Courses

Stephen McCann

Stephen is a 31 yo Audio Producer from Dublin. He began his audio journey as a Drum and Bass DJ before enrolling in Galway Technical Institute's Music Performance and Production course, where he found his passion for production. Having gone on to complete his study in The Sound Trainings College through IADT, he now specialises in Podcast production and recording, and is currently working on the soon to be released "Cobblestone Pub Podcast". He also works with the band Ispíní na hÉiereann (production, recording and live sound) and has created his own production company called "Story Bud Productions".

Testing of the Shure SM58, Rode NT1A and Shure SM7B Microphones in the small and heavily acoustically treated environment.

The Harvard sentence used to test the microphones. The Harvard sentences, sometimes called Harvard lines, are a collection of 720 sample phrases, divided into lists of 10, used for standardized testing of Voice over IP, cellular, and other telephone systems. They are phonetically balanced sentences that use specific phonemes at the same frequency they appear in English. During the Second World War, scholars were working tirelessly on the intelligibility of radio communications. During this time, understanding radio messages was of the utmost importance. From this research, the representative Harvard Sentences were created.

The audio processing, including two limiters, de-esser, de-plosive, EQ and compression, used on the Rode NT1A in the large room recorded on the mixing desk.

The custom Podcast show production template created based on the most important findings of the project.

What Makes A Podcast Successful?

What is it that makes a podcast successful? This projects aim is to examine the elements that place successful podcasts above the rest, and how this information could be best utilized to gain a competitive advantage when creating a podcast in an already saturated and expanding market.

Project Objectives

By studying the factors that make podcasts successful, the goal is to set a template for success that can be easily replicated when applied correctly. The main elements of study will be in relation to content creation, production, marketing, release and monetisation, and how these findings can be implemented by an individual or organisation to further their creative ambitions.

Project Outcomes

The outcomes will be expanded upon by section. With content, a Podcast Show Template was created and deeper insight into the value of content was gained. Podcast equipment was researched, evaluated and refined with processing, and a document compiled showing multiple podcast bundles, from cheap to expensive, and adjust on a per host basis. All avenues of release were explored and outlined in detail and a final outcome reached. Marketing strategies were put forward in detail that have proven success when implemented correctly and types of monetisation were outlined, but no standard income figures could be established. The survey was constructed well but did not receive the hoped respondents, but still served a valuable purpose. And a Template Business Plan was constructed. All of which combined allows for a very clear understanding of what it takes to operate a successful podcast.