The Symposium Podcast: Episode 7- Red Husted

[C-Fan]

So after months of hard work, I'm very proud to finally launch my footbag project.

The Symposium: A Footbag Podcast


https://thesymposium.modified.in/

In a nutshell, this podcast is going to be a series of conversations between footbaggers, on a variety of topics. We'll talk footbag, but we'll also talk about whatever else seemed interesting at the time. I'll be releasing new episodes every 2 weeks, and you can also subscribe through RSS to get them automatically. I'll also post new episodes here and in my blog. I'd love for any discussions/feedback on the podcast to go in this thread.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

[C-Fan]

Episode 1: Evan Gatesman



https://thesymposium.modified.in/podcas ... -gatesman/

[Tjuggles]

Awesome Ken (and others)!

I am about 15 minutes into it, and really enjoying it. It's great to hear about the community, especially info about people that I wouldn't hear elsewhere (e.g., Zeb getting married).

Were I to critique, I would say that it started a bit rough, and I thought it sounded a bit fake as in you were responding to the fact that Evan commented to a question that you raised, but not what he commented, if that makes sense. Around the 4 min mark or so I think things got a bit more relaxed and it was fine from there. Accordingly, I had a thought that what might alleviate this would be to script the beginning few minutes and then once things were warmed up, let them go, analogous to warming up with tiltless instead of moving straight into fearless . It reminded me of Snoop's show, where he almost always starts with the same one or two questions, and then the conversation takes off from there (link below). Of course, you probably already did this, so you can ignore me.

Just some food for thought. I think the podcast is a really good idea!

Snoop's show:
https://www.youtube.com/user/westfesttv

This is a great addition Ken, GREAT!!!!

[C-Fan]

Thanks for the input TJ.

For the first pod I recorded, I had crazy problems with Skype and Audacity. Basically, I couldn't record the audio feed directly, so I was forced to record Evan's audio through my mic (so we lost sound quality twice). In order to improve sound quality, I shut off the Skype camera, but that plus the bad sound made for stiff conversation for sure. I'm not even going to get into the pain in the ass it was to boost Evan's audio in post (basically every clip of him talking, I had to boost that sound clip individually).

The second pod I did was also over skype, also with camera shut off. I definitely feel like that hurts the flow, since its like doing a long distance phone call with delay. The audio should be better, since I had the guest record sound on their end, then I overlayed their track with mine, so that was an easier edit.

Pods #3 through #7 were recorded in person, on my phone. These have both the best audio quality, as well as the best flow, mostly because we were in the same room.

I'm hoping my next few pods are in person, and that I eventually figure out recording Skype with video. But man, they do NOT make it easy.

[Tjuggles]

I can only imagine how not straightforward and how time consuming it is to get all the audio recorded and edited, and I think you have done a fantastic job so far.

Looking forward to episode 2!

[Anz]

Quite entertaining. I look forward for more.

[boyle]

Great guest to have to open up with. I liked it, interesting hearing thoughts on various areas of the game, especially Evan's thoughts on his routine, that he felt that in the end he hadn't actually created a winning routine, even if he didn't have the drop. Personally I think with the drop he would have won. I also thought his description of Vasek in 08 (taking it easy for dropless routine were my exact thoughts for Vasek in Copenhagen).

One criticism is there was probably too much "oh, on a related note" - you want to get that flow and the listener makes the connection that it is a related note. I don't know if that was a purposeful thing.

Something Evan brought up was about in freestyle football they pay the judges and have it very professional (comparatively), and Ken said if you can't pay the players then that won't happen. I think to bring in at least a head judge is possibly more important than to have players flown around. If we lived in an ideal world, the players could use their status as "number x in the world" to get some sponsors and other assistance. I don't think the tournament should have any responsibility to fly people there, because then it's giving some kind of influence to certain players and they may make a difference on the results.

Looking forward to the next ones. I'm sure there were other parts I wanted to mention, but that will do for now.

[Asmus]

This was great. I am super hype on future episodes!

[C-Fan]

Thanks for the feedback everybody, both here and via private messages on Facebook.

When I started working on the project in earnest, I made the decision to pre-record at least 5 episodes before launching. I did this because I wanted to guarantee a regular release schedule, and I knew it'd be risky to release the first episode and then lose momentum on the project by having the next episode come out 6 weeks later. I ended up pre-recording 7 episodes before launching the project, which should ensure regular releases for the next 4 months.

Of course, the downside to pre-recording so many episodes before releasing to the public is that I can't do too much with feedback until episode 8. I mean, things like the website layout or technical issues I can still play with, but the content and length of the recorded episodes is kinda gonna be what it is. At most I might be able to cut out some content here and there, but I can't do anything radically different like change the types of questions obviously.

That said, I definitely welcome feedback, both positive and negative (constructive). I'm hoping this ends up being an ongoing project, and even if somebody else takes over one day, I'm sure they can learn from the feedback on my episodes too.

A few quick notes:

The first two episodes were recorded on Skype, without video. As mentioned before, that probably hurt the flow of the conversation. All episodes after that were recorded in person, and consequently flowed better (imo).

The audio on the first episode is by far the worst, and required the most fixing in post. The audio on the second episode will be better, since I had the guest record audio on their end and then I overlaid their track with mine.

For anybody wondering, one of the more time consuming aspects of audio editing is going through the whole convo and taking out as many "ums" "you knows" "likes" etc. as possible. This sounds minor, but its a lot of work. I do it though to try and cut down on the overall length of the conversation, and to make it easier on the listener's ears. I also spend time cutting out parts of the conversation that either don't flow that well, or contain content that may be controversial. I do more of that kind of editing in subsequent episodes, but I wanted to mention it in case people wonder why it takes so long to prep and release episodes. I'm not just recording a track and slapping it directly online.

I'm hoping that future episodes are a lot easier to launch, since I won't have to write and record a theme song anymore, or have Haley record the intro/outro again. We have files now where we can just insert those into the start and end of each pod. Same goes with the website infrastructure, though I'll likely work to improve that some before the 2nd episode drops.

[C-Fan]

Episode 2 is in the can; I literally just have to press a button to launch it.

If I stick to my release schedule, Episode 2 would come out Friday. But in my quest to continue to get feedback, I'm willing to cut a deal. Once I get 6 responses to the following survey, I'll release Episode 2. So if I get 6 real responses in the next hour, it goes live. If I get 6 by noon on Thursday, that's when it goes live. If I don't get 6 responses before Friday...it just releases as scheduled.

So here are the survey questions:

1. Did you subscribe to the RSS? If not, why not?
2. What is your ideal length of time for a podcast?
3. How many times did you listen to episode 1?
4. Do you care if the content of the pod is discussing events that occurred in the past?
5. Does profanity in the pod bother you? Would you prefer curse words be bleeped out?
6. What percent of the podcast would you like to see dedicated to footbag talk, as opposed to other subjects?

Thanks for your input everybody, and also thanks to everybody who commented on the Symposium web page.

[Asmus]

1. Did you subscribe to the RSS? If not, why not?
I didn't. I will see it here anyways. If it was added to iTunes and/or Soundcloud I would subscribe however - since that is where I find my podcasts.
2. What is your ideal length of time for a podcast?
From 1 hour to 2 hours.
3. How many times did you listen to episode 1?
Twice. I will probably listen to it again in the future.
4. Do you care if the content of the pod is discussing events that occurred in the past?
I thought it was a little heavy on the "who was there" and "how was the competition" about one specific event in the first episode. But in general I think discussing events that occured in the past can be relevant.
5. Does profanity in the pod bother you? Would you prefer curse words be bleeped out?
More profanity please!
6. What percent of the podcast would you like to see dedicated to footbag talk, as opposed to other subjects?
I feel like that will depend on the guest and the flow of the conversation. There should always be footbag in the podcast though.

[C-Fan]

Early release!

1) I do subscribe, because I know how to. We need to make this easier... somehow.
2) About an hour
3) I don't even really notice profanity anymore
4) 70/30 footbag

1. No, I'll know when it drops regardless.
2. Hour +/-.
3. Deeply offended.
4. 50/50 -ish.

1) Did not subscribe. Don't like subscribing to anything.
2) Hourish, unless it's on a roll and it's really exciting/funny/interesting, then just roll with it.
3) Need more profanity. Can't wait for an episode with Derek Littlefield or Kevin Hogan.
4) I think 50% is great.

1. I did.Because I can get good motivation from this and good for study english

2.Less than 30 minutes is good for me.

3. No.

4. 60% footbag. I agree with Nathan.

Anyway congrats Ken!!

1. Did you subscribe to the RSS? If not, why not?
I did, but I'm the only one I know personally that uses an RSS reader. I can imagine people subscribing to itunes podcasts or youtube channels.
2. What is your ideal length of time for a podcast?
at least 25 minutes. Longer is preferable but i'll take what I can get.
3. Does profanity in the pod bother you? Would you prefer curse words be bleeped out?
No bleeps. profanity acceptable, one might say encouraged.
4. What percent of the podcast would you like to see dedicated to footbag talk, as opposed to other subjects?
at least 10% footbag, no need to feel constrained.

1) nope
2) 30 min to an hour is good
3) not offended
4) I mostly want footbag talk, but not necessarily technical stuff, I like stories about other players, past events, etc

Thanks for all the work you've put into this, I am digging them!

[C-Fan]

Episode 2: Matt Kemmer




https://thesymposium.modified.in/podcas ... no-kemmer/

Better sound quality on this one. Give it a listen and let me know what you think!

[bobgreen]

Hi Ken. Great job on the series so far. In case responses are still useful to you at this stage, here are my answers:

1. Did you subscribe to the RSS? If not, why not?
No. I tend not to subscribe to things.
2. What is your ideal length of time for a podcast?
The symposium is essentially the first podcast I've listened to. Most of the online content I consume lasts 5-10 minutes....I do much better listening to something when I have a short break between projects. This is clearly not a good format for podcasts, so I suspect I'll be quite happy with a longer one that I can listen to in chunks. Do most folks who listen in chunks actually download a copy of the podcast to make that more convenient?
3. How many times did you listen to episode 1?
One. I definitely enjoyed it, but I tend to not listen or watch things more than once unless it stands out to me in a huge way. If you can get some Napoleon Dynamite kinda humor going, I'll definitely give it a second listen.
4. Do you care if the content of the pod is discussing events that occurred in the past?
I enjoy hearing historical perspectives on things. I wouldn't want only 'old timers', but I do enjoy listening to folks that have been in the game forever talk about varied aspects.....trick etymology, history surrounding freestyle concepts like tiltless, guiltless, 'the', etc., the move away from 'well rounded' players to those that specialize in either freestyle or net, etc.
5. Does profanity in the pod bother you? Would you prefer curse words be bleeped out?
I'm good with 'moderate' profanity. Generally speaking I wouldn't think it is necessary to bleep.
6. What percent of the podcast would you like to see dedicated to footbag talk, as opposed to other subjects?
I think this is really dependent on who the interviewee is. If it is someone who lives and breathes promoting footbag and doesn't do too much else, I'd want to hear mostly about footbag. It it is someone who in addition to footbag has another interesting hobby (whirly ball, foosball, freestyle frisbee as examples) or vocation (lots of varied examples of folks with interesting jobs) I'd want to hear more about that. If you were interviewing someone like Khoa I'd be disappointed if you didn't spend a good portion of time talking about freestyle soccer and his ambassadorship in both sports. If you interviewed someone like Lon, I'd want to hear about street performing and Magic Cards. You get the picture.

[DC Clinks]

I need a context for this photo Matt. Why are you wearing a blue crown?? Is the guy next to you the BFF discussed in the podcast?? Where'd you find a shark that was capable of breathing on land???

Nice work to the two of you though, thoroughly enjoyed hearing all about El Kemino's escapades.

[C-Fan]

I need a context for this photo Matt. Why are you wearing a blue crown??

I wasn't sure at first, but when we entered a bar later that day some office worker lady who was hitting the good part of happy hour yelled out the announcement: "The Kings are here!" It all makes sense in retrospect.

Is the guy next to you the BFF discussed in the podcast??

Yes.

Where'd you find a shark that was capable of breathing on land???

The shark was unable to breathe normal air, but by sniffing my pits we were able to keep him conscious long enough to take the photo.

Good questions all around.

Episode 3 drops tomorrow!

[C-Fan]

Oof, slight delay on this one due to my computer dying, followed by me heading to St. Louis shortly thereafter. Also a lot more editing than I anticipated. Hopefully worth the wait though.

Episode 3A: Derek Littlefield




https://thesymposium.modified.in/podcas ... ttlefield/

[Anz]

Well I did end up listening - so fuck you too, Derek.

But don't worry, there's gonna be plenty of chances to see me drunk.

[Derek]

Fuck yeah

[C-Fan]

Well I did end up listening - so fuck you too, Derek..

Classic.