As a PodCast editor of multiple shows a week with back and forth feedback and a tight deadline; workflow and tempo is key. I was a Pro Tools user at first when started editing podcasts and it took me around a workday to get an episode finished. I stumbled on a YouTube channel using Reaper for PodCast editing and as Pro Tools was getting very expensive I decided to give it a shot. In the two months or so using it I cut my editing time in half and now 7 years later I can't think of a single feature I miss from the Pro Tools days. Let's have a look at all the wonderful features of Reaper shall we?
Actions
Reapers action list function is pure GOLD when it comes to quick editing. For me there are two action commands that are essential for editing a podcast episode. I use A for a list of commands that first enables Ripple editing, splits the file on both sides of the marked material, and then deletes that section. The Ripple edit mode doesn’t allow empty space between clips and therefore forces all material together. You can see why this come in handy in podcast editing. I also ride the volume a lot while editing and then I use Z as a function for splitting a file under the mouse pointer. That makes it easy to just quickly separate a phrase and then use clip gain to ride the volume.
Playback speed
When I’ve completed an episode I’d like to listen to it for errors. A standard episode is usually 40-50 minutes which is quite some time. Therefore, I use the playback speed function in Reaper to increase the playback speed to 2x. This saves me a lot of time listening for errors and it also sounds very natural. You could probably even use it while editing if you’d like.
This is not a native feature of Reaper but because of its very open nature people make handy scripts for it all the time that are usually free to use and install. The Truncate Silence script by Leandro Facchinetti is a great example of that. It's a script that analyses the audio for silence, removes the silence and contract it. If there's a lot of silence and pauses this can reduce and episode a lot, giving you as the editor less audio to edit!
Conclusion
The first podcast episode I’ve ever edited took me about 8 hours. That’s a full day of work. Now when I’ve transferred to Reaper and found a workflow I’m down to about 2,5 – 3 hours an episode. Of course, this is also due to a lot more experience but Reaper has arguably helped me a lot and is now my companion in everything from recording to mixing and editing. If you’re into podcast editing I’ve also made my Reaper actions available through this link. If you want any help with editing your podcast don’t hesitate to contact me via andreas@grotteko.com.
