Blogging tips from the PRSD – editing audio content

By PRSD, on Tuesday, November 18, 2008

It’s all very well rambling through a 20-minute interview in a podcast but what if you want to condense that chat into a five-minute clip? The editing process can be a pretty daunting prospect and it’s easy to get confused. Today we have five tips on chopping audio content, concentrating on general advice rather than the specifics of GarageBand, Audacity, et al.

1. Get an overview of the audio

You’re looking for a good five minutes of content. Obviously there’s a little leeway either way (depending on the quality of the interview) but you really want to be as ruthless as you can. Listen for the interesting or funny bits. Listen for the dull sections you can do without. Assume the listener gets bored reeeeally easily.

2. Tell the story

Once you’ve identified what interests you about the chat, think about the narrative of the clip. Every interview needs a story arc – a ‘through-line’ of logic with each topic leading seamlessly into the next. Keep to the point. Digressions which drag you away from the narrative should be excised. Unless they’re, like, supremely entertaining, of course.

3. Kill your babies

Listen to the whole interview again, this time taking out the bits you won’t be using. Once you’ve removed the dull stuff, there’ll probably be whole sections you really want to keep. Unless they serve the story you’re trying to tell, they need to go.

4. Don’t skip a page

You want to create the impression the interview was conducted seamlessly over five minutes. Remove bits delicately, trying not to make a splash and send ripples out over the whole interview. You may have to consider leaving some of the dull stuff in so it all makes sense, otherwise the listener may feel like she’s missed a crucial bit of information.

5. Fine tuning

By this stage, you should have a more manageable slab of audio. Listen through again, fine tuning the flow as you go. Get rid of long pauses, ums, ahs, coughs, and verbal ticks. A word of caution though – sometimes pauses are used for comic effect or dramatic emphasis. You don’t want to take out all the personality; just make everyone sound more eloquent than they otherwise would.

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What tips would you add, citizens? Has this been instructive? Is there anything you’d like us to cover? Comment below please!