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Last year, shortly after the Core Rulebook came out, some friends and I began a long-term Pathfinder game with the object of podcasting it and playing around with character progression all the way from 1st through 20th level. What with one thing and another, the recordings that we made never got posted.
However, just recently they found a home over at RPGMP3.com. If anyone is interested in listening, the character creation session and the first three play sessions are up in the public area of RPGMP3's forums:
Session 00 (Character Creation)
We did this because we wanted to record our experience getting to know all the changes in the rule systems and sort of "rediscovering" the D20 system as something new and exciting. Hopefully it's still interesting to listen to.
Yeah, I know: first post promoting something off-site. Honestly, even though the podcast was originally going to be something related to a webcomic I publish, it never really got used to that end and as I said, it's all over a year in the past now. It just seemed a shame for these sessions to get shelved away somewhere and never listened to, and I figured that there would be people here who would be interested. So mods, please be merciful! :P
I hope to stick around and contribute a little bit more. In fact, the reason I started logging into these boards in the first place was due to the RPG Superstar competition, so with a little luck perhaps I'll have something more to add in that department.
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Two new episodes have been added to our podcast, if anyone is interested:
Hopefully it will only be a couple of weeks before I can post the next session. We have over 20 sessions archived, so there's lots of content to work through.
I've been listening to these on the way to/from work. Seems like a fairly balanced party.
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Sound is pretty decent. What are you using to record this? How do you edit it together?
I've been thinking about taping the episodes of the new campaign I'm about to start, but I don't really know anything about the technical aspect of it.
That would be very cool. I think a great many people would like to hear how a game run by "pros" would sound.
Please find a way to make this happen :)
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Sound is pretty decent. What are you using to record this? How do you edit it together?
I've been thinking about taping the episodes of the new campaign I'm about to start, but I don't really know anything about the technical aspect of it.
The most important thing is to have a decent microphone or set of mics. That's priority one. I'm using a Zoom H2 handy recorder, which is an all-in-one MP3 recorder. It only cost a couple hundred bucks when it was new and it delivers surprisingly good sound. It actually has a 4-in-1 microphone, meaning that it has 4 separate mic elements arranged to catch most of the area around the mic.
Where the mic is placed and the room arrangement is actually pretty important as well. For this particular podcast it's actually a bit problematic, because of the space my group plays in. After the first couple of sessions we had to change venues because our hosting player moved, and the new room is a lot less suited for good recording, although it's still not too bad.
Ideally, I'd want several microphones placed around the table, possibly hanging from the ceiling so that they wouldn't interfere with play. I actually did a little experiment along those lines, but it was too much of a hassle to set up and take down, and you have to worry about having a separate recording device and something to mix down the mic signal unless you want to multi-track it. If it was something I could set up and leave up, I'd probably do it that way.
With the handy-recorder, I place it in the middle of the gaming table, slightly closer to myself than the players. Our current play-space, which is used for most of the recordings after session 03 or so, is large, irregular room with a high ceiling and handful of couches and comfy chairs in it - a very relaxing place to play, but not ideal for recording. The players tend to sit back from the table on the couches, which means it's harder for the mic to hear them - a traditional conference table or a dining room table is much better suited for this kind of thing. The good thing is that the couches, high ceiling, and other soft furniture help to "deaden" the room a bit - they eliminate some of the reflected sound that you might get in a more boxy space. It's the kind of thing you have to experiment with, if you're going to try to get a very "clean" recording.
Honestly, I could go on about this for quite some time, but I don't want to put you to sleep. :) What it boils down to: best mic or mics you can get, and experiment with the placement until you find what works best.
As to editing: it depends on how ambitious you want to get. I use a copy of Cakewalk Music Creator that I just happen to have handy on my work laptop, but there's dozens of software packages for this kind of thing. A lot of people use Audacity just because it's freeware. I don't really have time for post-production on these (work plus kids, I barely have time to game), so I do as little as possible - stuff like cutting out Chad's credit card info when he calls to order the pizza, or eliminating unrelated pre-game chatter, the occasional bit of embarrassing off-topic silliness, that kind of thing. I sometimes boost the gain a little bit if the players are being quiet, which can happen during a late game when everyone's tired. Oh, and Chad's dog - she's been the bane of our recordings for some time now, but sometime around session 20 we finally figured out that we were taking up her favorite spot on the couch. Now that we've let her have it back she's much more relaxed.
Anyway, if your sessions are relatively focused and free from distractions, the amount of editing you need to do after the fact is minimal.
Finally, when you format for output to the web, you probably need to reduce the file-size. Our output is 64kbps, but I record at a much higher bitrate - usually 320kbps. Whatever audio software you use, you should be able to export at a number of different bitrates. The conversion reduces the quality of the sound, which is why it's so important to get the very best quality you can on the initial recording.
I could talk about this forever, but hopefully that answers most of your questions. If you need anything else, drop me a line at wolfsnap@hotmail.com - I'd be happy to help you out.
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Wow, if you guys can somehow find a way to pull this together, I for one would be VERY interested to here how of the Paizo staff play their games.
ETA: I would just add that I second Wolfsnap's emphasis on the AUDIO quality of the recording. I for one like to hear podcasts while I'm at the gym or traveling, and so visuals are not that important to me.
If you guys were to go the visual route, it would be cool to see how the GM portrays NPCs or adds excitement to the game (i.e., watching Nic Logue was great). However, there would be some extra effort to make a recording visually interesting that you may or may not want to invest time and effort in to get sufficient return.
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Mostly we all work so hard that getting to play is FUN, so stuff that makes our fun seem more like WORK is sort of a barrier. But I'd love to record a session or two, so I've put the Zoom recorder on my Amazon wish list and I'll pick it up as soon as I can afford to. I am about to begin a new campaign and I think it would be really cool to have all the sessions recorded.
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Yet more Pathfinder Podcasting Goodness.
As always, you can follow along at our campaign page on Obsidian Portal.
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Mostly we all work so hard that getting to play is FUN, so stuff that makes our fun seem more like WORK is sort of a barrier. But I'd love to record a session or two, so I've put the Zoom recorder on my Amazon wish list and I'll pick it up as soon as I can afford to. I am about to begin a new campaign and I think it would be really cool to have all the sessions recorded.
Erik,
If that is your intention and a portable recorder is important, then just grab a Mikey v. 2. It's only $59.00. It will work with your iPhone. That's the same mic we used to record the Paizo seminars last Gencon (Episode #05), although the newer version 2 is even better as it has a pass thru USB connector so you can charge it as you use it (record a session as long as you like).
If pocket portability is not required and you can record from a laptop,then the Blue Snowball for $71.99 is a great option for cheap.
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Do you think the Zoom is preferable to those? Because I am fairly certain I can afford it, and sound quality is a priority for me.
From the spec sheet, the Mikey has two mic elements for stereo recording. Blue makes very good microphones - in fact, when I was starting this project I was considering the Snowball mic.
The reason I chose the Zoom over other options was 1) it's an all-in-one device, making it simple, and 2) it has four overlapping mic elements rather than two (as you would in a stereo mic), ensuring that it should have pretty good pickup no matter where you're sitting in relation to it - basically it's something you can plonk in the middle of the table that will give you good sound without a lot of messing around to find the thing's sweet spots.
As it happens, I'm trying to get to Paizocon this year (Got my ticket, I just need to work out the airfare situation yet). I'm sure there will be other folks there who record their games or do gaming podcasts. Maybe we could have some kind of a "Podcasting Pow-wow". :)
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Wolfsnap,
Thanks for posting these! I spend the majority of my workday listening to Actual Play podcasts so I'm always looking for new ones. It also helps with the fact that my current group is all but broken up now, so these podcasts are the only way for me to scratch this particular itch right now.
Also, let me throw my vote in for hearing your game, Erik. I would love to hear how the Dev's play!
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Do you think the Zoom is preferable to those? Because I am fairly certain I can afford it, and sound quality is a priority for me.
If sound quality is a priority, use a laptop to record the sessions and purchase a Blue Yeti microphone for $99.00. I have a Blue Yeti and I can confirm it is an excellent microphone.
The Blue Yeti is the best USB microphone available in the marketplace and will give you the best possible recording quality short of moving to professional sound studio gear costing $500.00+
While reasonable men can easily disagree on the relative qualities of a Blue Mikey vs. a Zoom, there can be no reasonable opinion which would compare the sound quality of a Zoom more favorably to that produced by a Blue Yeti microphone. The Yeti is the best usb mike that money can buy and is the "top-end" of consumer aimed recording gear. Beyond that, you have to move to professional audio equipment with entirely different technical standards, cables and recording assumptions.
If you want recording quality? Laptop and a Yeti is the way to go.
The Yeti is fully compatible with the Mac (hell - it is often stocked in the Mac section in Big Box electronics stores).
Using a Blue Yeti and a Macbook Pro along with Garage Band? You are good to go.
Blue definitely makes superior mics, I won't argue that. If you're going to go mic & laptop rather than an all-in-one, then the Yeti is probably a good buy, although I haven't used it myself.
I've used the Blue Yeti for a while now, and I've yet to have to edit my recordings for pops or background noise. The Yeti is just that good.
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Ok, so the Zoom is an all-in-one, meaning I won't need to hook it to a computer or ipod or whatever, and it just goes? Can I swap the files onto my computer with a USB cord?
What program should I use to edit out the swears/table talk/etc?
Yes, the Zoom-H2 is an all in one. A Blue Mikey must be plugged into an iPhone, iPad or iPod.
A Mikey transfers the resulting file to a computer for editing via a wireless network (Mac or PC).
The Zoom-H2 uses a micro USB cable or you can record to an SD card and you then use a SD card reader on your PC/Mac to transfer the file.
Sound Editing Software
PC - Audacity - free (Open Source). That said, Audacity has a significant learning curve.
Mac - Garage Band - should have been bundled with your Mac as part of iLife (but if you don't have it, iLife is available as a standalone software package from Apple). Easier to learn than Audacity. Garage Band has far better integrated podcasting tools for uploading your recording to iTunes (iTunes is a FAR bigger pain in the ass than you would think - but it's absolutely essential).
Of the two, Audacity is more powerful, but harder to use.
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Ok, so the Zoom is an all-in-one, meaning I won't need to hook it to a computer or ipod or whatever, and it just goes? Can I swap the files onto my computer with a USB cord?
What program should I use to edit out the swears/table talk/etc?
Yes, the Zoom-H2 is an all in one. A Blue Mikey must be plugged into an iPhone, iPad or iPod.
A Mikey transfers the resulting file to a computer for editing via a wireless network (Mac or PC).
The Zoom-H2 uses a micro USB cable or you can record to an SD card and you then use a SD card reader on your PC/Mac to transfer the file.
Sound Editing Software
PC - Audacity - free (Open Source). That said, Audacity has a significant learning curve.
Mac - Garage Band - should have been bundled with your Mac as part of iLife (but if you don't have it, iLife is available as a standalone software package from Apple). Easier to learn than Audacity. Garage Band has far better integrated podcasting tools for uploading your recording to iTunes (iTunes is a FAR bigger pain in the ass than you would think - but it's absolutely essential).
Of the two, Audacity is more powerful, but harder to use.
I will throw a shout out for Audacity. It's what I use for my podcast*. It's learning curve is a little steep (the first two episodes of UnderDiscussion sound like a ransom note) but it's got a great community and a ton of plugins. (for example, I use Chris' Dynamic Compressor instead of the one that comes with Audacity.)
*
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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As much as I appreciate the artistry of podcasting (I was once a licensed radio telephone operator, and have the card to prove it), the reality is that I'm the publisher of the whole operation, which means my "free time" is essentially zero. I want to record these sessions and share them for fun, and I basically need to be able to edit out swear words, cut boring stuff, and maybe add in voice overs and stuff. Maybe some musical intro and outro, maybe. And again, all as something I do basically for fun. So it needs to be super easy.
That's sort of why I'm favoring something I can just plug into my iPad, but then again I like the portability of the Zoom at conventions and stuff. Couldn't the zoom also work as a pretty good mic for interviews at conventions and stuff? I wonder if that would be as good if you always had to have it attached via cord to your phone or something. I wonder if maybe that might be kind of a PITA.
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Whichever software you pick for editing, there is going to be a learning curve. The first few times you have to edit your audio, it's going to seem like a big PITA, but hopefully it will get much easier very quickly as you figure out what you're doing.
I'm going to leave software recommendations to others, because I haven't used Audacity or Garage Band myself, although those are the two I hear about most often from others.
I've seen other people using the Zoom to record at conventions, but the noise will be a problem. It has a gain adjustment on the side - I'd use the low or med gain settings and make sure whoever's talking gets right up to the mic if you're in a crowded, buzzing convention hall.
One word of caution about the Zoom: when recording play sessions, I use the power cord and keep it plugged into the wall, because it goes through AA batteries pretty quick. Always take the batteries out of it when you're done using it. Every time I've left the batteries in, they've been dead the next time I went to turn it on.
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And as it just so happens, there's a new episode available tonight:
This was a really good session, with some fun villains who turn out to be more trouble AFTER the party defeats them.
By the way, I found out that these sessions ARE available through iTunes now. You can find them under the "RPGMP3 Community Podcast", which features play sessions from a large number of groups who use RPGMP3. It looks like all of the podcasts in that subscription automatically get an "explicit" tag, although ours is actually PG-13.
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As much as I appreciate the artistry of podcasting (I was once a licensed radio telephone operator, and have the card to prove it), the reality is that I'm the publisher of the whole operation, which means my "free time" is essentially zero. I want to record these sessions and share them for fun, and I basically need to be able to edit out swear words, cut boring stuff, and maybe add in voice overs and stuff. Maybe some musical intro and outro, maybe. And again, all as something I do basically for fun. So it needs to be super easy.
That's sort of why I'm favoring something I can just plug into my iPad, but then again I like the portability of the Zoom at conventions and stuff. Couldn't the zoom also work as a pretty good mic for interviews at conventions and stuff? I wonder if that would be as good if you always had to have it attached via cord to your phone or something. I wonder if maybe that might be kind of a PITA.
Well, I know this is probably no good for you, but I'll be the stereotypical guy that offers this sort of thing: Erik, if it would make it easier on you, I would be happy to edit your podcast and even produce some intro/outro music for you, pro bono. I'm more of a musician than a podcast guy, but the concepts (and software) are very similar. This way, you'd just be able to record, get the file to me somehow, and forget about it until I get back to you with a finished product within whatever deadline you want me to meet.
If you need credentials, I work with Owen from SGG pretty often for proofreading, I believe he'd put in a good word on my behalf, and if you want to talk it over at any length, I'll be at P-Con. I believe I'm going to bring my Xoom recorder and my laptop with my Digital Audio Workstation anyway, just for personal recordings.
Anyway, I know you have your own minions - so maybe you don't need any help from me - but seeing as I have the free time (and it would be an honor to help in any way to provide the community with a podcast of the Paizo folks playing), I'd be happy to take on the task if you're amenable to it. I believe you have access to my email address if you'd like to contact me. :-)
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Ever since Paizocon I've been running non-stop getting ready for Gen COn and other things. Just managed to get over that hump, and now look: new audio!
Again, this is from the sessions where my friend Chris took over as GM and I got to bring my penchant for ridiculous accents to the other side of the screen for a bit.
