Tag: Video Editing

Walking Out Before the Sunrise

Hey, It’s me, Dave. You may not have heard from me in a while. I promised I would have a Year of FOCUS, and then I fell off the map. Where did I go? Well, I have been working on my podcast, but also… I think the Muse left town for a while. and that’s OK. that is how the Muse do.

Charged

I have been making recordings on GAMELAYER RADIO, as I mentioned above, and the last two have included creative writing. Here is a player with the episode that has been published:

I think that put a bug under me a bit… but then I got a nudge from a thought leader named David Kelly because I commented on one of his posts. Then he shared that he started a thing called Amplify. I read his opening statement, and it resonated so well that the article below just fell off my fingers. So now, I want to share both of them.

Learning is Still Learning

Now more than ever, we are flooded with too much information and too many buzzwords. But it is still the same game. If you find a way to really help someone do something better—if you find them a solution worth sharing—then you are in the game. I really like the concept of curating content that is high on value and low on noise.

Is this a Fork in the Road?

Just yesterday, I had a meeting with the VP of Member Engagement of the company I work for, and we were discussing my career path. Sales? Nope. Marketing? Warmer… Creating videos at live events for the marketing and conferences team? Now… that could work!

Wait… but do I still get to keep my Learning and Development hat? Will I ever have time to wear it? It feels like our industry is built on shifting sands, and AI is shaking things up. It is the MP3/Napster phase of learning—the democratization of the learning industry; And yet, just as having a sword doesn’t make you a warrior, having a shiny new automatic content-creation tool doesn’t make you a seasoned learning artifact designer.

But Does Learning and Development Love Me Back?

I love working in Learning and Development, and I dare say I’ve been doing it long enough that I know what I’m doing. A master’s degree doesn’t hurt, but the time in the trenches is where the real value comes from. The hours spent standing on stage with a live group of learners. That is the secret sauce. A new tool or an LLM cannot replace that.

We can beat that drum all we want, but the fact of the matter is that the deck space on our boat is shrinking. Organizations are cutting their learning teams because we have traditionally been the first to go. We are the amphibians of the workforce—the indicator species. When the frogs die, you know your water has gone bad.

Where Do We Go From Here?

So what is the solution? Are you looking at me? Are you still reading? The answer is in the AGILE. The solution is in being nimble. Or to be fatalist… adapt or die.

If I can still add value (and draw a paycheck) by traveling to conferences and generating high-quality video content organized by secretive learning objects and edited against a learning goal… then that’s what I will do. Work begets work, and action brings good fortune. The only ones in Learning and Development who will be thrown out with the bathwater are those who latch on to what the learning industry was. Those of us who survive will embrace the new sunrise. My plan is to be walking out in the cold dew before it arrives.

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”

~Pablo Picasso

headshot of David Kolmer.
David Kolmer is a learning experience designer, gamification strategist, writer, and podcast host who helps organizations turn training into engaging, behavior-changing experiences. With over a decade of experience in corporate learning and leadership development, he designs practical, human-centered programs that blend play, technology, and business outcomes to drive real performance. ビッド・コルマーは、学習体験デザイナー、ゲーミフィケーション・ストラテジスト、ライター、そしてポッドキャストのホストとして、組織が研修を、参加者の心をつかみ行動変容を促す体験へと昇華させる支援を行っています。企業内学習およびリーダーシップ開発の分野で10年以上にわたる経験を持つ彼は、「遊び」「テクノロジー」「ビジネス成果」を融合させた実践的かつ人間中心のプログラムを設計し、組織の真のパフォーマンス向上を牽引しています。

CASTIN’ PODS – Step 2: Edit

Editing video or audio isn’t fun for most people. Unfortunately, it’s also where you’ll spend most of your time if you want a high-quality podcast. Some podcasts skip editing, relying on the value of the conversation or the novelty of the guests. If there is one optional step, this is it, but these days, it really isn’t optional. Now that celebrities are involved, and the word PODCAST has become a common household word, professional editing has become essential.

Most online platforms will record and then allow you to edit on the web. These web-based editors are always limited by nature. Having all of the options that a computer-based editor will have is not practical for bandwidth reasons. That being said, they have enough for a podcast.

Easier Editing

Here are some tips and tricks:

  • Use a dog whistle (or another signal) to mark sections that need cutting. The microphone picks it up, even if listeners don’t hear it. (Dogs will hate your show if you don’t take it out in post-production.)
  • Accept silence—don’t feel the need to fill every moment with talking. Keep it natural.
  • Use AI enhancement. Platforms like Riverside.com offer AI-enhanced audio, remove pauses, analyze content, and even suggest edits.

In fact, now that AI is getting better at thinking on its own, it can:

  • Remove dead air automatically with one click.
  • Adjust sensitivity for removing filler words like “um” or “uh.”
  • Generate transcripts
  • Highlight off-topic sections, letting you decide whether to keep or cut them.

Get Your Intro/Outro Straight

Having a prerecorded introduction and outro (Conclusion) to your show is a huge time saver in editing. An additional benefit is the repeated content forms branding around the show. The listener remembers the opener, and it sets the stage and creates a memorable experience.

Export

Once you’re satisfied, Riverside lets you upload directly to Spotify or other platforms. You can also download the files to add branding or for backup purposes. Direct upload is faster. Spotify will take a video file and host it as a video. Then it “broadcasts” the audio to Podcast apps (which is the next step).

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