Creating Academic Videos and Podcasts Academic Essentials: Adobe Premiere Rush

Welcome to the Video and Podcasting Workshop!

This guide is for the Academic Essentials Webinar on academic videos and podcasts. It includes 5 key segments offering context on creating with Adobe Premiere Rush and earning your badge for this series:

• Prompt/Expectations for the Challenge
• Project Samples and Media Assets for your own use
• Production Tips for audio-visual projects
• Steps for Video in Premiere Rush
• Steps for Podcasts in Premiere Rush

Challenge Instructions

To complete this challenge, create an academic podcast or video that delivers "expert" information to a broad audience. Your productions should include the following elements:

• Introductory Element: a text (video) or audio (podcast) title, and a musical intro.
• Edited Expert Content: information delivered in a talking head format.
• Supplementary Media: additional visual and audio content to support the edited expert content (e.g., b-roll, sound effects).
• Concluding Element: a spoken, textual, or musical outro.
• Exported as a Playable File: go to "Share," then select "Export."

Project Samples and Media Assets

Below are sample video and podcast deliverables. Linked underneath each sample are optional media assets you can download to recreate these samples and complete the credential challenge. Feel free to use your own assets, though! As long as you include equivalents to the project elements above, your submission will be accepted.

Videos in Premiere Rush

Sample video project deliverable:

Podcasts in Premiere Rush

Sample podcast project deliverable:

Tips for Producing Academic Audio-Visual Projects

1. Research first: do your homework! Define and examine the context, problem, or case you hope to study before you collect recordings and data, generate questions to ask an expert, write a script, or gather supplementary media assets.
2. Production: every podcast needs a storyteller and every video needs a star! Find someone who tells stories for a living (or frequently) and become acquainted with their body of work. Next, invite them to do an interview, and give them enough time to prepare. Before you meet, craft non-leading, open-ended questions to ask, and send them to the interviewee ahead of time.
3. Technical preparation: test your technology! Do sound checks with your microphone, understand the basic features of your device(s), and be mindful of location and lighting—all this before you do an official recording.
4. Audio recording: length, listening, levels, location! Note mic placement and direction (the ideal distance is 4-12 inches from your recording source—think "speakerphone"). Use headphones for accuracy and sound quality when listening back to your recordings. Check your sound levels, and aim to be in the "yellow" zone on the sound meter. Be mindful of your environment, and anticipate unique sonic conditions in any new location. Typically, the best location for recording is a small, quiet space with materials to dampen sound (e.g., rugs, pillows, blankets, soundproofing foam).
5. Video recording: you can never have too much B-roll! Try to film and photograph all kinds of creative, interesting close-ups and angles. B-roll (i.e., supplementary footage) can be used as visual metaphors to help narrate your story or illustrate a more abstract concept.
6. Build trust with your interviewee: consent, comfort, connection, confirmation! Be transparent about your recording process by asking your interviewee for permission to record. Then, help them get comfortable before you officially start the interview by engaging them in non-interview related conversation: share stories, ask about their day, talk about things unrelated to the task, etc. Finally, as a first task during the interview, ask them to pronounce and spell their name on the recording to confirm accuracy on your end in post-production.
7. Sound like a human: sound like you! Practice your questions and focus more on having a conversation (i.e., ask follow-up questions, offer contributions, etc.). Don’t be afraid to go with the flow, but be prepared to redirect the interview as needed.
8. Be a strategic narrator/host: repeat key concepts without being redundant! Whether during the interview process or in post-production editing, be sure to reinforce main ideas through strategic repetitions.
9. Edit for sound first: audio is king! Trim and arrange your audio-visual clips so that spoken information (e.g., narration, interview excerpts) tells a story regardless of how the video looks.
10. Build a cohesive narrative: add context and connections! In post-production, you may need to add additional recorded elements (e.g., voiceover, supplemental sound bites, etc.) to provide context and/or make connections between ideas to guide listeners through your story. Watch and listen to the clips you've gathered, and search for concise soundbites that help build a coherent story—something with a beginning, middle, and end. Be prepared to do this many times as multiple listenings/viewings can often illuminate new insights. As you study, consider creating an outline or storyboard to organize the emerging sequence.
11. Polish and Publish: listen to the entire production! Edit for finer details (e.g., small mishaps, needed sound effects and transitions, etc.), and keep your audience in mind—how can audiovisual content or supplementary effects help engage and/or guide them?
12. Sharing and Accessibility: devise an accessibility plan! Always generate a transcript of your audio-visual story (e.g., auto-generated via software, transcription services, manual typing). Ensure that this resource is available wherever you publish your video or podcast.

10 Steps for Video and Audio Editing

This workshop will guide participants through 10 essential steps for video and audio editing in Adobe Premiere Rush. The ten steps are outlined below.

Videos in Adobe Premiere Rush

1. Manage files
2. Create a new project
3. Navigate the workspace
4. Arrange and edit sequences
5. Edit and trim clips
6. Transition between clips
7. Add titles, text, and captions
8. Edit audio tracks
9. Edit visual tracks
10. Save and share

Podcasting in Adobe Premiere Rush

1. Manage Files
2. Create a New Project
3. Navigating the Workspace
4. Edit/Trim a Clip
5. Edit Primary Audio
6. Add/Edit Voiceover
7. Add/Edit Music
8. Apply Auto Ducking
9. Add "Extras"
10. Save and Share