Submission Guidelines

tl;dr — Upload your podcast to Archive.org and then email the link to a VOK Curator  (see below for contact details)

Vassals of Kingsgrave (VoK) is a podcast “of the people, by the people, and for the people!” So anyone can record an episode with their friends (or enemies), on any topic they like, and submit it to be published on VoK. However, it is important that each episode remain consistent, and abide by the guidelines outlined below:

During Recording

• Always use headphones to listen to the call, and don’t rely on PC speakers. It reduces echo and feedback. Preferably, hosts should use a microphone headset.
• Encourage hosts to mute while they’re not speaking, as this helps elminate ambient noises.
• Do not mention the episode number during the recording, as multiple crews may be recording, editing and submitting different podcasts at the same time. Stating what number you think the episode will be, may cause confusion.
• The order at which podcasts are released is at the discretion of the Curators, though in most cases, a podcast will be published immediately. If multiple podcasts are submitted at once, however, we will try to release them a few days apart.

During Editing

• All podcast episodes should be encoded in MP3, at 128kbps and 44 KHz.
• The VOK theme music can be downloaded HERE. Please add it to the opening of all podcast episodes. If you have a strong reason to use another piece of music, or no music at all, then that is okay, but to maintain consistency, we strongly encourage you to stick with this track. It is up to you whether to use the full version or the short version.
• Avoid using any copyrighted music. Any podcast that contains copyrighted music will probably not be uploaded to our YouTube channel.

Preparing for Submission

• Please use this standard when naming a podcast file: VOK[Ep#]_[Title].mp3 (e.g. VOK24_BreakingBad.mp3)
• Edit the Meta tag of the MP3 as follows (examples are in brackets):
  • Title: VoK [ep#]: [Title] (e.g. “VoK 24: Breaking Bad”)
  • Artist: Vassals of Kingsgrave
  • Album: Vassals of Kingsgrave » Podcast
  • Year: (e.g. 2013, 2014, etc.)
  • Track: [estimate the episode number; if wrong a curator will correct it]
  • Genre: Podcast
  • Comment: Hosts: [list the episode’s hosts] (e.g. “Hosts: fortytwo, Bina007 and Dagos_Rivers”)
  • Cover Art: [official cover art can be downloaded here]
• Meta tags can be edited using iTunes or Mp3tag.
• Do not Email the MP3 as an attachment to the Curators. Instead, upload it to a file storage site—such as Internet Archive—and then send a link.
• Along with a link to the MP3, please also provide Curators with a brief summary of your episode (a sentence or two is fine), as well as a picture for the WordPress entry.

Curator Contact Details

• Bina (Bina007): PM
• Glen (Dagos_Rivers): PM
• Duncan (Valkyrist): PM
• Katie (Lady Griffin): PM
• Michal (inkasrain): PM
• Zach (Alias): PM
• Greg (claudiusthefool): PM
• Patrick (Ser Patrick the Tall): PM
• Adam (drownedsnow): PM
• Nadia (Nadia): PM
• Casey (blue-eyed-queen): PM
• Alternatively, there is a VOK email account (vokpodcast[at]gmail[dot]com), which we check regularly.

Further Tips and Suggestions

• You can find a guide for hosting a podcast HERE.
• MP3_Skype_Recorder is great tool for recording Skype conversations. Launch it prior to opening Skype, with recording mode set to Mono, and bitrate set to 128. It will start recording as soon as the call begins, and end once the call disconnects. Use Skype’s “Sound Test Service”, to determine whether the app is working correctly on your computer.
• Audacity is a free audio editing program, and is widely used.
• In the recording, you may notice that your co-host’s volume levels are different. If so, use The Levelator to balance out the audio.
• To remove light ambient sounds in a recording, use the Effect>Noise Removal feature, in Audacity.
• To remove pauses in a recording, use the Effect>Truncate Silences feature, in Audacity.
• After applying these effects, and editing out any unnecessary segments of a recording, add the podcast theme music, as well as any other audio clips you’d like to include.
• Have fun! 🙂

Please click HERE for information of how to host a podcast effectively.