Slides from Week 2 lecture.

2. TODAY
1. Fast Skills Acquisition
2. How to Podcast
3. Podcast Pitches working session
4. Making / Business / Research session

3. FAST SKILLS ACQUISITION
D
S
S
S
1. Deconstruction
2. Selection
3. Sequencing
4. Stakes
Adapted from Ferriss, 2015

4. DECONSTRUCTION
What’s the minimum I can learn to get away with it!
- What are the underlying building blocks?
- Why do people fail at the skill?
- Is there a best case I can reverse engineer?
- Find an expert and ask these sort of questions
- Translate this for yourself: cheat sheets, a plan,
modes of learning

5. DECONSTRUCTING PODCASTING
Skills:
1. Building questionnaire
2. Finding interviewees
3. Determining concept
4. Emailing interviewees
5. Narration
6. Recording
7. Editing
8. Interviews
Skills:
9. Mixing
10. Music cues
11. Mastering
12. Monetization
13. Distribution
14. Promotion
15. File Format

6. SELECTION
What building blocks should I focus on?

7. SELECTION PODCASTING SKILLS
Skills:
1. Building questionnaire
2. Finding interviewees
3. Determining concept
4. Emailing interviewees
5. Narration
6. Recording
7. Editing
8. Interviews
Skills:
9. Mixing
10. Music cues
11. Mastering
12. Monetization
13. Distribution
14. Promotion
15. File Format
YOU CAN PICK THREE!

8. SELECTION PODCASTING SKILLS
Skills:
1. Building questionnaire
2. Finding interviewees
3. Determining concept
4. Emailing interviewees
5. Narration
6. Recording
7. Editing
8. Interviews
Skills:
9. Mixing
10. Music cues
11. Mastering
12. Monetization
13. Distribution
14. Promotion
15. File Format
YOU CAN PICK THREE!

9. Skills:
9. Music cues
10. Mixing
11. Mastering
12. Exporting
13. Distribution
14. Promotion
15. Monetization
Skills:
1. Determining concept
2. Finding interviewees
3. Emailing interviewees
4. Building questionnaire
5. Interviews
6. Recording
7. Editing
8. Narration
SEQUENCING
What the best order to learn the minimum skills?

10. STAKES
How do I put some skin in the game?
● Easy for this: grades at stake & thus graduation
of you and your team-mates at stake
● Post-graduation:
○ Public announce your intentions
○ Book things / Mark a calendar
○ Put money down
○ Have human people involved

11. TODAY
1. Fast Skills Acquisition
2. How to Podcast
3. Podcast Pitches working session
4. Making / Business / Research session

12. WHAT IS A PODCAST?
“A podcast is a digital medium that consists of
an episodic series of audio or digital radio,
subscribed to and downloaded through web
syndication or streamed online to a computer or
mobile device. The word is a neologism and
portmanteau derived from "broadcast" and
"pod" from the success of the iPod, as audio
podcasts are often listened to on portable
media players.”

13. IAN’S FAVOURITE PODCASTS
● S-Town
● Pod Minutes to Cast Night
● WTF
● AskGaryVee (w/ Russ)
● Serial
● Song Exploder
● Mogul

14. WHY PODCAST?
A:
● Can’t write but can use audio
● Incorporates interview content & other
content you do not generate yourself
● Tell stories / branding / marketing
● Rapid growth in smartphone use
● Whole sector is getting popular
● Low barriers to entry
● Monentisable

15. ALEX BLUMBERG TIPS
References here and here and here.
● How to start: “Pick someone that you love
and try to imitate them...That’s how
everyone starts.”
● “If I’m bored, the audience is bored.”
● Good audio has (1) Narrative + (2) Emotion

16. ALEX BLUMBERG TIPS
The Story/Topic Formula:
I’m doing a story about X
And it’s interesting because
of Y

17. MORE ALEX BLUMBERG TIPS
Story Diagram: Actions > Details >
Punchline > Moment of reflection
What is a story, exactly? Sequence of
actions > Telling details, arranged in
order > A point, conclusion, realization,
punchline > Moment of reflection

18. MORE ALEX BLUMBERG TIPS

19. TODAY
1. Fast Skills Acquisition
2. How to Podcast
3. Podcast Pitches working session
4. Making / Business / Research session

20. Group Work: (15 min)
Go around the group and everyone talk about
their biggest problem with music, the music
industry/business? What’s the one or two
IMMEDIATE issues you have? What would you
desperately love to have someone fix?
BE HONEST. DON’T BE SCARED TO BE A
NOOB. GO FOR BASIC, BASIC, BASIC.

21. Next Week: (15 min)
Every group:
A two minute pitch of your concept
including possible interviews, story
elements and anything else that makes it
sound interesting.
1-2 PEOPLE TALKS / WORTH 5%

22. Business:
● Budget is $800
● Today we need:
○ A task list
○ A timeline
○ Everyone needs a job before they leave here (I
suggest working parties)