Video podcasts are getting more popular and effective by the day. As a podcaster, you NEED to start creating video podcasts. It’s not hard, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Anyone can do it.
In this article, we going to talk about how to get started creating video podcasts so you can maximize your podcast reach with videos.
Ready, set, go!
What are video podcasts?
Let’s clarify what we mean by video podcasts. Simply put, video podcasts are podcasts with video elements, and not just audio. For example, if you are running a solo show or an interview-format podcast, you and your guests will appear on the video.
Why create video podcasts
While you can convert audio to videos easily with tools such as Audioship and Repurpose.io, we are going to focus on creating original video content because they are more engaging than audio or audiograms alone.
Video podcasts can be created by recording podcast hosts and guests in the same physical location, or using tools such as Zoom, Podcastle, Riverside, and similar online recording studios that can significantly reduce cost. In the following sections, we will walk you through different ways to record, edit and publish video podcasts easily.
How to record video podcasts in person
Record with your mobile phone
If you have a one-person, solo podcast, you can easily record an episode using your mobile phone. Consider recording using the landscape (16:9) version if you intend to publish on YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook primarily.
Landscape orientation is generally a better idea to record your native video because you can crop the landscape video to be vertical in post-production and publish it on social media. Learn more about How to Repurpose Podcast Content
Record with multiple phones and microphones (for hosts and guests)
What if you have two or more guests joining you for video podcast recording, and you want o high-quality sound without room noise? Consider the following setup with two microphones and two phones. You can even borrow your guest’s phone when they join you at the recording studio and ask them to airdrop the video to you before they leave. In the long run, though, it’s a good idea to invest in multiple microphones and devices as needed for your studio.
Record with Wireless Lavalier Microphone
Do you travel often for interviews? Or perhaps you are on a budget and still want to produce quality content? These Lavalier microphones are your friends. The connector easily plugs into your iPhone, and you can connect the Bluetooth, wireless microphones directly to your iPhone. As a bonus, the tiny mics are powerful and can be easily clipped on shirts and dresses. Making this setup so easy to set up, travel with, and cost-effective.
How to record video podcasts in remote locations
There’s a good chance that you and your guests may not reside in the same locations, and travel to a professional studio to record podcasts can be costly. Why not record your video podcasts using various software that cost a fraction of the recording studio?
Record video podcasts with Zoom
The simplest and easiest option is (still) Zoom.
Pro: the big pro with recording video podcasts on Zoom is everyone’s familiarity with Zoom. The old-fashioned gallery view with two guests or more still works for a lot of video podcasters.
Con: one big con with Zoom is the recording quality. The maximum resolution is 1280x720p. While it’s fine for regularly meeting recordings, YouTube and similar platforms will prefer and even prioritize videos that are 4K (4K resolution refers to a video or image size that contains approximately 3840 pixels horizontally and 2160 pixels vertically.)
Record video podcasts with Restream
One of my favorite ways of recording and publishing video podcasts is using a livestream service, such as Restream. I have written extensively about Restream on this blog. With Restream, you can choose to livestream your video podcast, or simply record it without going live.
Here’s an example of my livestreamed podcast with Michael Bungay Stanier.
In addition, Restream offers ready-made graphics, overlay, background, and video options. You can also design your own graphics, lower-thirds, customize brand settings, and much more.
Record video podcasts with Podcastle
If you are looking to produce a very high-quality video podcast (4k recordings!) then you need to consider tools such as Podcastle and Riverside. Both apps allow you to record right from a browser. No native app download is necessary.
You can schedule your video podcast recording directly inside Podcastle and invite up to 10 other guests.
When you enter the studio, you will be prompted to check your sound, video, and display name, and confirm if you are using a headphone or not. When you choose “I’m not using headphones”, Podcastle will turn on noise reduction.
Once you are inside the studio, you will be able to see yourself and your guests on the screen. The rest of rather straightforward just like using Zoom and equivalent video conference apps.
Once the recording is completed, it’s important for you and your guests to keep the browser tab open until Podcastle confirms that the videos have been updated remotely from your locations. The reason for such quality video output is what’s progressive upload. While you record your show, the video is progressively uploaded in the background, even if you notice some delay or lip-sync issues during the recording, it still means that the final output will be sharp and in sync.
What types of final recordings do you get? Check it out, you will be able to download full-size, 4K videos for:
- The entire video in gallery view with the host and guests in one video
- Individual videos of just the host and just the guests
- The full audio file of the recording
What if you experience dropoffs and other technical issues during the recording? Rest assured, Podcastle will record multiple videos to ensure everything is captured as intended. For example, if I had internet connection issues and had to leave the studio twice, Podcastle will provide 3 videos total in the end.
Record video podcasts with Riverside
The user experience for Riverside is quite similar compared to Podcastle.
This is the step before you enter the studio as a host, also where you configure your name, mic and camera setup.
Once you are inside the studio, you can invite your guests, update the recording name, choose to remove background noise, and a new feature worth mentioning from Riverside called “Low data mode”. Low data mode is a feature in Riverside that allows you to record high-quality audio and video with less data. You can enable low data mode as a host, and your guest will see your initials instead of a freeze-frame image. Low data mode can be useful if you or your guest have low internet speeds or wifi issues.
How to edit video podcasts
The good news with editing video podcasts is that you don’t need to be a professional editor to get started. With modern tools such as Podcastle and Riverside (mentioned above), they have basic editing features already built-in.
Between Podcastle and Riverside, Riverside does have more robust editing features including auto-transcriptions, and video editing with text so that you can edit the video as quickly as reading a doc.
Editing video podcasts inside Riverside
Video editors for editing video podcasts
You can use any video editing software to edit video podcasts. If you are already familiar with and have purchased tools such as Final Cut Pro, iMovie (free on your Mac), go for it!
If you are looking for more modern and quicker ways to edit videos including vertical videos such as YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and TikTok, consider checking out this article Best Video Editors for YouTube Shorts (Top 4 Choices) [2023]. All video editors mentioned here can be used for both landscape and vertical videos.
Another tool we have loved much here at Feisworld is Recut. Recut is a video software that helps remove the silence automatically from your videos. Silence is common in all types of video recording including video podcasts, tutorials and walkthroughs. We use Recut regularly and hope you will check it out too: Recut: Remove Silence From Videos Automatically (2023)
Is NOT editing video podcasts an option? The short answer is yes. Isn’t that exciting? When you choose not to edit your video podcasts at all and simply publish them as-is, I recommend using livestreaming your recording using Restream or Streamlabs Talk Studio. When you livestream your podcast, viewers tend to be a lot more forgiving of mistakes, silence, and hiccups. Because it’s live! You will be surprised by how many people actually like livestream and even prefer it over edited video podcasts. Worth considering and experimenting for sure!
Where to publish video podcasts
YouTube
YouTube could be great at finding new listeners for your podcast, according to a study into podcast consumption on YouTube from Veritonic. 65% of people who watch a podcast on YouTube are consuming it for the first time, the data says. Also, we learn that 54% of listeners like to consume podcasts on YouTube because they enjoy seeing the hosts and their guests talk, we also learn, and (slightly unnervingly) 2% of people watch YouTube while driving.
Check out: How to Podcast on YouTube the Right Way (2023)
Spotify
As of July 2023, Spotify announced that they have over 100K video podcasts on the platform. We have been publishing Feisworld video podcast on Spotify for a few years now. Spotify acquired Anchor.fm (now called Spotify Podcast) and revamped the video podcast experience to make it easier and more accessible. When people search for your video on Spotify, they have the ability to switch between the audio or video experience easily.
Check out: How to Upload Video Podcast to Spotify – Video Podcasting
How to repurpose video podcasts on YouTube and social media
If you are thinking about creating and repurposing short-form content from your long-form video podcast, you may want to check out:
- Repurpose.io Review: Removing Stress From Content Creators With AI (2023)
- Trying Munch for AI Content Repurposing: Here’s What You Should Know (2023 Review)
Conclusion: Are video podcasts worth the hype?
I’m all in! Since the beginning of 2020, I have been livestreaming videos of all my podcast episodes without exceptions. It makes the process of launching new episodes easy, and I love the live questions and interactions between my guest, my viewers, and me as the host.
As soon as I conclude my video podcast livestream, I immediately download my full video from my livestream app (Restream), and then upload the video to Spotify, which feeds the content to major podcasting platforms including Google Podcast, Apple Podcast, and a dozen others, automatically.
Video podcasts are the most versatile content you can create as a podcaster. Video is more engaging than audio, audiogram, and text alone. I highly encourage you to start your video podcast today. Or if you are an audio podcaster, I hope you will consider switching to video podcasting in the near future.
If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments below.
We also offer video podcasting consulting services. If that sounds intriguing to you, please get in touch with us here.
How to Get Started Creating Video Podcasts (2023)