Now before I get into the details of today’s recommendation, I feel obligated to take a step back to give a general overview of what podcasts are all about. (If you are familiar with podcasts, then skip down and start reading after the “Creative Screenwriting” image.)
Technically, a podcast is a non-streamed webcast. A webcast is an audio or video broadcast that is accessed and transmitted via the internet. The non-streamed part means that these media files can be downloaded and listened to and/or viewed at your discretion.
In layman’s terms, a podcast is a free audio or video show that can be done by anyone that has a microphone, video camera (if necessary), a computer, and the ability to house the media files online somewhere. Due to this fact, you can find podcasts ranging from an extremely specific topic by some guy recording out of his home office to highly-produced podcasts by major companies and media outlets. You can listen to a podcast in a few ways. One of the most popular ways is to find a podcast you like in the iTunes Store (searching by subject), then download individual episodes OR ‘subscribe’, which means that when that podcast has a new episode, your iTunes will automatically download it to your computer. From there you can listen to the podcast on your computer or transfer it to your iPod, iPhone and iPad to be viewed or listened to when you want. Alternatives to iTunes are Podcast Alley, JuiceReceiver and Podcast.net - a simple online search should help you find more if needed.
Podcasts are not limited to Apple devices, though the “pod” in podcast may confuse some. Not being completely educated on the subject, I believe that the term may have originally been a nod to the iPod due to the fact that the media form was pushed forward by the environment that the iPod and iTunes provided. However, since other mobile devices and access via your personal computer (no matter what brand or operating system) are able to take advantage of the medium, it seemed a bit unfair that all of these ‘non-streamed webcasts” were inadvertently pro-Apple due to the term. (Not unlike how the name brand Kleenex® has taken over all forms of facial tissue.) Webcast is a synonymous term, but has never really had the momentum that podcast had, so the tech population compromised by saying “no, no, no, POD cast does not refer to the Apple iPod, it is short for “Personal On Demand broadCAST.” Regardless of this extremely controversial history (not really), I hope that this sheds some light for my friends and family that don’t know much about this medium. Now on to today’s recommended podcast, Creative Screenwriting Magazine’s podcast.
Am I a screenwriter? No.
Do I have desire to eventually one day write a screenplay? No.
So, why the interest in a podcast that what would seemingly be about a pretty specific subject?
In the past, I had come to appreciate podcasts that support the television shows I watch like Grey’s Anatomy, where the podcast did not necessarily recap the show, but interviewed the producers and writers to expand the viewers’ understanding of the show. Whether it be details that I may have missed or a stronger explanation of why the writers chose to do something the way that they did, I definitely came to appreciate the screenwriting process.
Creative Screenwriting takes these qualities that I enjoy so much and applies them to feature length movies (old and new) as well as some television shows - anything that has a screenwriter on staff is eligible.
The host, Jeff Goldsmith, is a really good interviewer in that he is always very well-informed; but more than that, you can easily feel his sincere enthusiasm. The standard format for a show is that an interview is performed with the writer(s)/actors/producers of a movie immediately after a screening of that movie. The interview usually includes some personal history of the interviewees, then the details of the specific movie. That is the basic format, but there are instances, like the podcast covering “Once” in which the musicians of the movie played some music live and had back stories about each song. Needless to say, this and other podcasts have entertained and educated me. But more importantly, I have a much greater respect for the process of writing movies and television shows.
I highly recommend this podcast - even if it is something you might not subscribe to - you can at least go to iTunes and look for some of your favorites movies and shows. Here is a link to the podcast within iTunes.
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