How to make a video podcast with one camera

You don't need a camera for every person to make a video podcast that looks like it was shot in a studio. One good wide shot is enough, as long as your editor knows what to do with it.

The problem with one camera

Leave a single wide shot running for an hour and it gets hard to watch. Studios fix that with a camera on each person and someone switching between them, which means more gear, more files and a much longer edit.

Most people starting out have one camera, or a phone, and no one to run the switcher.

How Edit The Pod does it

Shoot a single 4K wide shot with everyone in frame. Edit The Pod listens to the conversation, works out who's talking and cuts between close ups of each person and the wide shot, the way a director would. Where something's been cut, the shot changes to hide the join, so the edit looks smooth.

One camera in, multicam out. If you do have more than one camera, that works too, and Edit The Pod lines them up for you.

How to shoot it

• Shoot in 4K if you can. The close ups are cut from the wide shot, so the more detail it has, the sharper they look. Your finished video comes out at 1080p.
• Get everyone fully in frame with a little room around them, and keep the camera still on a tripod.
• Record good sound. A separate recorder or mixer is great, and so is the camera's own sound if that's all you've got.
• Light faces from the front. A dark room makes for soft close ups.

Step by step

1. Open the Podloader and drop your video into Podcast audio / video.
2. Recorded the sound separately? Drop that file in too. When the Podloader asks, click Yes, one recording, then pick the sound file under Which file has the episode's audio?
3. Click Upload and process. You'll get an email when the episode's ready.
4. Open the episode. The filler words and long gaps are already cut, and the shots are already switching to whoever's talking.
5. Read through the transcript and change anything you like. Your cuts and the camera changes stay in step.
6. Click Export and download your finished video from the Publish Pack.

Good to know

• Video is exported at 1080p.
• Big 4K files take longer to upload, so start the upload when you've got a good connection. The Podloader picks up again if the connection drops.
• You can also turn your episode into vertical reels for social media from the same edit.

Upload an episode and see the edit already done when you open it. Every plan starts with a 7-day free trial. Start your free trial. Or try the demo first, no signup needed. Everything in Learn.