How to use your iPhone to record your podcast professionally

Oct 10

I always encourage podcasters to create a dedicated recording space to help them get the best possible audio quality for each episode. But, I’m also a firm believer in changing things up and going away on holidays! Even if it’s not a holiday, sometimes life happens and you can’t record in your usual spot. This means you need a remote recording option to keep creating content without compromising on audio quality.

So today I’m sharing my insights on how to record high-quality content using nothing but your iPhone and a microphone. In this episode, I'll walk you through the essential equipment, setup, and tips that I've personally found invaluable for producing top-notch recordings on the go.

The Essential Gear

Let's kick things off with the gear I swear by. My weapon of choice is the Rode PodMic USB microphone. It's compact and perfect for travellers like me, but it does come with a pop filter that adds a bit of bulk. Don't be put off by its size, though, because that pop filter is crucial for reducing those annoying plosive sounds, like P's and B's, in your recordings.

Setting Up Your Smartphone

Now, let's talk about the heart of this mobile podcasting setup—your smartphone. I use an iPhone 14 Pro, and I'll show you how to connect it to the Rode PodMic USB microphone using a separate USB cable. I'll also walk you through the benefits of the Rode Central app, which allows you to fine-tune your microphone's settings for that perfect audio quality.

The Importance of a Good Tripod

To keep your recording stable and shake-free, a reliable tripod is a must. My personal favourite is the Manfrotto Tripod with a smartphone adapter. It's not only sturdy but also highly portable, allowing me to record from virtually anywhere.

Lighting and Noise Control

Don't underestimate the significance of lighting and noise control. While recording, I always make sure to have good natural light. However, I'm well aware that sometimes you can't control external noise, like chirping birds or barking dogs. Here's my advice: pause and let the noise pass, making post-production editing a breeze.

Cinematic Touch and Camera Placement

For that extra touch of professionalism, I often use the cinematic camera option available on my iPhone 14 Pro. It creates a beautiful background blur that instantly elevates the quality of your recordings. I also recommend using the back camera for higher video quality, even if it means you can't see yourself during the recording.

Recording with Guests

If you plan to have guests on your podcast while on the go, I suggest keeping it simple with a single high-quality microphone that you can pass around. This ensures a smooth flow of conversation without the hassle of multiple microphones and phones.

Conclusion

So, there you have it! My personal tips and tricks for recording professional podcast episodes on the go. Whether you're a digital nomad, a traveller looking to create content, or simply curious about diversifying your recording locations, I hope you found these insights helpful.

Transcript:

[00:00:00] Brianna: Today I'm coming to you from my bedroom to shoot a video that shows you how you can record really simply, just using your phone, iPhone smartphone, as long as there is a good enough camera and a microphone that you can plug straight into the Phone. in my case I'm using the Rode PodMic USB.
[00:00:21] This is a microphone I've already done a review on and I've also done a battle on too. I wanted to use this microphone because I did quite a few tests with different microphones, and this was still my favorite to record if you're on holidays or something like that.
[00:00:36] the thing I will say, obviously it's quite big and chunky,
[00:00:39] you can take that off and it gets smaller, but then you do have the problem of the popping, because this is a pop filter. And so this goes on top of the microphone, uh, and it helps. Reduce those plosives that you have when you say P's and B's and if we put this back on
[00:00:55] If I say P's and B's it's nowhere near as bad So that's why the pop filter is important. Even though it doesn't make it kind of chunky I'm using the iPhone 14 pro and I'm plugging it straight into this road pod mic U S B, using A U S B cable it's a cable that doesn't come in the box with the Rode PodMic USB. You have to get it separately and I'll include a link to it so that you can go and find it. It is a cable from Rode Once you have that cable, it's pretty simple to set up. You just plug it in and you plug in the other side. You can download the Rode Central app, which gives you some adjustments that you can make from within that app for this particular microphone. There's some processing that you can do.
[00:01:39] It's a nice little added feature if you know what you're doing from an audio perspective and you want to make some changes to the sound of the microphone so that there's less post production, So the only other thing you really need is a tripod. And in this case, I'm using a Manfrotto tripod with a smartphone adapter on the top of it.
[00:01:59] that just means that I [00:02:00] can basically set it up wherever I want and have a tripod there. This particular stand packs down to be quite small, so it's very easy to just shove in a backpack and take with you. And then you've got to think about is, okay, well, what's my backdrop going to be like? Do I have good lighting? there are some lights that you can get that are nice and small, but if it's something that you're traveling and you don't have space for lights, or you don't want to worry about charging them, or X, Y, Z, you know, all that sort of thing, you just need to make sure that you have good natural light.
[00:02:29] Now, in this situation, I have flawed his... So, um, I have windows on one side, which is directly in front of me, and then I have windows all along the side as well here in this bedroom, I have, uh, linen floor to ceiling curtains. that are white that filter the light so that it's not smacking me in the face.
[00:02:50] because the less light you have, the harder your phone or your camera has to work to actually give you the result, like to make you look good. The other thing to suggest is just to make sure that you have controlled the noise as much as you can. So in my case, I had some chirping birds outside And so I had to shut. The windows, for those situations where there's dog barks or there's planes, or there's, you know, anything that you can't control, just pause because it makes it way easier to edit that out in post production. If you're just not talking over those things. And then the other thing I will say is that particularly in the iPhone 14 model, and I'm not sure about. The 15 or the 13, but I know for my phone, I have cinematic as a camera option. So when I go to just the camera app on the iPhone, I can select cinematic, which means it gives you that blur, even though it's not real blur.
[00:03:48] It still gives you that kind of distance from the background, makes it feel a bit more fancy than just the camera in itself. I'm also using the back camera to [00:04:00] record so that I can record in 4k, and have it be high quality because the front facing camera is nowhere near as good as the back facing cameras.
[00:04:09] And so it's important that I've set it up that way. I can't see myself, but if I know how I've set up the shot to begin with. And I've tested it, then there's no reason for me to be looking at myself through the whole time. In fact, it's quite distracting when I do that. So I hope that really helps. If you are looking to go on location, be a bit of a digital nomad for a while.
[00:04:30] You want to go on holidays and you want to record some content. Maybe you want to record with some people. You can do it just with one mic like this and you can kind of... Ask a question, pass it over, I know the flow of the conversation isn't as good when you do that, but uh, the other option gets a little bit more complicated because you need to then have multiple microphones, multiple phones set up, that can be a little bit hard So if you're trying to keep it really light, then I suggest one microphone, high quality microphone that you hold just like this. It's not heavy. And then pass it over if you're going to have guests on. And that will be a pretty seamless way to do your recordings.
[00:05:14] only other thing maybe I would say is if you're going to have guests, and it's cool to have multiple camera angles, then yes, two phones is good. Preferably the same phone. Two of the same phone and two of the same microphone and then you can set them up with different angles so that when you do the post production you can split between them as well.
[00:05:34] So it just depends on how fancy you're going to go. It depends on how much effort and how

[00:05:38] Brianna: much gear you want to bring, how much space in your luggage you actually have. But this is my recommendation, and I wanted to show you what it sounds like and looks like to record in a location that isn't my normal recording situation.
[00:05:53] If you've enjoyed this video, I hope that you will subscribe to the channel, like it. I will be doing all sorts of microphone [00:06:00] battles, reviews, software reviews, Anything to do with audio, podcasting, that is really what we do here at Bamby Media, and thank you for watching.