Creating a Good Shepherd Podcast

Instructions for installing the software needed to create a podcast for Good Shepherd can be found here.

Preparation

Take a copy of the bulletin home.
On the Kingston KPEX-100 digital recorder, copy the service onto a miniSD card and take the miniSD card home. If you have your computer at the church, plug the KPEX-100 digital into a USB port and copy the file across using a File Explorer window.
Please do not edit the file directly on the KPEX-100 digital recorder, but only work with a copy you've made on your hard drive.
If you are not using Audacity 1.3.7 (or later), convert the .WMA file to either .MP3 or .WAV format following these instructions.

Creating the Service and Sermon MP3 Files

Using Audacity version 1.3.7 (or later), open the .WMA file using File->Open.
- If you want to practice on a file, you can use the TestAudioFile.wma file. It contains an excerpt from a raw service file.
Within Audacity, change Stereo to Mono:
1. On track drop down menu, click “Split stereo track”.
2. Click the “X” on the left channel to delete it.
3. On the remaining track's drop down menu, click “Mono”.
Trim the service portion:
1. Place the cursor at what “looks like the beginning of the service”
2. Click ViewZoom In (Ctrl+1) a few times or View Zoom Out (Ctrl+3) a few times to see a finer or coarser view of the time line.
3. Adjust the cursor by playing the beginning of the selection (click or space), stopping (click or space), then moving the cursor left and right as appropriate.
4. Delete the beginning by clicking EditSelectStart to Cursor, followed by EditDelete. (Or use Shift+Home and type ^K.)
5. Using the cursor, select what “looks like the end of the service” through to the end.
6. Adjust the beginning of the selection by playing the beginning of the selection (click ), stopping (click ), then moving the selection beginning left and right as appropriate.
7. Delete the end by clicking EditSelectCursor to End, followed by EditDelete. (Or use Shift+End and type ^K.)
Save the service in two bit rates
1. If you are using Audacity 1.2.6:
  1. Click EditPreferences. Under File Formats, look for MP3 Export Setup. Set the Bit Rate to 128. Click OK.
  2. Click FileExport As MP3.
  3. When it prompts for ID3 tag information, set the
    1. Title: 200#-mm-dd which Sunday it is
      Example: 2006-09-17 Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost
    2. Artist: podmaster@lc-goodshepherd.org (Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd)
    3. Album: Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
    4. Track: set this to the date as month/day
      Example: 0917
    5. Year: 20##
      Example: 2006
    6. Genre: Contemporary Christian
  4. Set the filename to yyyy-mm-dd-service-128.mp3
    Example: 2006-09-17-service-128.mp3
  5. Save the service at low bit rate:
    1. Click EditPreferences. Under File Formats, look for MP3 Export Setup. Set the Bit Rate to 16. Click OK.
    2. Click FileExport As MP3.
    3. Set the filename to yyyy-mm-dd-service-16.mp3
      Example: 2006-09-17-service-16.mp3
2. If you are using Audacity 1.3.7 (or later):
  1. Click FileExport
  2. Set the output file type to MP3 Files
  3. Click Options
  4. Set the bit rate to 128 kbps. Click OK.
  5. Set the filename to yyyy-mm-dd-service-128.mp3
    Example: 2006-09-17-service-128.mp3
  6. Click Save
  7. When it prompts for meta data information, set the
    1. Artist Name: podmaster@lc-goodshepherd.org (Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd)
    2. Track Title: 200#-mm-dd -- which Sunday it is
      Example: 2006-09-17 -- Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost
    3. Album Title: Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
    4. Year: 20##
      Example: 2006
    5. Genre: Contemporary Christian
    6. Day: set this to the date as day
      Example: 17
    7. Month: set this to the date as month
      Example: 09
    8. Click OK
  8. Click FileExport
  9. Set the output file type to MP3 Files
  10. Click Options
  11. Set the bit rate to 16 kbps. Click OK.
  12. Set the filename to yyyy-mm-dd-service-16.mp3
    Example: 2006-09-17-service-16.mp3
  13. Click Save
  14. When it prompts saying "Invalid sample rate" let the sample rate be 2400 and
  15. When it prompts for meta tag information, leave it alone and
    1. Click OK
Trim the sermon portion:
1. Move the cursor to what “looks like the beginning of the sermon”. The sermon usually starts about 20-25 minutes into the service and lasts 15-20 minutes long.
2. Click ViewZoom In (Ctrl+1) a few times or ViewZoom Out (Ctrl+3) a few times to see a finer or coarser view of the time line.
3. Adjust the cursor by playing the beginning of the selection (click , stopping (click ), then moving the cursor left and right as appropriate.
4. Delete the beginning by clicking EditSelectStart to Cursor, followed by EditDelete. (Or Shift+Home followed by ^K.)
5. Move the cursor to what “looks like the end of the service”.
6. Adjust the cursor by playing (click , stopping (click ), then moving the cursor left and right as appropriate.
7. Delete the end by clicking EditSelectCursor to End, followed by EditDelete. (Or Shift+End followed by ^K.)
Save the service in two bit rates
1. If you are using Audacity 1.2.6:
  1. Click EditPreferences. Under File Formats, look for MP3 Export Setup.
    Set the Bit Rate to 128.
    Click OK.
  2. Click FileExport As MP3.
  3. When it prompts for ID3 tag information, set the
    1. Title: 200#-mm-dd - put the sermon title here - put the verse reference here
      Example: 2008-09-17 -- "Dueling with the Devil" -- Matthew 4:1-11
    2. Artist: pastorq@lc-goodshepherd.org (Pastor Bill Qualman)
      or pastorben@lc-goodshepherd.org (Pastor Ben Mallepalle)
    3. Album: Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
    4. Track: set this to the date as month/day
      Example: 0917
    5. Year: 200#
      Example: 2008
    6. Genre: Contemporary Christian
    7. Comments: your name
  4. Set the filename to yyyy-mm-dd-sermon-128.mp3
    Example: 2008-09-17-sermon-128.mp3
  5. Save the service at low bit rate:
    1. Click EditPreferences. Under File Formats, look for MP3 Export Setup. Set the Bit Rate to 16. Click OK.
    2. Click FileExport As MP3.
    3. Set the filename to yyyy-mm-dd-sermon-16.mp3
      Example: 2006-09-17-sermon-16.mp3
  6. (If you are doing this immediately after generating the service, you may want to do the 16 bit version first followed by the 128 bit version.)
2. If you are using Audacity 1.3.7 (or later):
  1. Click FileExport
  2. Set the output file type to MP3 Files
  3. Click Options
  4. Set the bit rate to 128 kbps. Click OK.
  5. Set the filename to yyyy-mm-dd-service-128.mp3
    Example: 2006-09-17-service-128.mp3
  6. Click Save
  7. When it prompts for meta data information, set the
    1. Artist Name: pastorq@lc-goodshepherd.org (Pastor Bill Qualman)
      or pastorben@lc-goodshepherd.org (Pastor Ben Mallepalle)
    2. Track Title: 200#-mm-dd -- put the sermon title here -- put the verse reference here
      Example: 2008-09-17 -- "Dueling with the Devil" -- Matthew 4:1-11
    3. Album Title: Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
    4. Year: 200#
      Example: 2008
    5. Genre: Contemporary Christian
    6. Day: set this to the date as day
      Example: 17
    7. Month: set this to the date as month
      Example: 09
    8. Comments: your name
    9. Click OK
  8. Click FileExport
  9. Set the output file type to MP3 Files
  10. Click Options
  11. Set the bit rate to 16 kbps. Click OK.
  12. Set the filename to yyyy-mm-dd-service-16.mp3
    Example: 2006-09-17-service-16.mp3
  13. Click Save
  14. When it prompts for meta tag information, leave it alone and
    1. Click OK
  15. When it prompts saying "Invalid sample rate" let the sample rate be 2400 and
  16. (If you are doing this immediately after generating the service, you may want to do the 16 bit version first followed by the 128 bit version.)

Upload the files

FTP the files
1. Start your ftp client to www.lc-goodshepherd.info
  Example: ftp www.lc-goodshepherd.info
2. When it prompts for username and password, use the credentials given to you.
3. cd /podcast/mp3s/year
  Example: cd /podcast/mp3s/2006
4. mput 200#-mm-dd-*.mp3
If there were delays in uploading the files, send email or call the person who is creating the CDs to let them know that the file is there.