Deconstructing the Mix: Seven Tips for Podcast Sound Design

Calling sound designers and podcast producers of all levels to the mixing desk! In this presentation, Julia Wittmann (Sound Designer for CBC Podcasts, touring musician, music producer, and Instructor in the RTA: School of Media) will lay out seven tips for deepening your understanding of sound design and elevating your podcast mixing skills. Using examples from Julia’s recent productions with CBC (Bloodlines, Toy Soldier, Understood), we’ll look at hard and fast editing techniques – such as organizing your workspace, trimming intrusive breaths, and nailing tricky dialogue edits. We’ll also dive into mixing techniques, with quick practical breakdowns on compression, EQ, and denoising, and we’ll have some fun with reverb, delay, and stereo imaging. Get your notepads ready for quick tutorials on how to use popular plugins (such as Izotope’s RX Suite, Loudness Meters, and Soundtoys plugins). We’ll talk about sound effects and music, including how to create your own, and how to apply them thoughtfully and immersively. Creators can leave this session with technical insight and creative inspiration to bring to their next podcast mix!

A basic understanding of DAWS (such as Adobe Audition or Pro Tools) is recommended but not required.