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Drama Podcasting Tips

Dramapod.com Drama Podcasting Tips Since the first time I saw a zine, I have been interested in types of media that encourage a DIY Ethic.

Podcasted drama really sparks my imagination so I decided to write and produce my own drama, The First Law.

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and hope I learnt a few things along the way, which I can build on in future endeavours.

I have had a few e-mails recently asking about getting started podcasting drama so I have added this section detailing some tips which have come from my first podcating experience which I hope you find useful.

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Tips on Writing Drama Podcasts
I started by reading example scripts I found online at sites like SimplyScripts.com and listening to loads of audio dramas.

I did a lot of reading around the subject before I started Sciprtwriting. One of the best scriptwriting books for me was The Definitive Guide to Screenwriting by Syd Field. For story development I found The Writer's Journey by Chris Vogler, a really great read. Neither of these books specifically cover audio drama but were both highly recommended to me from a range of sources and on reflection, they were the most useful.

I also wanted the script to be as easy as possible for the voice actors to use, so I opted for an industry standard, I went for a BBC Radio Script Format.

I went through writing and re-writing my script many times, getting feedback from friends and more experienced Scriptwriters. I ended up with something I was quite happy with and started to get ready for recording. I then got a really great piece of advice from Rosemary, my scriptwriting mentor, which was 'really listen to it'. So I did a read-through, recorded it, and listened to it. Listening to it made me really focus, I made many changes and improvements to the script after the read-through, long before voice actors were involved.

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Tips on Producing Drama Podcasts
During Pre-production I learnt how to use the great open source editing and recording software Audacity via the numerous tutorials. I also found a useful section on production in Radio in Context by Guy Starkey.

I had planned to record the whole show at home using friends and relatives initially, as I had done in the read-through earlier. However, as the project grew I was lucky to arrange some training on using a nearby studio. It had been ten years since I had my music show, back when I was an undergraduate, but the studio still felt familiar.

Students of the performing arts volunteered their services as budding Voice Actors, they were fantastic, keen to get exposure to something new and they all turned up on time and were happy to go through as many takes as I wanted.

Audacity was used to edit all the elements together, voices, sound effects I had recorded and the background music. I spent quite some time reviewing and selecting music from sites like PodSafeAudio.com. I contacted the Artists before using their work and all of the Musicians were keen to hear the final piece and gave some great feedback.

Finally I released the show under the Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Creative Commons Deed and began to promote the podcast.

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Tips on Promoting Your Drama Podcast
Creating a feed with relevant and useful descriptions, tags and summaries is very important and sadly often overlooked.

Listeners are less likely to give your podcast a go if they don't know what it is about.

The description, tag and summary areas can be used to inform listeners about your podcast, they are also used by search engines to display your podcast when people do searches.

There are tools and useful articles that can help you optimise your keywords, tags and descriptions.

Once your podcast and feed are ready, submit it to the podcasting directories. A fairly comprehensive list can be found at podcast411.com and you can also submit it to us.

Then look to advertise your podcast on forums and blogs who attract people who might be interested in listening to your show. Be careful not to spam forums. Check the forums rules and it never hurts to ask whoever runs it first before you post an advert about your show.

Also explore getting a bumper on a show that already attracts the sort of audience you are aiming for. Link and Bumper exchanges can really help to spread the word and promote your podcast.

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Final Words
Listing my podcast on Dramapod has helped me to promote the podcast, to reach an audience, and get feedback from Listeners.

When you have created your masterpiece, please submit it to Dramapod for inclusion in our directory.

The whole experience of writing and producing my own podcast has really had a positive effect on me and I hope it does for you.

Dave B (Dramapod.com)

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