So we (Chase, me, the guys at Vault Entertainment) have done some digging around regarding the audio issues that led to today's fairly epic thread. The best we can tell, there is a bit of issue moving sound from my Zoom through Adobe Audition and into the podcast platforms. That said, I've explored Zoom and my settings are accurate. More importantly, while the audio levels aren't necessarily optimal, every one of the shows involving my Zoom are listenable and fine on both my phone and in my truck (2017 Ford F-150) on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The sound is also fine on YouTube on my phone and my desktop. I didn't test YouTube in my truck because, frankly, who "listens" to YouTube in their vehicles?
The guys at Vault (Landon and Isaac, specifically) have been awesome over the past two months. They've gone above and beyond helping me select equipment, installing equipment, troubleshooting equipment, simplifying the workflow, everything. They're amazing at what they do. If you have video production needs, etc., you should call them 662-426-1096. It's VaultEntertainment.com. I couldn't recommend them highly enough.
That said, they've gotten me as far as they can get me. We're trying to do a lot of things and we're trying to have a lot of platforms integrate with one another. If you want the ideal podcast experience with us, you should subscribe to Spotify (it's the best) or Apple. Anything other than that and there are going to be settings and whatnot that we simply don't deal with now that we're partnering with BlueWire. It's going to get routed to more obscure podcasting platforms, but the quality might not be there or it might be sporadic. We use Zoom and Skype and Ecamm and Google Voice and Dropbox and Google Drive to bring both video and audio productions to you. We're a two-man band, often a one-man band. There's no post-production team. There's no one producing shows live. There's no call screener. There's no one booking guests and getting guests on the line and into a "green room." It's just us, and often, it's just me. As I said earlier today, in an ideal world, we'd have a dedicated studio, a sales team, a production team and it might be our only gig. We'd add a Mississippi State show or two, maybe add some big sponsors and make a go of it. However, I don't have the capital to do that, and I'm not sure I have the desire to do it either. I don't think it would work. I'm fairly sure Chase agrees with that sentiment. It's an undertaking that is over our heads and, given the market in which we live, likely unsustainable.
I say that to say this: We're not going to have the production quality of Wondery or Joe Rogan or Corolla or Grind City or The Next Round. We're just not. However, and I'm not one to give myself a lot of credit, when I look back on where we were in the spring of 2020 and look at what we produce now in the late winter of 2023, I have to say we've come a long, long way. The sound is infinitely better. The visual is better. It's cleaner. There are more shows, more content, etc. All in all, the consumer is getting much more bang for his or her or its (don't want to offend anyone) buck.
I get that there will always be critics, and that's cool. I also get that while I've grown infinitely in terms of using and working with technology, I still have limits and I'm probably going to screw it up from time to time. Just today, Isaac started talking about audio levels and he was using jargon that might as well have been Portuguese. He's a genius at this stuff. I'm an idiot, and I can't afford to hire him.
If you're looking for super professional, great quality podcasting and live-streaming, we're probably going to leave you disappointed more often than not. And if your standards are that high, we're probably not the media outlet/podcast network for you. We've probably maximized what we're capable of. Maybe Chase disagrees, but I doubt it. If you want a consistent, fairly reliable, usually kind-of entertaining product that's really, really cheap for the consumer, we're going to usually leave you placated, if not satisfied. And that's probably the most we can guarantee.
Have a great weekend.
The guys at Vault (Landon and Isaac, specifically) have been awesome over the past two months. They've gone above and beyond helping me select equipment, installing equipment, troubleshooting equipment, simplifying the workflow, everything. They're amazing at what they do. If you have video production needs, etc., you should call them 662-426-1096. It's VaultEntertainment.com. I couldn't recommend them highly enough.
That said, they've gotten me as far as they can get me. We're trying to do a lot of things and we're trying to have a lot of platforms integrate with one another. If you want the ideal podcast experience with us, you should subscribe to Spotify (it's the best) or Apple. Anything other than that and there are going to be settings and whatnot that we simply don't deal with now that we're partnering with BlueWire. It's going to get routed to more obscure podcasting platforms, but the quality might not be there or it might be sporadic. We use Zoom and Skype and Ecamm and Google Voice and Dropbox and Google Drive to bring both video and audio productions to you. We're a two-man band, often a one-man band. There's no post-production team. There's no one producing shows live. There's no call screener. There's no one booking guests and getting guests on the line and into a "green room." It's just us, and often, it's just me. As I said earlier today, in an ideal world, we'd have a dedicated studio, a sales team, a production team and it might be our only gig. We'd add a Mississippi State show or two, maybe add some big sponsors and make a go of it. However, I don't have the capital to do that, and I'm not sure I have the desire to do it either. I don't think it would work. I'm fairly sure Chase agrees with that sentiment. It's an undertaking that is over our heads and, given the market in which we live, likely unsustainable.
I say that to say this: We're not going to have the production quality of Wondery or Joe Rogan or Corolla or Grind City or The Next Round. We're just not. However, and I'm not one to give myself a lot of credit, when I look back on where we were in the spring of 2020 and look at what we produce now in the late winter of 2023, I have to say we've come a long, long way. The sound is infinitely better. The visual is better. It's cleaner. There are more shows, more content, etc. All in all, the consumer is getting much more bang for his or her or its (don't want to offend anyone) buck.
I get that there will always be critics, and that's cool. I also get that while I've grown infinitely in terms of using and working with technology, I still have limits and I'm probably going to screw it up from time to time. Just today, Isaac started talking about audio levels and he was using jargon that might as well have been Portuguese. He's a genius at this stuff. I'm an idiot, and I can't afford to hire him.
If you're looking for super professional, great quality podcasting and live-streaming, we're probably going to leave you disappointed more often than not. And if your standards are that high, we're probably not the media outlet/podcast network for you. We've probably maximized what we're capable of. Maybe Chase disagrees, but I doubt it. If you want a consistent, fairly reliable, usually kind-of entertaining product that's really, really cheap for the consumer, we're going to usually leave you placated, if not satisfied. And that's probably the most we can guarantee.
Have a great weekend.
