing and it's fine out, we really love DaVinci Resolve, one thing that I do want to mention is it's free, you can get a free version of DaVinci Resolve, it is a one time cost. If you want the paid version, I believe it's like three or $400. It's a one time cost. However, if you buy any hardware from Blackmagic, that's who makes DaVinci Resolve if you buy any of their hardware, a lot of their hardware comes with a free paid version of DaVinci Resolve. So if you buy hardware that's around $400, you're gonna get a hardware piece and the editing software. So you might as well do that, if you're looking for some kind of hardware, they have cameras, they have switchers, and they have all sorts of things. So if you want to check them out, it's black magic. And I think most if not all, hardware that they sell comes with DaVinci Resolve because they're really trying to push it. And DaVinci Resolve is also a track based editor. And it works really well. It really does it once you get used to that track based workflow. And you see what the computer is doing, then you're able to work with it and have it work for you rather than against you. Davinci Resolve is a very robust program, though I have to warn you, it's like five programs in one, they bought a bunch of different programs, and they kind of just inserted it and made one huge program. So when you open up DaVinci Resolve, you're going to have all these little tabs at the bottom. And there's going to be like an animator, and then there's going to be just a sound software. And then there's going to be an editor and a cut page and a media page, a delivery page. Like it's going to be a little bit of a learning curve. I'm gonna say that right now. However, there are a lot of great tutorials out there to kind of help you get through it. And of course, there's YouTube, if you really want to learn, you can teach yourself just go into YouTube type in DaVinci Resolve, how do I do this, and you'll learn if you want to use a tablet for editing, the one that I can recommend, at least for Apple is Luma fusion. I think Luma fusion also comes in Android, but I'm not 100% on that. But Luma fusion is a really full featured application editor that goes straight on your iPad, and you're able to edit on it very, very easily. Actually, it's very intuitive. And it works really well. And it's only I think it's like $30. So that's one of the more reasonable ones. But again, it's on your iPad, and it's iPad only. So it's not like you can take an edit from your iPad, bring it onto your computer and edit it more. I believe it's just on the iPad that you can edit on.

And you know, let me know if Luma fusion is on Android I again, I'm an apple person. So I don't exactly know what's on Android versus on Apple. But I do know that Luma fusion is a really good option, at least for Apple iPads. Yeah, those are a lot of the editors. You know, I do want to say that once you learn how to edit, you should be able to apply that skill to any software. And I know I mentioned that I was having trouble coming from Final Cut 10 to DaVinci Resolve, but it's just because I'm stubborn and I really didn't want to switch but that's just begin because I'm sorry, but I'm learning really fast. And I know the technique of editing, I know how to edit, I just have to learn these tools. But once you learn that skill of editing, you should be able to jump on an editor, kind of learn the basics and be able to go and just jump in and be able to do the edit that you know you know how to do. You're just using a different software for him. So I really hope this helps. Don't be afraid if it's hard in the beginning, again, you're learning a new skill. This is something that a lot of people, they pay other people to do it because it is so tedious. But if you're just starting out and you want to learn how to do it, then go for it. Just don't be afraid. If it's a little harder than you expect. It's just gonna take some time and with practice, you're gonna get better, you're gonna get faster. And once you're the expert editor, you can hire out when you're doing really well and at least you will have the appreciation for the editor that you're hiring because you've done it yourself and you can appreciate all that hard work that they're putting in. Alright guys, that's it for me. I hope this helped. And I'll see you in the next episode. Hey, thanks for listening. If you liked this episode, please feel free to leave us a review. It really helps out the show. And I'd love to hear how it helped. Also, if you know someone else that could benefit from it, go ahead and share it with them. Thanks again and I'll see you in the next episode.