{"id":2163,"date":"2014-03-10T08:00:48","date_gmt":"2014-03-10T12:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.libsyn.com\/?p=2163"},"modified":"2014-03-09T21:36:09","modified_gmt":"2014-03-10T01:36:09","slug":"rockin-libsyn-podcasts-slumberland-podcast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libsyn.com\/blog\/rockin-libsyn-podcasts-slumberland-podcast\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockin’ Libsyn Podcasts: The Slumberland Podcast"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"You<\/a><\/p>\n

This series is all about showcasing Libsyn podcasters. Its sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Q & A with Tom Mansell from Slumberland<\/h2>\n
\n

When did you start podcasting?<\/h3>\n

Three pivotal years for me: in 2006,\u00a0a guy who I\u00a0did video and audio projects with, started making great video and audio podcasts. (I sat back and just watched him crank em out.)<\/p>\n

That year I bought a Zune (yes, a Zune \u2013 never had an iPod.)<\/p>\n

For me, I never felt like listening to podcasts while tethered to my laptop. Audio podcasts apparently work best for me as a mobile entertainment. So when I got a Zune, I really started listening to and watching numerous podcasts starting in 2007.<\/p>\n

Then in\u00a02008, I took the leap and\u00a0produced\u00a05 episodes of a music mix\u00a0podcast with my friend. It was fun, although short-lived. I work in audio \/ video production so I had the production part down, but it was fun to learn\u00a0the basics of RSS and blogging, in connection with podcasting as a new medium.<\/p>\n

From 2008\u20132013 I built up a lot of sound recordings and story ideas, not sure what to do with them. Last November I discovered the Night Vale podcast, and that\u00a0really inspired me.\u00a0It suddenly hit me:\u00a0\u201cI can create an audio drama podcast!!\u201d\u00a0The\u00a0Slumberland podcast<\/a> quickly took shape.<\/p>\n

Why did you start podcasting?<\/h3>\n

I\u00a0started\u00a0Slumberland podcast because I\u2019ve always enjoyed\u00a0creating stories, recording nature and urban sounds, performing, and sound editing.<\/p>\n

I just love how podcasting combines all of these activities into one project! I\u00a0like the DIY aspect, the fantastic ability to self-publish, and the immediacy of the medium, thanks to the Internet and all the great work done by people who design the software and services that make podcasting work.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your show about?<\/h3>\n

Slumberland is a fiction narrative\u2026each episode is a short scene or\u00a0a sketch, that moves the story along.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the story of a man who arrives in a small town, a completely new environment to him. He\u2019s been hired to record and produce the oral history of this town, so he needs to interview a bunch of people.<\/p>\n

But he soon discovers, this island community is a place with a lot of peculiar things going on\u2026it makes his job difficult but fascinating at the same time.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m very inspired by TV shows I\u2019ve loved, like Twin Peaks and Lost, so I wanted to tell a story like that. It combines mystery, humor and paranormal\u00a0as the main genres.<\/p>\n

It uses a\u00a0\u201cfound audio\u201d approach to the narrative, kind of\u00a0the style that\u00a0Blair Witch Project used with visuals.\u00a0You\u2019re hearing everything as the main character\u00a0captures it on his personal sound recorder. I feel\u00a0this format works well, because I can perform as the main character as much as I want, and then find fun and creative people to perform as the people in this town, each of them getting interviewed, or showing up in some way. I also have a lot of fun changing my voice, so you\u2019ll hear me keep popping up as different characters.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your podcasting set-up? Hardware, software, CMS, etc.<\/h3>\n

I use a pretty\u00a0minimal and mobile gear setup because it gives me the most flexibility to work on the show whenever I have a spare moment, regardless of where I am.<\/p>\n

I\u00a0often\u00a0speak into the built-in omni microphones on my Roland R\u201305 recorder. I\u2019ve been collecting sounds with Roland recorders since\u00a02005\u2026using the R\u20131 and R\u201309 models\u00a0too\u2026I love\u00a0\u2018em.<\/p>\n

The sound portability is great, and the sound quality more than adequate for my\u00a0show.<\/p>\n

If a talent prefers to\u00a0record in a studio setting, I\u2019ll use a mounted\u00a0AKG Perception mic. Sometimes a shotgun mic comes in handy to\u00a0capture some\u00a0location sounds.<\/p>\n

I just try to find quiet rooms, with carpet and furniture to deaden the sound. Later on I mix in ambient sounds from collection, to create the illusion of a scene location. Honestly, I\u2019ve discovered that my parked car is a pretty good sound booth!<\/p>\n

I do think actual sound booths are great, but I\u2019m glad I don\u2019t have one because I\u2019d hide in there too much! I enjoy the adventures that come with sort of\u2026guerilla-style podcast producing in everyday places. I did buy a plastic tub and bed foam for the DIY sound booth project, maybe I\u2019ll get that put together some weekend.<\/p>\n

I transfer audio files\u00a0onto my Surface tablet and edit in Adobe Audition. I\u2019ve always loved that program, started using it when it was Cool Edit in 1995.<\/p>\n

How have you promoted your podcast?<\/h3>\n

So far I\u2019ve promoted my podcast via word of mouth to friends\u00a0and also through some\u00a0social media.\u00a0That seems to generate moderate, hit-or-miss results of people finding the show.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s a science to social media, I\u2019m still learning it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got the show on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud and other podcast directories.\u00a0It\u2019s fun figuring this out, and finding an audience. That\u2019s part of the journey.<\/p>\n

In real life, I actually don\u2019t know too many people who listen to podcasts, but it\u2019s great seeing podcasts move onto people\u2019s radars, more and more\u2026<\/p>\n

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?<\/h3>\n

The first couple months when I started, I didn\u2019t know much about Libsyn\u2019s services\u2026I\u2019m sure glad Rob Greenlee recommended I check Libsyn out!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so great having a hosting and network company with such awesome support, and one that is actively fostering a community around podcast creators, providing support, and tools that are useful for\u00a0improving your product and connecting with other people committed to this medium.<\/p>\n

\n

How about a story? A story about a little town, where you get to dive into the art of audio? Then you do need to subscribe<\/a> to Slumberland<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

If you got the bug to get creative with audio we are happy to support you! host your media with us!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This series is all about showcasing Libsyn podcasters. Its sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community! Q & A with Tom Mansell from Slumberland When did you start podcasting? Three pivotal years for me: in 2006,\u00a0a guy who I\u00a0did video […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[862,863,36,772,861],"class_list":["post-2163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rockin-libsyn-podcasts","tag-audio-drama","tag-podcasting-gears","tag-podcasting-tips","tag-story-podcast","tag-story-telling-podcast"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t