Penny Arcade Podcast

Pat — Mon, 09/29/2008 - 20:36

http://cdn1.libsyn.com/pennyarcade/PON_PON_PATA_PON.mp3?nvb=200809300008...

This is the podcast from the web comic Penny Arcade. They basically talk about what they might want to do a comic strip on and then hash out the details. This is for fans of the strip who are interested in learning how the strip is made. The content is two guys brainstorming and throwing ideas out there. The episodes vary in length from about 15 minutes to an hour. The varying lengths all depend on how long it takes them to come up with a good topic for the comic. The shorter episodes are good for mp3 players like but the longer ones are easier to listen to while at the computer. It is a very informal podcast that is completely unscripted.

Could this podcast benefit from a shorter run time on average or is it fine as is?

podcast_blog

Pat's blog

Keep the length

islington — Mon, 09/29/2008 - 20:44

I think the podcast is fine at the length it is at. If they were to shorten the podcast, it would lose it's full purpose. Anyone listening to this is already a fan of the comic and is willing to listen to them talk for an uncertain amount of time on how the comic is made. This is for a very specific part of their audience. As a gamer, I'm familiar with the Penny-Arcade webcomic and what they have done within the industry, but I do not listen to the podcast. It is humorous to listen to them go back and forth and recieve their insight. To limit this to a shorter time is limiting that brief glimpse reader's have into the creator's thought process. It's obviously not scripted, and so there is no realistic way to reduce the time of the podcast without editing and removing portions. The podcast exsists for one specific purpose, and to reduce the podcast is to elminate it's core purpose.

I agree

Pat — Tue, 09/30/2008 - 03:09

I would say that it is a treat to be able to listen in on the creative process. On most forms of media all that anyone sees is the finished product. It wouldn't make any sense to shorten the podcast because it would completely defeat the purpose. I agree that their points of view are interesting and sometimes funny.

introduction

lefty150 — Tue, 09/30/2008 - 14:13

To better this podcast, I think this podcast needs to have a short introduction. I think the introduction should include a brief outline of what the podcast is going to talk about, the date or a time frame of when this podcast was recorded, and an introduction of who we are listening to. I find this podcast awkward because there is no introduction.

It could benefit from having

NEWMAN — Tue, 09/30/2008 - 14:24

It could benefit from having an introduction to ease a new listener into the experience. I am not in the target audience, but having some sort of outline of what is going to take place during the podcast would be nice to have. As for your question if the run time varies that much between each episode I would have to say that it is good time for the target audience.

Response

LazerJ1 — Tue, 09/30/2008 - 21:01

I agree with the past comments in that there needs to be some sort of solid introduction. As it is right now they just jump into the content. This podcast is great for fans of Penny Arcade because it gives you insight into how the comic strip is created. I think that this podcast in general is at a perfect length because of how random and unstructured it feels. This allows for a large variety of ideas to be discussed for the upcoming comic strip.

I agree with the people above

cechambe — Tue, 09/30/2008 - 21:07

I agree with the people above me for the most part. This podcast really does give the audience a behind the scenes look at how the guys create these comics. Obviously the podcast is not formal as its more of a brainstorming session, so I don't think the length could be shotened or edited without taking something away. The podcast itself is a very inciteful view into their creative process and a past viewer of the comics its really interesting. I think this podcast definitely accomplishes its purpose of giving their comic viewers the ideas and reasoning behind their comics, and attempting to lower the time would take away from the purpose.

The lack of an introduction

turtle power! — Tue, 09/30/2008 - 22:50

The lack of an introduction makes this podcast hard to get engaged in, for first-time listeners. I've not read the Penny Arcade comics before, but know people who have and have gathered they can be quite entertaining. After listening to this podcast for a little while, it doesn't seem too humorous and doesn't compel me to read the comic strip.