Blogging, Vlogging, and Podcasting | Episode 2- The Structure of Each Episode

We are living in some strange times right now. COVID-19 has covered the entire globe. Here in Ontario, a state of emergency has been declared. Toronto is eerily quiet. There’s almost a 1984-type feeling to all of this with so much of the information I’m getting coming from the television.

I hope that you’re all staying safe, washing your hands, and enjoying the company of your loved ones.

Anecdote

Slow-motion multitasking. Tim Harford, in one of his TED Talks, shares with us how common a trait it is among the most highly creative among us (we should include ourselves in this group). Somewhat contradictorily, this type of multitasking is beneficial to the creative process. Multiple foci can work alongside each other to help you be your most creative.

Harford explains that slow-motion multitasking is having multiple projects on the go at the same time. Here, he isn’t talking about texting slowly while watching TV or sitting in a lecture hall. What he is referring to is large, engrossing, intricate projects.

Harford gives us three reasons for why slow-motion multitasking is beneficial to creativity:

  1. you can apply an idea from one field in a new area
  2. learning to do one thing well can help you in other areas
  3. other projects can provide assistance when you’re stuck

He also shares with us one strategy to use to keep ideas straight in your mind: put everything related to a project in its own box.

Trying to work on a blog, vlog, and podcast at the same time feels overwhelming but there are definitely overlaps. Focusing on all three at the same time, when I say it out loud to myself, is a stupid idea. But, I think that there are real benefits to the approach that I’m taking. I just haven’t quite figured out what all of them are.

Introduction

Over the last week, I’ve tried to put together a manageable structure for each of the blog, vlog, and podcast. It hasn’t been as easy as I was expecting it to be. Indeed, it’s been much more confusing and onerous than I anticipated. At times, I got frustrated with the project as a whole.

I think that I’ve landed on something that might work. I always expect that things will change, and that’s no different with this. One things seems to lead into another.

Body

I thought this week’s assignment was going to be easy. I expected to sit down and have something ready within a few hours. On Thursday of last week, I thought that I’d be able to record audio and video and write up a post that I could schedule to publish. Quickly, very quickly, I found myself confused. There was just too much information to sift through and process.

Research has never really been my forte. I’ve done it and gotten away with what I’ve done. Looking up information about blogging got boring quickly. I did watch this: HOW TO OUTLINE A BLOG POST: The PERFECT blog post format that I use when writing my blog posts

She talks way too fast for me. I learned that I should use headings.

Anyway, I got confused with looking up information that I decided to not do research into vlogging or podcasting. I even considered focusing on one form of media at a time so as to keep my thoughts more in line. I put a book on hold at the library about podcasting. It’s got to be easier to follow a formula than to come up with your own.

I’m not going to give up, though. I will continue with this project. I will.

When working on this week’s assignment, I found myself going down rabbit holes. I’d start working on something and then be doing something entirely different three hours later without having left my desk. Somehow, where I began and where I ended up were connected but I couldn’t tell you how. This starting me thinking about how I’m going to keep myself organised.

There are, however, a lot of connections between blogging, vlogging, and podcasting. While they are different, because I’m working at such a high level, the similarities are more pronounced. It’s hard for me to distinguish the subtleties. For example, thinking about the structure of my vlogs got me thinking that I need to revamp my website. The thought process went something like this:

vlog —> YouTube —> YouTube channel —> thumbnails —> feature images —> homepage —> dedicated page —> need a new website

In the end, I came up with a workable structure. As I work through this project, I’m sure that things will change because they already have. Between the three, the structure looks very similar. I could probably have gotten away with putting together just one list. I’ve listed the different parts for each of the three mediums in the table below.

BlogVlogPodcast
Feature ImageQuotation or AnecdoteQuotation or Anecdote
Quotation or AnecdoteIntroductionIntroduction
IntroductionTitle SequenceTitle Sequence
BodyBodyBody
What’s Next?What’s Next?What’s Next?
Reflection on Previous EpisodeReflections on Previous EpisodeReflection on Previous Episode
ReferencesOutroOutro

What’s Next?

Next, I have to look for my cardboard boxes. In the next episode, I’m going to consider different ways to stay organised. This should be interesting because it’s something that I’ve struggled with for much of my life. My love of the analogue is in conflict with the practicality of the digital.

Reflections on Previous Episode

Video:

  • autofocus on the camera doesn’t work well
  • background noise
  • microphone is too prominent
  • camera is off to the side
    • might work better if I sit in front of the camera
  • too close?
  • good depth of field

Audio:

  • quality is a lot better than the video
    • still background noise
  • stumbling on my words
  • good pace of speech

Blog:

  • headings would be helpful
  • no image

References

TheContentBug, HOW TO OUTLINE A BLOG POST: The PERFECT blog post format that I use when writing my blog posts

dennis at castes, How To Write a Podcast Script

NPR, Starting Your Podcast: A Guide For Students

RODE Blog, A Guide to Planning Out a Podcast Episode

RODE Blog, The RØDE Microphones guide to starting a podcast

Tim Hardford, A powerful way to unleash your natural creativity

YouTube Creator Academy, Before you shoot


You can listen to the podcast for this series on Anchor by clicking here.

You can watch the vlogs on YouTube by clicking here.

Comments

Leave a Reply