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Cause aint nobody got time for Amateur's
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You're listening to local programming produced in KU NV studios.
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The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5. Jas and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
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This is talking with the pro professional. This is talking with the pros with me just be I speak to the professionals in the world of audio to gain an insight into what it takes to become a pro talking with the pros. We have Judy, join us via phone. Hello, Judy. How are you?
Unknown Speaker 0:42
Hi, I'm doing great. I'm out here in New York City and it's warm. Finally the weather's
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warm. We were getting like rain and cold and wind, you know, just the usual Vegas weather that nobody really talks about. Bio Crusher, and I'm joined here with my co host, Polly
Unknown Speaker 1:01
Ty pleasure meeting you. Hi, let's make it happen. Super stoked. Tuesday.
Unknown Speaker 1:05
In the world of audio, you are a professional in that audio world. You do some production. You've been doing a lot of audio centric media. I just want to touch on like what it is that you do get us into who you are. Talk about all the things that you're doing current. Well,
Unknown Speaker 1:24
great. Well, first of all, I definitely wear many hats in my life. I currently right now, am a Podcast Producer. I do some freelance work. But I also work for a company called gallery Media Group. And I manage to podcasts for them, which is a lot of managing virtual recordings, but just sort of the new world order that we live now, the previous to that I spent 15 years at Marvel, where I basically created all different types of digital content, including podcasts, video, photos, social media, you name it, I touched it for many years. And as part of that, I'm still working with them. I still freelance for them here and there. And I'm also writing two books with them with my first book coming out this summer on June 18. It's called cosplay the Marvel way I love to produce audio. It's definitely interesting because I went to school for photography 20 years ago, sort of evolved with the changing tides of digital content and creation. And now produce podcasts. I am an avid podcast listener, I probably have like currently 50 podcasts I'm subscribed to
Unknown Speaker 2:30
that's a lot of content. I'm sure you're taking all the tips from listening to 50 podcasts into incorporate what you're doing as a senior Podcast Producer, definitely.
Unknown Speaker 2:41
It's really great to sort of listen, I mean, I listen for fun, but I also do listen to see what other brands and companies and are doing and what hosts are doing and sort of incorporate that into our show, but also just see the changing tide because podcasts are it's not a new medium by any means. But it's definitely still a medium that's learning itself as we grow with it. What
Unknown Speaker 3:03
kind of changes have you seen, I mean, 15 years in this podcasting world and audio world? What are some major differences now that somebody just stepping into this world may not know that things used to be oh, well, back
Unknown Speaker 3:16
in the day, there weren't a lot of big corporations that helped support us, you know, there was serious hadn't gotten to the game like Spotify hadn't done it, they video podcast is not a thing that necessarily was known. You know, podcasts like when I when I was at Marvel, one of the things I started with a co created the woman of Marvel podcast, along with three fellow women at Marvel, back then this is we started it in 2014, we kind of just got in a room once a week and recorded audio and maybe didn't know, back then we were all learning everywhere. And I was learning how to edit audio and doing all that type of stuff. So and it's still sort of like that, you definitely can be a little bit gritty, a little raw. But I think the number one thing is we've sort of gotten better at audio production quality overall. And we've also in the same time come to accept audio quality that may not be 100%. But I think it's something that came through from the pandemic, I think we're overall more okay with sort of quality that's, you know, virtual or that type of stuff, although obviously, audio that you can control is much better. And then I think the difference is sort of like ads back in the day. Anyone who's listened to podcasts, remember the good old mattress ads that were out every single podcast to listen to? Now there's a incredible diverse group of sponsors and clients willing to run their ads against your podcasts, I think is really interesting. And also I think right now we're going through a little bit of an ebb and flow of trying to figure out money and how to actually make money doing this. I think there's a lot of great cases of podcasts that are sustainable in their own way. Not all Podcasts can be the Joe Rogan show or the daily, but I think there's a lot of great podcasts out there that have built incredible communities that use Patreon and different subscription methods to sort of supplement how they make money. So I think that's really great. And then just overall, there's so many podcasts. How
Unknown Speaker 5:06
did you go add photography to audio?
Unknown Speaker 5:09
Well, so back in the day, Marvel was like a very small family run. It wasn't it wasn't new. Marvel's been around since the 1930s. I, when I started in 2006, was basically like three guys in a closet. And like, we, I was in a great position, because as the Department grew as like, no, initially, we were just marvel.com. And then we became the Digital Media Group, as that sort of grew. And we started adding headcount. And different people came in knowledgeable over that there's something over these roles that needed filled, and I was along with some of my other co workers, were in great positions to step into those. So I was doing web design for Marvel when I first got hired from them. And then at the time, I was looking to do something interesting or different sort of evolve, I became a producer. So I sort of moved over into video production. And I was producing some short videos that we used in this app that was that existed for a period of time called the Marvel AR app. And then from there, really decided that I really loved video learned a lot about video. And then when the other two my old co workers, Ryan pinargozu, he goes by h&m and his coworker benmore. They have been doing this podcast, it's called This Week in Marvel, and I had helped out. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, I'm sure he mentioned that all the time. It's a joke every time I do a class.
Unknown Speaker 6:32
Great, I love it.
Unknown Speaker 6:35
Then you were just learning as much as possible. That's amazing. video, photography. Audio. Yeah. Like, that's so interesting.
Unknown Speaker 6:44
I mean, at one period of time, I was coding for the website. But that was I sort of learned that I prefer the creative side and less the, you know, text on a screen side. But yeah, I mean, that was the place Marvel was, I was definitely an A, I always say how lucky I was for where I was at that moment. You know, when I first started at Marvel, there were no movies. I mean, there were the X Men movies, but there were no Marvel Studios. So it was really was a great time to be there. Because it was like, kind of get your hands dirty and do it. And and I really benefited from that experience and was able, you know, to take that on to what I'm doing now, you've
Unknown Speaker 7:17
got a lot of hands in different places. But I think we're you're kind of settling in and where you're finding yourself is getting into the world of production with podcasts. So on a daily basis on the general scope, what does that look like for you? And what are some things that you've learned that you're wanting to share with people that are interested in that world,
Unknown Speaker 7:40
I mean, every podcast and every production type is really distinctly different in the day to day, I'll specifically talk about the main podcast that I managed, which is called the CML podcast, it's hosted by Jim Stangl, who used to be a CMO. He was he worked at Procter and Gamble for 20 years, he really changed the game in the world for chief marketing officers within in marketing, high marketing leaders within the space. And he's still really well known. I have so many people who currently are the CMOS at some of the biggest companies that you interact, we all interact with every day, like, for example, we're interviewing the CMO for h&r block next week. And then you know, we're in conversations with the CMO for Barclays and or Macy's. So it's really getting, you know, getting the people that are making the decisions. But as part of that, where we have to work with scheduling of C suite individuals, so that obviously adds a little bit level of difficulty, but just an there's extra pieces to that. But yeah, maybe Yeah. But yeah, so basically, I manage the schedule. So I work with Jim's team and his basically the woman who manages his calendar. And we work with the different CMOS, and we schedule them and sort of manage the pre production, the actual production, we record predominantly virtually other we do do in person recordings here and there. And then we and then I manage the post, I would say most of my week is more tied to editing with some emails thrown in there. For some depending on your podcasts, when you do interviews, some of them will want you to sort of do the prep right there, they're gonna want you to help you start the prep for them, right, finding the bio, you know, working out questions, Jim actually does all his own prep on his own. So it's actually one less thing on my plate. But that is I would say, if you are working on a podcast, and you're going to be planning to do interviews, it is usually something that's very heavy on the producer side is doing that prep is making sure that your host is prepared for the interview and for the conversation and making sure that they've looked at the prep doc before they show up and they read it. So I think that that's something that's actually really important, which makes it great interview is a host that's really prepared, right
Unknown Speaker 9:55
specifically the audio component. What are the challenges you face in that environment?
Unknown Speaker 9:59
I mean, recording Virtually is obviously, a much different animal, you really can't control it 100% of the time, you can do your best. I mean, a lot of applications now have much higher quality audio, but, you know, you're, you're sort of dependent on what their situation is. So we use stream yard, which is like one of the many virtual recording software doesn't require to an application, which I think makes it a little easier. And they do local record, which sometimes allow you to record higher quality audio and video, obviously dependent on their internet. And then, you know, sometimes you can have them record a backup on their phone. Sometimes everyone's all guests will show up with a mic, and it's incredible. But I would say that's usually the number one struggle is just making sure that the quality of audio we have for not only your host will you can sort of control in a way, even though they're also virtual, and then is your guest. And there's a lot of tools you can use in posts to clean that audio up. But like if that raw audio isn't, isn't clean, and an easy and like, you know, if there's a lot of background noise, if they're choppy, that type of stuff, you just you can't always fix that. So that's always the number one concern is if you can sort of control the audio and the recording, I mean, that's always my goal, then it'll make it easier on you and edit. But you know, it's not always guaranteed
Unknown Speaker 11:16
what microphones and consoles do you use? Do you use any consoles? Do you use any shotgun or some sevens? What microphones specifically,
Unknown Speaker 11:26
and we don't usually go super fancy because specifically my hosts are my host, Jim, he actually travels a lot for work. So he's always moving. So we got him a really practical USB mic, he has an Audio Technica ATR. So it does the job, honestly, fairly good. And all he has to do is plug it right into his laptop. And then we record via his because we do use the video out specifically for this podcast, we do social clips, so we do record the video too. And then he just uses his camera from the laptop, which is obviously not like the best thing. That's the interesting thing is when you have access to a studio now like yeah, we have like, studio setup that we can use one of our offices in Long Island City, but it's rare that we have access to that because usually, I don't have the host in New York City. And then when we are and then the other situation is when we do record in person who we are a lot of times on the ground running. For example, I got to go to Cannes last year for this big marketing festival cow can lion and we record it. I'm gonna say the sentence out loud. And we record it on a yacht. Wow. So funny. But we recorded in the gym on the yacht. So we had basically very small space to work with. And we're flying to the south of France. So very less scarce. And I would say like I'm less you're working where you have access to a studio, most of the podcasts I've ever managed, we do tend to do a little bit, you know, easy, easy USB mic is kind of the way to go. Obviously a pop screen if you can have it, it's even better because a lot of people pop, how do you
Unknown Speaker 12:53
handle backups. So when you're recording a guest, and they're, they're getting into it, and then all of a sudden, you get to the production and you realize that microphone, something happened. So a
Unknown Speaker 13:04
lot of times we'll ask a guest to do a backup on their phone, which is usually the back you know, the backup. So the nice thing for at least our host is we have them record locally on their machine. So they're using just quick time with obviously the USB port mic piped in. And then we're recording the SD card. So with the host, we always have a backup no matter what. And we have come into into situations like recently, my host got a new computer, a new laptop, and it didn't actually record it said it was recording, but it didn't actually record anything because one thing on his side wasn't set up correctly. But it was fully easy to follow because we had the stream or audio so it wasn't a concern. And then for guests, you typically will will have them record a backup on their phone. And sometimes that audio is better honestly, like sometimes. And I will say like if you can record, not through some headphones sound really clean and clear. But most of them tend to come in a little little like far away a little tinny. So sometimes it's better just to have that phone in front of them devalues that audio.
Unknown Speaker 14:08
And I really want to get into women of Marvel podcasts. Now that's something really special unique and I think would be a great opportunity to like share with everybody.
Unknown Speaker 14:19
I'm only in the background now sort of helping out as a consultant. But we started that podcast in 2014. So it's been 10 years now. It'd be 10 years in June, which is kind of incredible. I co created it along with Santa Monica, who is the CO creator of Kamala Khan, Miss Marvel, the first Muslim superhero and she and I, along with two other fellow women at Marvel, Janine Schaefer and Adrienne Cohen got together in a room and started just chatting and pitching ideas and over the years son and I really sort of took that and tried to drive it really far and right now the two hosts are incredible. La Pyle le pile and pretty tuber she they're both incredible, great hosts. They So you just got nominated for a Podcast Awards, and they're doing great stuff over there at Marvel seasonal. Now, we started out when we started in 2014 was weekly, which is absolutely insane to think about producing a show every week and trying to figure out who to have on as guests. But over the years, we've had on such an incredible collection of women, and non binary and queer and people of color in the space that speak to not only comics, but video games, graphic novels, film, TV, you name it, if Marvel has touched it and done something with it, we were able to have someone on from them. You know, we had, I had the opportunity to talk to Brie Larson, when the first Captain Marvel movie came out. We've also had like, costume designers, comic creators, historians, I mean, it's really been, it was really an incredible experience to be able to have that space and do it. Because early on, you know, a lot of big brands weren't thinking about this idea of diversity. I mean, that wasn't really a conversation happening at that point. Now, when you go to conventions, along with aluminum Marvel panel, there is a woman, a DC panel and a woman of Star Wars panel, like, there are spaces and communities, which was really what was important to us was building a community. And letting you know, fans out there know that there was a space for them here. Because, you know, for so long for you know, actually not so long the history of comics is that comments have always been made for all genders. But it wasn't until like the late 80s, early 90s, it became like a boy space. So we were always wanted to make sure that women and queer and non binary people felt like they also belong there. So the season they just did was really incredible. I actually chipped in on the Captain Marvel episode, and sort of gave them a download on who she was and chatted to them. So I still pop up every once in a while.
Unknown Speaker 16:44
I just like the narrative here of having a space for women, women like like showing up and knowing like they can be part of the conversation and the table not fade into the background. I think that's the best part here and like giving a space for women to just be
Unknown Speaker 17:00
leaders and part of the production process. I'm fascinated because being a male I'm I'm surrounded by so many men in the industry, in the production and behind the scenes, world. And it's, it seems very male dominated most of the time, every time I encounter a woman in the space, it is so inspiring, because it is just, it's another flavor to the production process, which is part of the artistic process. And part of the final product part of the the integration of just being human. And I love that and it's so necessary, I think, to see women do more in the space, I love seeing that. And congratulations
Unknown Speaker 17:37
to you, you are our first my first of women in audio. So I'm so excited to have you. And you know, because it's not like the audio girl, it's more like the audio guy all the time, you know. So I really want to like trailblaze here focus on the importance of women in this space, and just being valid and credible and trustworthy. And all of those things because we have a passion. And I know you do too, with getting your hands on production. It's what you're doing right now. So I mean, this
Unknown Speaker 18:13
is sort of a belief that we had on the podcast, which is why we started out is that it was so important that if young girls and young kids at home, don't see someone like them doing the job, then they're never going to know that the job is available for them. So I think it's you know, it's so important that, you know, the Oscars nominate a woman or Oscars nominee a person of color, like it's so even like, obviously, that's the highest of the high right. But it is important to see that. And I have I will say in in the last, you know, 15 plus years that I worked within just the digital content space, I will say that there are predominantly more different types of people than there were in the beginning. I think we still have very far to go, but I can see progress happening. Yeah, that's
Unknown Speaker 18:54
great news for me as well, because I know I'm surrounded on a daily basis or so you know, I'm sticking strong and staying the course. So I really appreciate your perspective on that. And what you guys were doing in Marvel and what's continuing on being who you are on a daily basis, being that producer for podcasts and taking the lead in production and it
Unknown Speaker 19:19
has a big impact on the culture behind the scenes. And I think it's super important. The culture behind the scenes totally has an impact to the end user actually to the person experiencing the art that whatever podcast media form, it's the having that that voice represented behind the scenes is so cool. And I I'm inspired actually because that takes overcoming challenges. You have to overcome challenges learning about the equipment, learning about the technical process, which seems very masculine but it's not it's it's it's human. And I love that and I love just like the integration and the diversity involved in that process. And seeing that I worked in IT staging even like here in Las Vegas, in the staging world, and I, I'm inspired by the women in that space, because they they bring a different, they bring a different mindset to the table that is very positive. And it's very, it's very engaging. And it is it just gives me like another perspective on my job. And I love that. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 20:22
I think it's bringing those different perspectives is going to, it's going to create better content for everyone, right? It's and I think that's it's important, you know, there's always a conversation about like, why did why are like in the comic space? Why do women have to only write woman characters, right? And obviously, that's the end, right. But that doesn't mean that a woman couldn't write a man and a man can write a woman. But obviously, first of all, we need to get more women writing comics, first of all, but then why can't a woman right Tony Stark, I think it's just about but each person is going to bring their own unique perspective, to the job, to the creation, to the story to everything, and then also make other people feel comfortable in the space. And I will say, I have also been on many Aset, where I was the only woman. And in those situations, Watson's I was, I was the final, you know, decision maker. So it also in a way, I felt a lot of pressure to prove that I belong there. But sometimes, you know, just sort of have to, I will say most people are just sort of making it up as they go along. And, and just figuring it out. Because, you know, most of these jobs are outside of just the more you know, the intimate details of like technical stuff, and most of this stuff is anyone can do if you really believe that you want to do it. And it's a passion for you. And I think that that's something you should do something that you really want to be passionate with. Even if it's something on the side, maybe it's not your full time job, but maybe something you do. And I think podcasting is a great example of that, right? Anyone can make a podcast in their home. So if it's something that you really want to do, I think you should just do it, because why not. And
Unknown Speaker 21:58
with the whole, you know, coming and being like that woman on the stage, and, you know, getting your hands in, like, for myself, I have my hands on this production fully, you know, scheduling, editing, putting it out, you know, getting making sure it's getting distributed. So just having an understanding of how this creative process is going. And then working on the equipment and working the mics. And like you said, as long as you have the passion behind it and understanding Yeah, that impostor syndrome comes into play, but it's really any, like, everybody has that moment of learning. And it's just being able to have that chance and opportunity to learn on the equipment, because everything is so technical. And you know, it's a production and things need to go right. But there's also moments in everybody's career, where they're learning and mistakes are happening. And it's just like the leveling up at that point. And not being seen, oh, the girl handle it, or, you know, Oh, it must be the girl causing the probable everybody learns, right, right.
Unknown Speaker 23:05
I think a lot of men get super, when we get technical, right? Our brains are just we like to just we get very one track minded, like a hunter, like we're just trying to hunt. Having that woman just doing the job and actually handling that it's a different perspective that actually impacts the art in a positive way, the arts, the the final product, the production, it just adds flavor to the entire culture behind the scenes that is very necessary for new ideas to flourish. And I love that. And I love seeing that. It's so important because having that perspective is so key to just having new ideas come to light behind the scenes, or, you know, the approach to a mix, the approach to sound, the approach to a microphone technique, the approach to anything, really is just so important. And, and I'm so excited to see women come up in the space, behind the scenes, it's so inspiring. I love seeing that. And
Unknown Speaker 24:10
it's really a great collaborative effort. At the end of the day, everybody's got a role to play. And I just appreciate you coming on and telling us about everything you're doing here at gallery Media Group. So any final words that you could, you know, help with inspiration or anything we didn't get a chance to talk about,
Unknown Speaker 24:30
you know, if you love something, you should just do it. I mean, I know that is much easier said than done. We have the digital, you know, age at our fingertips and you know, try you know, if you want to work in podcast production, really you really have to produce a podcast on your own. I think that's my first recommendation. If that's something you want to do, work with some friends find something, take it off and then you can showcase you can do that. And then yeah, and other than that, I don't know. Also have fun while you're doing it. To me. That's the one thing I've learned and I My 20 years of working at different companies is the end of the day I want to have fun either at work or at home and I think that's important that we enjoy we enjoy what we're doing find the thing that is your passion and have fun doing it. Yeah
Unknown Speaker 25:13
it really rings true that find something you love and do it because when the tough parts happen and they're gonna happen if you have something to hold on to and your your why is super important because things aren't easy and it's a growing and the growing is hard sometimes so thank you so much, Judy, for coming on. You are a wealth of knowledge. You know, I encourage everybody to really just go after and pursue try different things and you're a testament to that success and the end.
Unknown Speaker 25:43
Well thank you and thank you for having me on.
Unknown Speaker 25:45
Course. Thank you. Honestly, Judy, I hope you had a great time. I really appreciate you taking the time to join us today and have a great rest of your day that's it for us okay bye.
Unknown Speaker 27:37
I want to thank you so much for tuning in. And if you missed any of today's episode, you can find us anywhere podcasts are available like Spotify, Google and Apple podcasts. Thank you for listening to today's episode of talking with the pros with me. Just be I love you and I'll catch you in the next one. Bye
Transcribed by https://otter.ai