Thread by @apollopods

Okay, HEAR ME OUT. I'm live tweeting this session on how the @20korg sausage is made.

I know it's not fiction--but I KNOW we're all gonna learn a lot.

Live tweet starts here! #PM22

20khz takes 200+ hours per episode. This shit is METICULOUS. Honestly, a lot of what I learned about sound design for fiction from 20khz.

First tip: @trello ! This is the system the team uses for brainstorming, organization, and project management #PM22
trello.com/en

Trello is a great way to keep an infodump of episode ideas. You can categorize them, make channels pf favorites, and organize by tags and topics and so many different things.

Project management tools are here to help you, and so many like Trello have free plans! #PM22

Trello is also a great way to organize RESEARCH. You can put tons of links and again, give them tags

You can and should also use Trello to organize your workflow

What's an idea? What's in research? What's being written? What's being produced? What's completed? #PM22

Once a topic is greenlit, they do an outline--starting with the EMOTIONAL theme. Quirky? Funny? Scary? Start there

Next, work on story beats focused on that emotion. Tip: try to have a little exciting cliffhanger before your midroll 😈 #PM22

If they have guests, they use @HelloSign to go through guest paperwork. More systems that already exist and are here to make your workflow cleaner and clearer and easier and more efficient 💪 #PM22

The mic they send to guests? A good ol @AudioTechnicaUK dynamic USB mic. It's about $100, sounds great, and "gets rid of as much gunk in the environment as possible" #PM22

Next, they build their interview questions based on the story beats! They build the story and narrative right from the start, and then follow that flow step by step #PM22

But more intimate questions are often left for the end of the interview; it typically takes 30-40min to build real trust with your guest

Fiction creators: this is why i HIGHLY recommend cast interviews before you start recording! Maybe I'll write about that for the blog 🤔 #PM22

Always ask "is there anything else we missed?" at the end of the interview.

90% of the time, the interviewee will say, "Ummm, no... I think we got it all... But--"

And then give you a perfect summary of everything you just discussed that you can use. Can confirm. 😂 #PM22

Another great question: "Why does this matter?"
"Of all of the things you could have done with your life [...] why this?"

You'll get "silence--then, poetry." 🖋️

Many people have never been asked these things. They're "loving" questions to ask. 💙 #PM22

They've ended most of their episodes with responses from one of these questions.

They make for beautiful, human, and emotional endings to the story arcs in the show. #PM22

For online recording, they recommend @cleanfeed !
cleanfeed.net #PM22

They also send guests info packets on how best to record, from putting together their setup to mic placement to what programs to use to how to send recordings. Do this with your cast, fiction folks!

And if needed, change your voice memo settings to LOSSLESS. #PM22

They also use @telbee_io for digital voicemails! This is great for listeners who send in little voice notes.

They're not gonna sound great because listeners don't often have great mics--but that's okay! It adds texture and color. #PM22 telbee.io/online-voice-r…

And the team also uses good ol' classic @Dropbox , which their whole team can access and organize. dropbox.com/official-site #PM22

They also use a deepfake @d_llas voice to see how their script sounds, how it flows, how long it takes 🤯 #PM22

For audio editing, they use @DescriptApp! #PM22 descript.com

Once the script is set and solid, Taylor is brought back in. He likes coming in with a fresh ear, not coming in with too much knowledge, so his recordings sound both authentic and clean--and also so he can enjoy it as a listener! #PM22

The next step: "All roads lead to Pro Tools." Yes, Descript can export right to Pro Tools.

When Taylor is acting as a NARRATOR, all breaths are removed.

When Taylor is acting as a CHARACTER, the breaths stay in.
#PM22 avid.com/pro-tools

The show uses music as punctuation between thoughts. "I think of the show as 15-20 second vignettes over and over and over again"

And each of those vignettes have their own music cues! This keeps the listener engaged and helps hit each story beat #PM22

General dialogue processing change:
1. De-noise
2. EQ
3. De-Ess
4. Volume fader
5. De-noise
6. Dynamics
#PM22

The show is intentionally mixed fairly dark and mid-rangey, on purpose: most people aren't listening on big badass speakers with big ol' bassy subwoofers. Do EQ based on what you expect to sound best to the average listener, not just what sounds great in studio. #PM22

And now they show what their sound design looks like. Tracks on tracks on tracks on tracks!

Here in the audio drama world, we know that life. Pro Tools looking like a waveform lasagna when we're done with a scene 😎🍝 #PM22

For mixing, they use lots and lots of buses. Not familiar with bus tracks? I'm about to change your life. #PM22 izotope.com/en/learn/mix-b…

And finally, they save tons of different mixes and splits: voice over only, voice over and music, voice music sfx, etc.

Helps collaboration--and also helps when switching DAWs! #PM22

For marketing, they work with a handful of artists for episode art and assets, and they schedule all their posting

Some hosts allow scheduling, some don't--they use @MegaphonePods and I know @getpinecast has super easy scheduling as well! #PM22

TRANSCRIPTS! 🎉
Every episode has a transcript. It's great for SEO, and it's great for accessibility.

Your podcast! Should always! Have transcripts! #PM22
discoverpods.com/podcast-access…

One thing they do is meet after each episode and brainstorm OTHER shows to send it to. Who might want to hear it? This is great for cross-promo!

Also: keep an eye out for some potential upcoming job openings at @20korg! #PM22

And that's another panel wrapped! So many tools for making easier workflows, love to see it! #PM22