LTB is so information dense, so without hemming and hawing. I really enjoy it, and was wondering how >long it takes to edit each episode and what's the in-head process?
In interviews and during host segments, I view it my primary job to give others an opportunity to showcase their perspective, viewpoint or knowledge.
The questions I ask are intended to clarify the view which is why I summarize and re-state so often, it forces people to agree yes/no with a restatement in different words.
If someone is full of shit they will generally disagree with my restatement even when I am correct because of a technicality type reason, getting very fixated on specific words rather than understanding the context of the restatement.
This is not to say i'm not often wrong, but that's usually an even better opportunity because it tells (generally) the interviewee what part is unclear which they should then clarify.
The editing process
Stuff from skype almost always goes to a sub-editor - I work with two primarys, they do technical editing, removing gaps umms and ahhs where they are particularly bad. Neither of them are anywhere near as picky as I am about it so this is a first pass of editing, not the definitive one in nearly every case.
I then listen to the edited pieces to decide what show it's going to go on, then I procrastinate on finishing the editing until the night before the episode is going to come out (I'm crazy busy with other projects), sit down and do a final editing pass.
On the final editing pass for each piece of content I pick out nearly all the verbal crap. Sometimes I find myself doing this edit on the day of release and it means I spend a lot less time on this part and it shows in the episode if you know what to listen for. I also mark the break points and am arranging the pieces of content in my head. I don't like breaking up pieces of content across either multiple shows or with any content between them.
When I consume content, I go straight through it and thats what we do with LTB.
I do content edit when necessary, but as a rule I don't modify opinions or remove context except where information is repeated. Often times I leave in the repetition, especially if I think the message is worth emphasizing. I do not claim to be unbiased, I claim to be logic based, adaptive to new information and fair in my judgements. I also don't ask anyone to agree with me who doesn't see the issue on the same merits I do.
Once the pieces for an episode are finished (usually 1-3hrs, 300-1500 edits) I bring them in to my episode multi-track template (previously I am editing waveforms, now we are arranging and mixing them)
I position the interviews leaving enough room for the intro, slice the tracks at the break points and hit my music collection or the forum music submission section for transition music. I do this last minute and by feel of the interviews.
The last thing I do is "billboards and sponsors" - I look at the episode and write my intro/credits based on it. I look at who won the sponsor auction and take a look at their project, and basically write my script then I turn on my mic and read it - usually takes about 2 total takes that I edit best/of together after the fact.
I cut that file up, put the intro in front, the credits on back and the sponsors going over the segment in the middle.
I go through and listen to every transition and fade one last time to make sure they all line up, then I "mix-down" (essentially the audio equivilent of flattening photoshop layers) the whole thing. About thirty minutes later the file is ready (Mono of course) and I spot listen to about 40 places for a few seconds to make sure everything sounds right.
Then it's done.
Sometimes when I rush I skip the quality check stuff and about 50% of the time, since I was in a rush, it's those times I need to pull down the episode and replace a fade that slid out of place during editing or correct my pronounciation of a guests name.
The in-head process is "Do I care?" - We sometimes run things I dont care about because I try to run a neutral platform, but I don't even listen to those episodes once they release. It's definitely a balancing act between making a show for others vs as a vehicle for my own interest.
