Podcast - Behind the scenes

YouTube reports over 1 billion monthly active viewers of podcast content. If you are going to have a podcast, it's essential to think of the video now and not just the audio.

I invest in studio time to ensure that I can focus on the conversation, and get the best possible quality audio and video for my audience and my guest.

This week I interviewed David Horton, Vice President of Solutions at Airia, and AI company. I booked time at Dean Street Studios in SOHO. This is the building which used to house Warner Brothers; and so it has TV in it's heritage.

Here is how the footage appears on screen, and you can see below how it's done.

As you can see, they have a full green screen set up which makes it a fully functioning television set.

The studio has a 3 camera set up which means that we can have shots from the front, and of both speakers.

Rob Chandler, the producer, manages the recording taking place with the 2 guest mics and 3 cameras.

The briefing

Before an interview, I will prepare briefing notes for the guest. Here is the topline brief. [The full document is embedded below.]

1. Overall Strategy
Objective: Position Airia as the "go‑to secure platform for building AI agents" by educating founders, builders, and investors about AI risk – and then showing how Airia enables development without the risk.

Strategy: Education - thought leadership. 
Key Message: 
“We’re not saying ‘slow down and stop building’. We’re saying: build just as fast – but build differently, with guardrails.”

The conversation should feel like:
- An education piece, not a product demo.
- A gentle wake‑up call about risks that most teams are currently ignoring.
- A story‑driven dialogue where real incidents lead naturally to Airia’s approach as the sensible path forward.

Audience
- Primary: Entrepreneurs, product & engineering leaders, and AI agent builders.
- Secondary: Investors/VCs and senior stakeholders (CISOs, CTOs) concerned with risk, governance, and defensibility.
- Target regions for promotion: Focus on US and UK for paid distribution and targeting.

The Studio service

Service Description

Curtain Raiser Podcast Booking - 1hr

Step onto the stage with a simple, self-serve studio booking:

- Digital set and personalised logo included
- Studio Technician

For content creators, webinar and educational video providers, visiting podcasters, and those looking to create a demo for pitches.

Additional options:
Media & Edit (per show recording)
- Media Only > for full flexibility. Video supplied in H.264 with scratch audio together with EQ'ed and Compressed audio in either Mix or Polychannel WAV files. Transfered via WeTransfer.
- Sync'ed Video and Audio > Supply of video with embedded L&R mixed track
- Podcast Edit > light top and tail, loaded to our cloud commenting system. Includes one round of comments.
- Show Edit > Edit includes addition of titles, credits, stingers, audio etc. One round of comments via our cloud commenting system.
Audio
- Choice of recording mix or ISO (individual mics with L&R mix)
Recording & Streaming options
- Teleprompter with operator
- Live streaming on request
- Green Room and Production Office on request