Process
- Talk about your approach and summarize the process in terms of recording and editing.
From the bit of producing, recording, and editing that I did, I think I usually approach the process like an essay. I go out and gather as much information as I can, and using that information, I create some kind of a story or a kind of “thesis” that I need to prove with the information I’ve gathered. Editing is just cutting the clips together so that they tell a cohesive story/argument.
- To what extent did your podcast episodes address language and culture as important elements in the context of a “Multicultural Pittsburgh”?
The second episode didn’t really reflect on a “Multicultural Pittsburgh,” but more of how different work environments changed due to the COVID-19 crisis, and how that helped bring people from around the world closer together. The first and third episodes, however, were a better reflection on a “Multicultural Pittsburgh.” The first episode detailed someone bringing their Puerto Rican heritage to Pittsburgh, and how Mauricio connects with people in other cultures or countries while he’s stuck in Pittsburgh. The third episode reflects a multicultural Pittsburgh the most, since our subjects were both immigrated to Pittsburgh, but from different countries and different situations.
Audience Response
- Analyse some of the initial responses that you received to your episodes, both in class and on your blog. The quality of the podcast episodes definitely improved as we got more used to producing them. The first one was basically just two interviews with some commentary spliced in between them, with no real story tying them together. We basically just read down a list of questions rather than getting a “story.” The second episode had a lot better sound design, and we had a slightly better story, but we could have gotten more in depth in our later analyses. For our third episode, I prepared a script helping to string the two different interviews together, but I think the overall interviews lacked depth, since in their raw forms they were about 15 minutes each.
- What changes or alterations might you make according to some of this initial audience feedback? I would go back and try to grab more information or talk to each subject for slightly longer, and then incorporate them into the podcast for a more in-depth story. Our interviews, in my opinion, were not long enough to dig into stories as much as podcast stories usually seem to.
Future Work
- Now that you have been introduced to podcasting, what tips would you give to someone doing this for the first time? Get familiar with a person before interviewing them, and literally just have a conversation about a topic if you can or their experience in a particular topic. Doing so allows for better stories, as you have more material, or “research,” to pick and choose from. Everything that’s bad you can leave on the cutting room floor, no one else will hear it.
- Presuming that you were going to continue working with this media, describe a follow-up project, what subject would you turn your recorder to, what sort of experience would you hope to create? Like I did in the promo, I’d maybe start a podcast about hidden stories within the gaming world. It would be a documentary-style podcast, kind of like what Roman Mars does with 99% Invisible. Honestly, it would be more of an excuse for myself to learn about history in an unconventional way. For example, I could make one on the raid group that was the first to down Ragnaros in World of Warcraft, which took over 600 tries and 154 days to get down.
Personal Reflection
- Thinking about this course, has your perception of podcasting changed? If so, how? I guess my perception of podcasting has changed slightly. Before, I never realized how hard it was to actually gather enough information to create a good story for a podcast. After making my own, though, making such cohesive stories can be pretty difficult, with the amount of research you need to do for an episode, the amount of listening to do after recording, how long you need to record, etc.
- Has your relationship with Pittsburgh changed? I wasn’t in Pittsburgh, so unfortunately I didn’t get to experience the city more this semester. So, my relationship with Pittsburgh hasn’t really changed, except I really want to stop being remote and go back to campus.
- Imagine moving to a new city, how might you begin to engage with the various communities, identities and languages around you? Coming from a relatively international high school and university, I would first reach out to them and have them help me introduce me to their community. Then, I would hang around them initially, and as I get more comfortable in the community I’d join interest groups, such as a club sports team. The most I’d engage with various communities would probably be going to restaurants, although since I’m Chinese I might go to Chinatown to grab food more than other types of food.