The goal of this tutorial is to provide step-by-step instructions on how to make and post podcasts on a computer running Mac OSX using entirely free software. The tutorial is broken out as follows:

Steps to Creating a Podcast

• Step 1: Create the Podcast File:
  • Audio Podcast - Creating the audio file using Audacity
  • Video Podcast - Creating the video file using iMovie
    • iMovie HD (pdf)
    • iMovie '08

• Step 2: Uploading your Podcast to Stream
• Step 3: Creating and Posting the RSS feed using Poderator.com

   

What you will need

You’ll need

• a computer
• Internet connection
• microphone (audio only) or video camera (video only)
• some software to capture and edit your audio/video (Audacity, MovieMaker, iMovie, GarageBand)
• a way to compress the file
• server space to host the file (Stream)

   

Download the Free Software

• Audacity - free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems.

  Available at: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/

Creating your Podcast

Audio Podcast

Record your audio podcast using Audacity and save it as an .mp3 (see Using Audacity) Note: MP3 is the most universal format for audio podcasts.  For more specific information on how to use Audacity see Creating the audio file using Audacity.   The MP3 file will be the file you upload to Stream > Podcasts in the next step.

Video Podcast

Create your video podcast using a digital video camera and edit it with iMovie

• iMovie HD (pdf)
• iMovie '08

   

Exporting your iMovie file to a Podcast-friendly format

• To export a video podcast from iMovie '08
  • In iMovie '08, open the movie you want to transfer.
  • To export as a .m4v (iTunes/iPod compatable)

    • From the Share menu choose Export Movie.

    • From the Where dropdown menu choose the save location. It should default to your Movies folder.

    • Choose the Medium size then click Export.

  • To export as another file format

    • From the Share menu choose Export Using Quicktime.

    • From the Where dropdown menu choose the save location. It should default to your Movies folder.

    • Next to Export: choose the file type you want (example Movie to AVI).

    • Click Save

  • The file (.m4v, avi, etc.) will be the file you upload to Stream > Podcasts in the next step.

     

To export a video podcast from iMovie HD 6

• In iMovie HD 6, open the movie you want to transfer.
• If you only want to transfer a portion of your movie, select the clips you want to transfer in the timeline viewer.
• From the Share menu, choose iPod.
• Click to select the "Share selected clips only" checkbox if you only want to share clips you selected.
• Click Share.
• iMovie HD compresses your movie and saves it to your iTunes library. The time it takes to save the movie depends on the movie's length.
• The file (.m4v, avi, etc.) will be the file you upload to Stream > Podcasts in the next step.

Uploading your Podcast to Stream > Podcast

Since podcast occurs over the internet your podcast needs to reside on a web-accessible server. At CofC that server is Stream. You will need to transfer your video to that server prior to building your RSS feed.

1. From the Finder > Go menu, choose Connect to Server
2. In the Address bar type smb://stream.cofc.edu then click Connect
3. Login in using your Cougars login and password
4. From the dropdown window choose Podcasts
5. The Stream > Podcasts folder will open
6. You can now drag your podcasts into this folder and they will automatically be uploaded to your network user folder.

   NOTE: if you don't already have a personal folder on Stream will need to request that a folder be added by contacting the webmaster at webmater@cofc.edu.

   The path/url for your video will now be http://stream.cofc.edu:8083/foldername/podcastfilename.mp4 (ex. http://stream.cofc.edu:8083/benignim/WinPodcast_0001.mp4)

    

Creating an RSS Feed for Your Podcast Using Poderator

1. Using a browser go to http://www.poderator.com
2. Under Login to get started, type in your username and password (Note: if you don't have an account you can create a free login by clicking on register).
3. The Your Podcast Details screen will display. This window is divided into two sections: Required Fields and Optional iTunes Tags.
   1. Next to Podcast Title type the title of the entire podcast, not just one episode (ex. FTI Training Videos)
   2. Next to Your Website URL type the url of your personal Spinner website (ex. http://www.cofc.edu/~benignim)
   3. Next to Podcast Description type a brief description of your entire podcast, not just one episode (ex. A collection of audio recordings of lectures in the Summer 2007 FTI) - This description will display when the file is viewed as a webpage.
   4. Next to Optional Image URL type the url of an image from a webservice such as Flickr.
      1. Height type the height of the image in pixels
      2. Width type the width of the image in pixels
   1. Next to Podcast Author type your name.
   2. Next to Podcast Image URL type the url of an image from a webservice such as Flickr.
   3. Next to Podcast Summary type a brief summary of the entire podcast (can be the same as "Podcast Description" above).
   4. Next to Podcast Subtitle type in a subtitle.
   5. Next to Podcast Search Keywords type in keywords that one may use to locate your podcast on the web.
   6. Next to iTunes Category choose from the list that most closely matches your podcast.
   7. Next to Is your podcast explicit? choose Yes or No.
   • Required Fields
   • Optional iTunes Specific Tags: Note: These items will only appear next to the podcast if it is subscribed to via iTunes.
   • Click on Save details and continue
4. Now scroll to the top of the window and click on Add a new episode. The New Episode window displays.
   1. Next to Episode Title type the title of this episode only.
   2. Next to Episode Description type a description of this episode only.
   3. Next to Episode File URL type the url of the episode file that you posted to Stream (ex. http://stream.cofc.edu:8083/YourFolder/podcastepisodename.mp3)
   4. Next to File Type type choose the type that most closely matches the file you posted.
   5. Next to Episode File Size type the size (in bytes) of the file posted to Stream.
   1. Next to Episode Summary type a brief summary of this episode (can be the same as "Episode Description" above).
   2. Next to Episode Subtitle type a subtitle for the episode.
   3. Next to Episode Search Keywords type in keywords that one may use to locate your podcast on the web.
   4. Next to Episode Duration type the duration of the clip (you can leave this blank if you don't know it)
   5. Next to Is this episode explicit? choose Yes or No.
   • Required Fields:
   • Optional iTunes Specific Tags: Note: These items will only appear next to the podcast if it is subscribed to via iTunes.
   • Click on Save this episode
5. Now click on Publish your XML feed . The XML feed window displays.
   • Click on Download your XML feed. This will download a file, called Poderator.xml, to your computer desktop.
   • Now copy this file, Poderator.xml, to your folder on Stream > Podcasts.
   • You have now successfully published your RSS feed.

Note: you can subscribe to your own podcast by pasting the RSS address/URL into your iTunes.  The RSS url will be http://stream.cofc.edu/yourfoldername/Poderator.xml