In his article for Podcasting News, Podcast Imaging: The Sign On Your Front Door, audio designer and producer Ed LaComb writes about creating an “audio image” for your podcast. He describes audio imaging this way…
“Simply put, audio imaging is the “fancy sign” that hangs out in front of your business. If your business is audio, then that sign is a highly (or at least creatively) produced show introduction, some “sweepers” which introduce other elements within the show, or transition from one topic to the next, and perhaps even a show outro.”
What are “sweepers”? Sweepers are little bits of audio that are used to direct attention towards what’s coming next. They are attention-getters. You hear these all the time in broadcast. Radio stations use them to transition to commercials or special announcements and your local TV news broadcast uses them to transition between stories. Sweepers and other audio imaging elements: whooshes, hits, washes, stingers, stabs (they’re named for their sound), all contribute as production tools used to guide listeners towards your next feature.
Listen to the demo for this sound effects collection to hear examples of whooshes, hits, stingers and sweepers.
As a podcast producer you could create connections between your topics or your guests by utilizing these small audio transitions. Choose sounds that fit with your show’s intent or “image”.
As LaComb says in his article, “Properly designed and produced, audio imaging can attract listeners to your podcast and when used creatively throughout your podcast, it can keep them listening from beginning to end.”
UniqueTracks has a full line of audio imaging products. If you create your own podcasts, you may be interested in our Podcaster production music and sound effects product.
Just released – Podcaster – Royalty Free Music and Sound Effects. This massive collection by Blastwave FX has been created especially for Podcast producers. Podcaster has everything you need to produce a professional podcast. Add podcast theme music or just a beat loop to your intro and immediately give a focus to your show. With over 500 sound effects this set will let you underscore the humorous, contentious and exciting moments of your podcast.