You can now subscribe for news of CLP’s exciting relaunch in the summer.
If you love comedy in general, it’s worth subscribing.
http://cleverlittlepod.com (Site updated)
Posts Tagged Clever Little Pod
Christmas Podcast
Here it is – your Christmas ‘Clever Little Pod’…
Hope you’re having a great day! (Don’t eat too many Quality Street…)
CLP Show 42
Clever Little Pod Show 42 is finally here:-
Please click here to vote at Podcast Alley.
To say it’s been a tough one to do would be an understatement. I was left with writer’s block after show 41, and was then distracted by various changes in my routine and lifestyle that meant I was robbed of my usual writing slots. If that wasn’t enough, I’ve been ill with severe vertigo for 2 weeks which has been an absolute nightmare and left me in no mood to write comedy.
I don’t think the resulting show is really up to scratch.
The first sketch, set in the stone age, was written several months ago, and so was used as a fallback option. I’d tried to record it before, but the challenge of doing two distinct female voices was too much, and so I left it alone with the intention of getting a guest voice to play one part. However, I;ve gone ahead with it anyway, and made one of the women sound ‘posh’ which wasn’t the real intention of the sketch and perhaps compromises it somewhat. They are, after all, meant to be two washer-women.
The second sketch is based on Autumnwatch with Bill Oddie and Kate Humble, which has just left UK TV screens for the year after a fortnight watching deer rutting and seals flop about on a beach. So who knows what the rest of the world will make of my spoof.
The last sketch is the one I’m quite proud of, simply because it’s a real distinct character piece, and is the sort of thing I’d like to do as a comedy act. It is a restaurant review with a drunken old lech called Henry. Although he’s a little difficult to understand at times, I think that’s part of the charm and probably is no bad thing, encouraging repeat listens.
And that’s it for another show. I’m very relieved that it’s done, and out there at last. However, there’s no format to speak of, and I’m struggling for music as the PMN seems to be pretty dire at the moment.
It’s never a positive step, to release something you’re less than happy with, but I think I’ve got the show to an acceptable standard that at the least maintains my presence on the podcasting rosta. The next one needs to be a happier experience though, and the main priority is for me to find those time-slots for writing once again.
I hope you enjoy the show.
Clever Little Pod Show 41
This show is made up of the bulk of the content from the live show, but is not a recording of the event itself. I wasn’t happy putting the recording out as a podcast because the sound quality wasn’t up to the usual standard (and it was a soft-launch test anyway). There will be more live shows in the future, and they’ll be much more widely publicised.
Until then, enjoy show 41 which is definitely my favourite show so far. I hope it is yours too.
Click the play button below or download the mp3 here.
Last Night’s Live Show
Last night was the first attempt at a live version of ‘Clever Little Pod’ – complete with webcam – via stickam.com
The format of the show was to have around 12 pre-recorded sketches, 2 sketches performed live and the usual musical interludes from independent artists.
It was a very intense hour! Having the webcam on you when you’re trying to concentrate on which buttons to press and files to play is distracting to say the least. I tried to add a visual element to the event by holding up cards with jokes on them during the songs, which added some interest I think. But I’m not sure what I feel about the webcam. I think it distracts a bit from the audio, which is the really creative bit.
Anyway, now I’m more comfortable with the setup, the next show should be better; I felt the first 10 minutes were a bit shaky, and I was stumbling over my words a bit too much – I need to get used to not having the safety net of the edit button.
Really enjoyed it, and thanks to everyone who tuned in. Next time I hope the chatroom will be working so you can interact with other listeners.
I did record the show, but I noticed the sound levels were dodgy in a couple of places (another learning curve) so I might release a hybrid podcast with live and some pre-recorded stuff.
Nearly there…
I’ve just updated the Clever Little Pod website with the widget that’s needed for the live show on Friday. It runs from 8-9pm UK time. I’ve included a link to help with international time-zones for those who aren’t in the UK and would like to listen.
This show has been a lot of work: 15 pre-recorded segments, 4 live scripted segments, 3 contributions from friends of the show, 15 tracks picked from the Podsafe Music Network, 1 new sweeper and getting the website/technical side set up to get it streaming live.
I’ve no idea how it will turn out, but then that’s the excitement of it! Hopefully it will raise a smile here or there, but this is definitely the most exposed I’ve felt since I began podcasting! ‘Live’ is a totally different experience.
If you can make it, it’d be great to have you along – www.cleverlittlepod.com
Live Show Soon
After 40 pre-recorded podcasts, it’s about time I did a live show so I can finally speak directly to at least some of the people who regularly download and listen to my podcasts.
Even after 3 years, the prospect of putting a pre-recorded show together to entertain people hasn’t lost its appeal, but ‘going live’ is an itch that just needs to be scratched. None of ‘Clever Little Pod’ is recorded ‘as live’ – which means that even the song links are ‘dropped in’ between the tracks, having been recorded in a block. Although that method produces a more polished end-product, it loses a lot of the ‘buzz’ of presenting in the traditional sense (even though I love the challenge of editing.)
So, the next show is going to be an hour-long special, broadcast on the CLP website using Stickam – a facility for netcasting that allows you to broadcast live audio and video, as well as interactivity for listeners in the form of a linked chatroom.
Stickam is used by Rhodders of Rhodders FM who uses it to broadcast his regular Friday night show ‘Thank Rhod It’s Friday’. The combination of chatroom banter and live audio/video works really well for him, and I’m hoping that CLP listeners will find it just as engaging.
The addition of a webcam is going to be interesting: I want it to be an integral part of the show, so I can reward the people who are watching with some nice visual ‘extras’ – ahem! – not THOSE sort of extras, thank you missus… I’m talking about comedy visuals! So if you’re expecting the normal CLP with a static shot of my face.. think again (waddya mean that IS a comedy visual?!)
My aim is to make as much of it ‘live’ as possible – so where I’m usually voicing both sides of a conversation, this time one will be live. The potential for screwing this up is massive – but makes for a funnier show, so I’m going for it.
I’m also going to trail stuff throughout the show, and have a lot more shorter, punchier features than usual to keep the audience amused, even though there’ll be more music than CLP listeners are used to. The trails should keep up the interest in what’s coming next.
Although I’ve got some ideas for the visuals, the chatroom is proving more of a challenge to integrate into the format. I don’t want to be reading out comments in the usual way – I’d like the chatters to be in on some running gags, and to contribute to the humour in some way. Something in the same vein as Morning Crescent would be great. I’m racking my brains.
Despite all of this prep, I realise that there is a very high probability I’ll be playing to an audience of 3 on the night itself. But do you know what? – I don’t care. It still presents a creative challenge that I’m going to love meeting, and in any case the whole thing will be kept and released as a podcast too – although I have a horrible feeling that something’s going to go wrong on that front, and it’ll be a one-time only listen…
Which is why you need to be there! Provisionally August 29th, 8pm UK time on the CLP website and at stickam.com/cleverlittlepod
Can’t wait!
The New Podcast
Before we get into the self-regarding nonsense that I’ve written below, if you’re a podcaster yourself, please do go and vote in the Podcast Peer Awards for my Liverpudlian friend Graham Holland. He’s been nominated for his excellent show, ‘The It’s a Frog’s Life Acoustic Podcast’ and deserves to win. Off you pop, then to www.podcastpeers.org and I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.
All done? Cheers ears. Be warned – from this point on, it’s all me, me, me, with a big dollop of me on the side. Danny Baker calls it self-regarding nonsense, and it definitely is, but I’m less uncomfortable about that than I would have been a while back. I’m the new tougher me now, you know. I do weight-training and everything.
Here goes, then. Stop reading at any time if you become nauseous.
–
I’ve suspected this for a long time, but now the evidence is clear: I’m at my strongest creatively when I’m under a huge amount of pressure.
Now is not the time for creating comedy podcasts: I have a business that is putting me under huge pressure at the moment, with long days and deadlines looming, and in virtually every other area of my life, things are quite stressful. Even the technology is conspiring against me as my laptop has decided to start cutting out suddenly, and there’s no money in the pot for a replacement, or even a service. But somehow – somehow! – I’m managing to pull together a new podcast that I’m very proud of. I absolutely can’t wait to release it.
Basically, the effort has been put into upping the energy and pace of the show. There are more shorter, punchier segments, and the longer sketches have been rewritten within an inch of their lives until the gag-rate stays consistent. There’s a new intro sequence that’s very different from what’s come before, and the style of the comedy is – I hope – a bit cheekier than before, although I still haven’t gone down the ‘adult content’ route. I think that would be a mistake.
Show 40 is still being recorded and edited to make it a real showcase piece that will bear repeat listens and act as a strong example of what I can do when I really put my mind to it.
I listen back to previous CLPs and am usually quite critical – my ultimate aim is to produce something that is on a par with anything on Radio 4 (apart from technical quality) because I know I’m capable of doing it. On a lot of shows, though, I’ve placed more importance on getting a show out, and it has often been at the expense of the quality of writing. I’m not doing that any more. Taking the time to write show 40 has reminded me what a huge buzz it is to get the comedy ‘on the nose’.
Every creative bone in my body is being put into taking the show to a new level. I’m fighting astronomical odds to get noticed as a writer/performer in a virtual sea teaming with talent. But I don’t care whether it takes another 3 years or another 30. Success, when it comes, will just be that bit sweeter as a result.
Want spoilers?
Well, there’s a new regular feature called ‘CLP’s History of Britain’ which has been flying around as an idea for over a year. New Topical Pish stuff gets adapted and included as a short insert, and there’s a regular satire on sell-out kids TV that I’m also hoping to use as a viral.
The new show 40 will be out by July 10th at the latest.
Van Gogh should consider himself lucky…
Last weekend, I uploaded show number 36 of Clever Little Pod, together with a new addition to the CLP ‘brand’ – a PDF comedy magazine. The reason for the magazine was to see if I could raise some money from the podcast without going down the Cafepress route of selling T-shirts, caps and mugs. I figured that if people already enjoyed the podcast, then they might be willing to pay a pound to access some extra material with a similar flavour that could be forwarded to friends and printed off for colleagues.
If it was going to work, I figured I would know pretty quickly as the majority of podcast downloads happens during the first 7 days after the initial upload – and as the mag is promoted heavily on the podcast, then it would soon become apparent whether listeners would go for it or not.
Also over the past week, the mag has been plugged on a few blogs by friends of the show, for which I’m very grateful.
My expectations for the project were very low – I know how difficult it is to get people to buy products on the net, especially relating to comedy content, as there is so much free stuff out there already. But I figured it was worth a go anyway, especially as the whole process of putting the mag together was so enjoyable.
I sent out some preview copies just to make sure I wasn’t asking people to buy a total dud, and received some positive comments back – enough to give me confidence to go ahead. One respondent warned me of the difficulty of the challenge ahead – that I was essentially travelling in the wrong direction by charging a fee for content in a world that now expects everything to be free.
He was right. In the week since it launched, with hundreds of editions of CLP downloaded, and countless views of the blogs that very kindly plugged it, not one copy has been sold.
Not one.
Yes, I’m disappointed. Yes, I half expected it. And yes, I feel a little embarrassed that not a single copy has been sold. But there’s some comfort in this quote from David Baird’s ‘Thousand Paths to Creativity’ :-
“Nothing encourages creativity more than the opportunity it provides to fall flat on one’s face.”
It also provides a chance to analyse why it is so difficult to monetise content on the net. A pound – let’s face it – isn’t a lot of money. So here are a few possibilities:
1) The product wasn’t seen to be of sufficient value.
2) People didn’t know enough about what they were paying for.
3) People didn’t trust the buying process.
4) People weren’t interested in the different format.
5) People weren’t at their PC when listening to the podcast.
6) People didn’t want to pay any amount – whether it was 1p or £1.
7) The expectation of getting something for free was too strong to overcome.
I suspect it’s a combination of all of the above.
So, what now? How DO I capitalise on the existing popularity – such that it is – of a show that’s been sustained for two and a half years?
Maybe attempting to extract pound coins from listeners was a slightly vulgar strategy to benefit from the show. The alternative strategy is to play the slow game and use the bank of material to sell my abilities as a writer-performer. But to whom? Radio stations? Publishers? I think this the point I’ve reached. After two and a half years, I feel it’s time to start exploiting the content that now exists – which was the purpose of gazuky.net – but I feel I’m lacking a coherent strategy.
I’ve always been crap at selling my own abilities. So where do I go from here? Do I continue to attempt my own projects in a persistent, stubborn sort of Clive Sinclair way? Or do you think that something of value is only going to happen if I successfully sell my abilities into the mainstream? The key question is then – mainstream what? Unlike Van Gogh, I’m all ears…
