For our group project, I have been looking into podcasts; that is, what their capabilities are and how they been used to serve historical purposes. Unlike streamed webcasting, one of the defining characteristics of podcasts is that they can be downloaded and listened to on mp3 players. This fact gives us the unique ability to broadcast to people out and about in Houston and Sabine Pass who may visiting historical sites about Dick Dowling. In terms of audio podcasts, the only limit to what audio you can put on the podcast is the amount of memory on the listener’s mp3 player and the recording equipment we have available. Unlike most podcasts, ours will not be released episodically; however, we can record multiple different podcasts based on the location or interest of the listener. The easiest way to publish our podcast will be to record it in mp3 format and make it available for download on the Dowling website. That way, listeners can hear it on their laptops as they peruse the site, or they can synch the file to their mp3 player and listen to it later. Overall, the potential for audio podcasts is almost limitless.

However, that is not to say that all audio podcasts are engaging. As I researched the use of podcasts, I stumbled across many historical groups’ and museum productions that were just hard to listen to. Oftentimes with long and historically driven podcasts, there is just a single narrator (usually male). As many podcasts move past the first couple minutes, even the most energetic narrators fall victim to slipping into a dull and dreary monologue. Therefore, these historically driven podcasts generally take the form of textbooks on tape.  Many podcasters fail to use the capability of their media to captivate their listeners. However, even podcasts who simply change narrators every once in a while (like this one about Abraham Lincoln) are tremendously more engaging than those who do not. Additionally, when podcasts use dialogue between different people, like interviews or co-hosting, it becomes much easier for the listener to stay focused on the topic at hand (like this podcast discussion called “O Say Can You See). When it is clear that the narrator on the podcast is reading directly from an un-memorized script, there are often unnatural breaks in speech and it becomes apparent when the narrator gets tired, as his or her voice becomes wearisome (In this example about the Farragut and Vicksburg Campaign, you can even hear the narrator turning the pages). However, just like in listening to a speech, when the podcast narrator expresses confidence in the information he or she is presenting, and the narrator speaks in an upbeat and engaging tone, it becomes much more pleasurable to listen to (check out this walking tour of the Battle of Cedar Creek). Furthermore, musical introductions or musical interludes, like in this podcast from Civil War Traveler, provide much needed breaks from the flow of information that is being thrown at the listener. Additionally, these musical interludes serve the purpose of signifiers to the listener that they need to be at another location or the content of the podcast is taking a change of pace. Despite how successful musical interludes are at breaking up the monotony of narration, many podcasts do not utilize them and none that I came across use any additional kind of audio, like cannon fire, shouts, or soldier impersonation.

After reviewing a handful of historically oriented podcasts, I have come to a number of conclusions about the direction our podcast should take.

1. Spatially driven walking tours are more engaging than strait retellings, even if you are not on the battle field itself. Giving the listener the tools to spatially picture a battle, place, or event is a great way to engage the listener while providing them with accurate information.

2. Podcasts with a single narrator are dull; there needs to be multiple (perhaps interacting) voices on the podcast

3. Although memorizing a script might not be feasible in our time frame, the finished podcast should be free from any unnatural pauses, page turning, or lackluster readings.

4. Introductory music is a great way to segue into the spoken part of the podcast. Additionally, musical interludes can be used to help queue the listener that they are entering a different part of the podcast.

5. I could not find any examples of cannon fire, gun shots, shouting, or soldier impersonation in any Civil War podcasts. Experimenting with these effects could greatly increase the level of engagement in our podcast.

6. Civil War podcasts on the whole are excruciatingly boring to those who are not Civil War fanatics. Let’s use creativity to pander to an audience that might not have actively sought Civil War media in the past.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 31st, 2011 at 10:22 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.