# Podcastless Season 2: The Fourth is the charm

## Introduction

"Podcastless" is a unique podcast hosted by Pablo Dorado, Julián Pardo, Manuel Castiblanco, and Javier Collazos. This Colombian podcast delves into a variety of topics, exploring perspectives from the past, present, and future. The first season found a specific audience, and with new technical advancements, the team is set to produce further seasons with a renewed focus.

## Goal

To produce new seasons of Podcastless while balancing time and obtaining feedback without disrupting our workflow.

## Work Schema

- **Asynchronism:** Adapt to the hosts' schedules.
- **Commitment:** Dedication to producing quality content.
- **Fun:** Ensuring the process is enjoyable.

## The Plan

12 episodes: 4 hosts, 3 common themes (past, present, and future). This means each host will pick a topic that matches each one of the themes.

gantt
    title Podcastless Production Schedule
    dateFormat  YYYY-MM-DD
    
    section Preproduction
        Topic Selection :active, m1, 2023-12-08, 7d
        Episodes Sketching :after m1, 7d
        Scripting and Refinement : m3, 2024-01-07, 7d
    
    section Production
        Record Episodes :after m3, 14d
    
    section Postproduction
        Editing : des5, 2024-02-04, 87d
        Publishing : des6, 2024-02-04, 87d

<center><small>A typical season production schedule</small></center>

An async-first calendar of production, but with shorter times for completing each step.

1. **Brainstorming & Discussion:** We'll give ideas and discuss each episode's topics. Then, we'll do scripting and refinement. This will be done across 3 meetings across the first month.
2. **Recording:** Weekly schedule to record 4 weekly episodes. It can be one long session on Saturday (4 hours per session), 2 mid-length sessions the whole weekend (2 hours per session), or 4 short sessions between Thursday and Sunday (1 hour per session).
3. **Postproduction and release:** From months three to five, a new episode will be released every month: 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th. The postproduction will also feature 10 clips per episode to be scheduled to be released on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, one daily. Clips can be extracted from the episode via AI based on the listening stats from Saturday and the transcript analysis and are scheduled to be released using automated tools.

Sticking to this plan should ensure us either 4 yearly seasons or 2 yearly seasons (if following the same schedule but doubling the times).

### Brainstorming & Discussion

#### First meeting: Brainstorming

Each host reaches the first meeting with three topics (related to the common themes: past, present, future), one for each episode. The topic can be something generic (such as sports) or a specific tentative title (_"The crypto winter is over"_).

The first meeting will arrange the topics across a three-part series: first, the episodes related to our immediate past (between the last season and now), the present, and the future.

Each part has its own mood:

- The past is primarily nostalgic and anecdotic but highly reflexive.
- The present is critiqued. It reflects our current feelings.
- The future is optimistic and energetic.

Topics will be discussed following this criteria, and an episodes list will be the output of this meeting.

#### Second meeting: Scripting

For econd meeting each host would bring a sketch script for each one of the three episodes that correspond to them to be hosted. The general outline can follow our first season schema, but creativity is encouraged.

On the meeting, we'll go through each one of the episodes, to give out lines to discuss to every host, and will agree on the final outline of each episode.

#### Third meeting: Refinement

Each host would have to send the script proposal, with at least three days in advancement. Automated tools (like ChatGPT) are encouraged to ease up the job of writing, but also, creativity and passion are our greatest qualities here. On the meeting, we'll review every script, and refine it, giving out our personal details, gags, and personality. The output of the meeting are the final scripts.

### Recording

#### First meeting: Setting up

We'll use a set of tools to record. This includes microphones, software (Loopback, Audition), and cloud services (like Discord and Craig). This first meeting will set the parameters to appropriately configure the setup on every host's machines.

#### Second thru ... meeting: recording sessions

Every recording session will have a limit of 1 hour to record one episode. Multiple recording sessions can be arranged per day.

For each session, every host is required to have the script at hand. Improvisation is encouraged, but we keep to the boundaries of the episode's scope, sentimend, and timings.

### Postproduction and release

After every recording session, the raw recordings will be retrieved from cloud services (like Craig), stored, and used to post-production. The hosts are encouraged to formulate cuts, proposed background music, and prompt the description of the episode. After this, episodes will be uploaded and scheduled to release on the aforementioned (and thereafter agreed) schedule.

Software will be used in the future to analyse the content and engagement of every episode, to produce clips that can be released on social media to keep people engaged.