In preparation for Season 3 of our Pathfinder campaigns, scheduled to start early in August with the release of the Second edition Pathfinder rules and the Age of Ashes adventure path, I have been working to re-evaluate and redesign my podcast capabilities.
Apparently the terminology for this is now an “Active Play” podcast – a podcast which records and broadcast the active RPG session. It can be done live, or pre-recorded. I am most definitely going with pre-recorded, live is just far too complex for a single person to manage in real time, while also running a game session.
In support, I have cobbled together a handful of cameras, and sorted out how to power and record with each for the duration of the session. During our next couple of sessions, I will be testing the footage and angles, and see what adjustments I may still need.
I have also been researching audio options – our prior efforts used a single omni-directional mic hung from the roof in the center of the table. It was serviceable, but not a really very high quality recording. A lavalier mic for each participant would be the best, but with our size of group (10 players plus GM), that is troublesome. Lavalier mics are not necessarily cheap, and the biggest issue is a mixer or recorder to record all 11 tracks independently, so that I can clean them up after the session and adjust individual player volume. I did come up with a workable solution, and will be trying so inexpensive testing with audio as well over the next few games.
Ideally, I also want to synchronize software apps as well – initiative trackers, etc – so that I can do an overlay as needed during the game. This introduces its own challenge, to not only blend and mix the audio, but also synchronize the timestamps on the additional track.
In theory, I have all this sorted out, and my fingers are crossed that after a couple of attempts, this will become a simple matter of setup and record – minimal effort during the game to maintain. Post processing will likely still be lengthy, but previous efforts have given me a few ways to streamline that as well.
Hopefully this all comes together and I can start producing decent content again.
