Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Firewall & Iceberg podcast, episode 2.1: Lost, Fringe, American Idol and more

So, after the fun hijinx Fienberg and I had with our first podcast attempt at press tour, we gave it another go via Skype today, so head on over to NJ.com to download the new podcast and read my explanation for what's in it, and for why, however lame this version is, it's not 1/10th as horrible as the one we recorded, then abandoned, earlier today.

25 comments:

David J. Loehr said...

Very nice. It's getting there.

Anonymous said...

Though I'm embarrassed to admit it, can anyone explain how to get this .mp3 file onto my iPod? I downloaded the file into the same folder in my hard drive that contains the AV Club's TV podcast, but this podcast doesn't show up in my iTunes and won't sync to my iPod. Help would be appreciated.

Matt said...

Yep--nicely done, though the slight echo for Alan was a bit annoying--maybe flip who's the main recorder each week so as to not always hose someone with the Skype connection?

Alan Sepinwall said...

can anyone explain how to get this .mp3 file onto my iPod?

You can't put it into your podcast folder; until it's syndicated, iTunes won't recognize it as such. In the meantime, just create a playlist for it, drag the file into that playlist, and sync it to your iPod. Done.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Matt, we thought of that, but the problem is that Dan's the one who's done most of the heavy reading about how to record and edit.

Ideally, we'll get headsets at some point, and/or figure out how we each record our own end and then combine the two.

KarenX said...

@ Anonymous: If you are looking for the podcast in iTunes still, it's probably in your music library under Daniel Fienberg's name. "Podcast 2.1" is the title.

JanieJones said...

Very happy and well done.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Alan and KarenX. Oddly, it's not showing up under Music either, but I'll find the playlist folder and try and put it in there (or else I'll just listen to it online and hold off downloading until this podcast eventually gets syndicated).

Anonymous said...

Thanks for providing the details of when each section starts.

Anonymous said...

Ok, it's definitely getting better, but I have a problem with the roles you two are establishing.

You are doing a fine job of playing the more-focused host. I know it's the less fun role to play, but you tend to stay focused and let Dan rome free. This is essential for a two-man podcast to work, but it's also what's causing the problem.

Dan is playing the Super-Smart Sarcasm guy. The guy that is a little too smart for his own good and plays the sarcasm card a little too frequently. This comes off like he's trying just a tad too hard. I know this, because this character is me. And it's lot easier to throw out sarcasm than it is to take a beat to come up with something more clever.

It's definitely getting better, and I don't mean to be too critical, but unfortunately I don't find Dan as funny as he probably thinks he is.

But I will still listen because I enjoy people who talk about TV I like.

Alan Sepinwall said...

Oddly, it's not showing up under Music either, but I'll find the playlist folder and try and put it in there

No. Don't mess around with outside folders. I mean you need to literally drag it from your desktop (or whatever folder it's in) into the iTunes screen itself.

Bix said...

Does anyone know if Dan ran his feed through Feedburner optimized for podcasts and submitted it to iTunes, would iTunes only pick up the entries with audio linked or would the iTunes feed also include his regular posts?

As far as getting it onto your iPod, add it to your library however you like (as if it was a song), and then sync it.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, if dragging it into your iTunes screen is confusing, go to the iTunes menu and Add File to Playlist and track it down that way. It's very simple

Hatfield said...

Yeah, I liked it, though you guys still sound extremely aware of the fact that people will be listening to you. Granted, how could you not, but if you could find a way to bottle what it sounds like when you just joke around and talk about this stuff without an audience, I bet it'd be gold. You're both articulate, funny and well-informed on the subject. And the Simpsons reference was perfect. Keep 'em coming.

Incidentally, my grandmother on my father's side (sadly not the Hatfields) claims that her ancestors were Belgian royalty and somehow had a hand in bringing over the first clydesdales. I can't prove this, but whenever I hear clydesdales or see one of those beer commercials I always think about it.

Flagg said...

Two Geeks, a Skype and a Podcast?

Ellen said...

This might be a little more complicated than you guys are looking for, but I know some folks who do podcasts like this use the following procedure to get better audio from both ends [CAVEAT: As I have not personally used it, I would definitely test this procedure to make sure it works on a regular skype chat before you use it for an actual podcast]:

1. Call each other on skype.

2. Make sure that the audio coming out of each person's computer is either going to headphones or a bluetooth headset or something to prevent feedback.

3. Have both sides start recording [make sure you're both recording in the same format like mp3 or WAV or whatever] locally using the best microphone you have handy - even if it's just a laptop's mic, it's still going to sound better than skype. Do some sort of joint "3...2...1...go!" countdown to be able to sync up later.

4. When finished, have whoever is less technically adept send their audio file to whoever is more technically adept.

5. Whoever is more technically adept, use a program like GarageBand or AudioHijack Pro to lay one track over another, using the "3...2..1...go!" as your point of reference.

6. Skip to near the end of the conversation to make sure everything is still properly synced (ALWAYS best to double-check).

7. Export podcast as mp3.

I can't 100% guarantee it will work, but I've seen (well, heard) this technique used before and it sounded pretty good. The biggest question is if you find the improvement in sound to be worth the effort.

belinda said...

Yay, a second one! It's not perfect, but it's getting along, and am looking forward to more, so thanks guys!

I have a feeling that Lost would be heavily featured in the weeks to come (which is fine by me!), and AI too, but is there a particular system in which shows/how many are chosen to be 'featured' in the podcast, or is it more of a rundown of the shows both of you/either one enjoyed the most that week? Who gets the final say?

Re: iTunes. I just save it on my desktop, open iTunes, drag the podcast icon into the iTunes window (the music library), and find it somewhere lurking around in the Music section on my ipod. I kind of just treat it as any regular song file.

Anonymous said...

Is there a feed that contains just the audio entries (a real podcast?)

Alan Sepinwall said...

Not yet. As we say in the podcast, we're working on it.

KeepingAwake said...

To play the podcast on an Android phone, I've just been going to the page it's on through my phone browser and clicking on it.

Don't know if you can do this on an iPod, but I'd think that you could.

It's not the same as subscribing, (at that point I'll throw it into Google Listen) but it works!

Anonymous said...

It was great hearing your opinions about the shows you discussed, but you guys were trying way too hard to be funny. I think if you relax and dial it back, thw podcast will be a lot better.

Anonymous said...

Great podcast, Alan and Dan. Thoroughly entertaining. More, please.

TL said...

Re: iTunes -- If your software is up to date, there's now an "Automatically Add to iTunes" folder in your iTunes Music folder. Save it there, and it will automatically get added to your iTunes library. "Dan Fienberg" is listed as the artist.

If you want it to show up in your podcasts screen, right click->Get Info->Options Tab, and choose "Podcast" from the "Media Kind" drop down.

Laura said...

You're both definitely getting the hang of it. Dan's sarcasm can be a little too angry for my taste, but as others have noted, you're both articulate and opinionated and interesting, and better yet, you play well off each other - I like that you take turns asking each other questions and give each other time to rant a bit. Basically, I love TV, love hearing you all talk about it, can't wait for the next podcast.

(I LOLed at Dan's line about the blind guy from AI, too, not gonna lie.)

Baylink said...

That was roughly what i suggested to them, Ellen, except that my approach was for them to both call into a conference bridge.

This is likely because, working in a call center, I have conference bridges coming out my ears, and can volunteer one. :-)

If they're interested in having a producer, I can probably do that, too.

They know how to get ahold of me.

masidics: a new kind of Jew.