The Editing Process of a Podcast Episode

Podcast Draft Many people think producing a podcast simply means recording and uploading it, but in reality, the post-production editing process is the real test. Below, we’ll walk you through our typical editing flow for a single episode.

1. Organize and backup files

After each recording session, we save all audio tracks from different microphones into one folder. Then, we back them up in cloud storage and label them clearly with the episode number and recording date to avoid confusion later.

2. Rough cut

During the first round of editing, we remove long silences, repeated takes, or technical errors. This “rough cut” allows us to focus on the main content while keeping the conversation as natural as possible. a. Create Project and Import Audio

First, open DaVinci Resolve.​On the initial Project Manager screen, click “New Project,” give your show a simple name such as “Podcast-EP01,” then click “Create.”​

Once inside, you should be on the Edit page by default. If not, look at the row of icons in the bottom toolbar and choose the middle one with the scissors icon, which is Edit.​

Next we import the recorded audio file: the area in the top left is called the Media Pool, and you can drag your audio file directly from the desktop or a folder into the Media Pool. Or you can click “Import Media” in the Media Pool and choose your wav or mp3 file.​

After adding it, we place the audio on the timeline: in the Media Pool, select your recording, then drag it down to the middle bottom timeline area and release.​

If you originally recorded video but only want the audio, on the Edit page right‑click the clip, uncheck “Link Clips,” then delete the video so only the audio track remains.​

b. Basic Editing: Remove Silence and Mistakes

Now you should see a long audio track on the timeline, and we will first do the most basic edits: remove the silence at the beginning, bad takes, and long pauses.​

Press the spacebar to play/pause. While listening, pay attention to parts where the waveform is smaller or there is no waveform; those are usually silent sections.​

Move the playhead to where you want to cut, press B on the keyboard (Blade tool), and click on the audio track to cut it into two segments. Then press A to switch back to the Selection tool, click the segment you don’t want, and press Delete to remove it.​

A gap will appear in the timeline. You can directly drag the right‑side clip left to close the gap, or right‑click on the gap and choose “Ripple Delete” to automatically pull the later clips forward.​

You can repeat this process to cut out overly long “um…” or “uh…”, entire wrong sections, or parts where external noise was recorded. Getting used to reading waveform size will help you quickly find sections with or without sound.​

3. Fine-tune and clean up

Once the rough structure is ready, we clean background noise, balance volumes between hosts and guests, and adjust pacing. This stage usually takes the longest but makes the biggest difference to quality.

c. Adjust Overall Volume and Basic Processing

Once you have a roughly satisfactory edit, we’ll make the sound more stable and more like a “show.”​

1. Adjust whole‑track volumeOn the Edit page, click “Inspector” in the top‑right.​Select any audio clip on the timeline and switch to the “Audio” tab in the Inspector; you will see the “Volume” control that you c——an raise or lower.​
   

If your podcast has only one voice track, pick a segment of normal speech, play it while watching the Mixer meter on the right, and aim for peaks around −12 to −6 dB so it stays stable and avoids clipping.​

2. Fine‑tune in Fairlight Next we go into the dedicated audio page: in the bottom toolbar, click the Fairlight icon to enter the audio workspace.​

Here you will see larger waveforms for each track and a Mixer on the right. A few beginner‑friendly adjustments:​

• Normalize: select a section of audio, right‑click and find “Normalize Audio Levels” so the volume is automatically adjusted to a more reasonable baseline.​

• Noise reduction: in the Mixer, find your dialogue track, click the empty slot for effects, and add a Noise Reduction‑type effect to gently reduce background noise; do not push it too far or the voice may sound unnatural.​

• EQ (equalizer): add an EQ to slightly reduce low‑frequency rumble and moderately boost mid frequencies to make the voice clearer.​

• Compressor: add a compressor so big variations in volume are held within a more stable range, giving it more of a “broadcast” feel.​

  
  

You can start from presets and do not need to crank every effect up; the goal is to make the sound clearer and more stable, not to turn it into a completely different voice.​

4. Add music and sound elements

Next, we insert intro and outro music, transition cues, or ambient sound effects if needed. Consistency in tone helps shape the brand identity and listening experience.

d. Add Intro Music, BGM, or Transitions

If your show has fixed intro music or background music, you can also complete that here.​

Go back to the Edit page and import your intro music or BGM into the Media Pool.​Drag the music file to a new track below the voice track and place it at the beginning as the intro.​

Use the Blade tool to cut the intro music at the end point, and then add a fade so the music slowly fades out. You can directly drag the small white handles at the head and tail of the clip to create fade‑ins and fade‑outs.​

If you want very soft BGM throughout, you can extend the same music along the whole episode under the voice track, then use the Inspector or Mixer to keep the music volume very low so it does not overpower the voice.​ f. Set Output Range and Format

When editing and post‑production are done, we will export the content on the timeline as an audio file.​

1. Confirm output rangeMove the playhead to where the show officially starts and press I to set the “In” point.​ Then move to where the show ends and press O to set the “Out” point so only that range is exported.​

2. Go to the export pageIn the bottom toolbar, choose the rightmost rocket icon “Deliver”; this is the export page.​ On the left you will see the Render Settings area with many presets.​
   

We only want to export audio: in Render Settings find “Audio Only” and choose it.​ In “File Name,” enter the desired filename, such as “Podcast-EP01-final.”​ Click “Browse” to choose a save location, such as the desktop or a dedicated podcast folder.​

3. Choose audio formatIn the Audio settings, choose your output format: if your hosting platform accepts wav, it is recommended to export as 16‑bit or 24‑bit wav first to preserve higher quality and let the platform handle transcoding.​
   

If you want to export mp3 directly, some versions let you choose mp3 in the Format menu and set the bitrate, for example 128 kbps or 192 kbps.​ Make sure the sample rate is usually 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz to avoid big differences from the original recording.​

4. Add to queue and renderAfter checking the settings, click “Add to Render Queue” in the bottom‑right, and your export job will appear in the list on the right.​ Finally click “Render All,” and DaVinci Resolve will begin exporting the full episode.​
   

When the progress bar completes, go to the folder you selected earlier to find the exported audio file, which you can upload to your podcast hosting platform or run through other tools for final compression and checks.​

5. Final listen and export

Before exporting, we replay the full episode to check flow and rhythm, making sure there are no awkward pauses or technical mistakes. Finally, the audio is exported in MP3 format, ready to be uploaded to podcast platforms.

6. Notes and promotion

After export, we prepare show notes—summarizing key topics, sharing links, and tagging contributors. Then, we create social media visuals to promote the new episode.

Editing may sound tedious, but it’s the hidden craft that turns raw recording into something worth sharing. Every cut, crossfade, and pause shapes the story we tell—one episode at a time.