What podcasts looked like in 2024 — literally

Dec 25, 2024 10:00 PM - 1 month ago 62904

In 2024, podcasts person gotten person to becoming a video-first medium. Though video podcasts person been astir a comparatively agelong time, shows from The New York Times, NPR, and galore different podcast networks that person been audio-only for years person precocious started adding a video constituent successful bid to summation caller listenership. In fact, Spotify, a awesome subordinate successful podcasts, is astir to statesman paying podcasters to bring videos to the platform. 

And aft years of producers trying to get audio shows to spell viral connected societal media, podcasts are now dominating TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts aft video producers realized they tin conscionable movie the talent talking. Meanwhile, play podcasts are looking to pull younger audiences who grew up connected YouTube. As a result, video producers are figuring retired really to make podcasts, and audio producers are figuring retired really to make videos.

I’ve noticed a fewer processing trends successful this video-first podcasting format. This isn’t surprising; erstwhile 1 shaper discovers a look that works, others are going to effort it. Let’s return a look astatine existent creation and tech trends — and past I’ll talk astir what I deliberation whitethorn create complete the adjacent twelvemonth aliases so.

Home design

Many of today’s podcast studios look for illustration surviving rooms and basements. This isn’t a caller phenomenon pinch talk shows, but a batch of podcasts started retired successful a surviving space, and larger media companies person adopted that aesthetic. Lamps. Fireplaces. Fake plants. Bookshelves. This situation gives a much “laid back” style of long-form interviewing, which is typically the vibe of astir chat-style podcasts.

Bill Maher and Hailey Welch beryllium successful 2 chairs successful a basement-looking studio.Shannon Sharpe and Kat Williams successful a surviving room-style workplace adjacent to a fireplaceFour group sitting successful cushioned chairs successful a surviving room setting. Lamps and Fake plants.Christina Pazsitzky and Tom Segura beryllium successful a workplace that looks for illustration a surviving room, complete pinch a fireplaceMarcos González and Jena Friedman beryllium connected 2 mid-century modern chairs successful a surviving room mounting studio

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Bill Maher’s basement vibe.

Screenshot: YouTube / Club Random

Couches and comfy chairs show up a batch connected these video shows. The information array has been ditched, and leisure is cardinal — it’s a batch much comfortable of an situation for talking hours astatine a time. Both hosts and guests are often connected a sofa together aliases sitting successful comfy chairs separately. 

Two group beryllium connected a sofa successful a ceramic wall-styled workplace set. Another personification sits successful a casual chair.Jake Johnson, Gareth Reynolds, and Max Greenfield beryllium connected a sofa and a chairTwo group sitting connected a large sofa pinch a wood-paneled studio. Another personification sits connected a chair pinch nary legs. Two of the group are not wearing shoes.Kurtis Conner sits successful a yellowish painted room pinch a bed, a desk, and an armchair.Five group beryllium connected section chairs adjacent to a clone bonfire and a cooler.

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Just chillin’ connected the couch.

Screenshot: YouTube / Lesser Known Characters

Another inclination I’ve noticed are these woody slats connected the wall successful podcast studios — our ain Vox Media abstraction has gone pinch this creation arsenic well. These activity amended for sound absorption while still looking for illustration a surviving space. This is already looking to beryllium a signifier of mid-2020 video podcasts. 

With wide-shot camera angles showcasing the full room, location is usually thing successful the mediate of the screen, for illustration a TV aliases a elephantine logo of the show, to create a symmetrical workplace look. Neon signs and colored lights are very trendy correct now because they adhd a colorful glow to a much muted workplace space. Lots of cursive lettering.

Branding is often prioritized successful video, and astir producers deliberation that intends virtually looking astatine the logo for 2 hours. This is besides an easy measurement to fto a TikTok scroller cognize what show they are watching (though this typically doesn’t harvest good for vertical video).

More attraction to tech

Microphones are often placed connected level stands that widen complete the couches (these articulating roar stands person been staples successful signaling studios for decades). As a result, the stands often look from retired of the camera framework and instrumentality up broadly successful beforehand of guests’ faces awkwardly. Poles sticking retired astatine various incongruent angles look moreover messier erstwhile you person aggregate guests connected abstracted chairs. 

Six group sitting connected their ain chair, each pinch a agelong podcast roar poleVery agelong microphone stands travel from off-screen up to talent’s faces.Two poles coming retired of tables pinch arms that look for illustration spiders, surrounding 3 group astatine a ample tableBarack Obama connected Decoder pinch Nilay Patel. The mic guidelines is really agelong coming from off-screen.A microphone covers the bottommost of Caroline’s faceTwo group beryllium connected a sofa together, while microphone stands popular up down them and crook complete to scope their faces.

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Lots of guests, each pinch their ain puffy chair and mic stand.

Screenshot: YouTube / Joe Budden Network

Though caller kinds of mic stands for podcasts person been introduced to the market, galore shows are ditching the long, awkward roar poles successful favour of having hosts and guests clasp their microphones instead. This feels a spot much authentic and friendly onscreen, and galore stand-up comedians for illustration this method. However, it tin get a spot awkward pinch inexperienced guests who talk pinch their hands aliases who don’t cognize really to clasp a microphone pinch a constrictive polar pattern. 

Three group successful brownish chairs holding mics.Two women pinch mics successful a pinkish room.Two group beryllium connected a furniture successful a mock chamber holding microphonesThree group beryllium successful chairs holding microphones successful a hotel-looking roomTwo group beryllium connected abstracted armchairs holding microphones and talking pinch their handsGuests clasp their microphones adjacent to their look for the question and reply show.

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You must clasp this microphone for the full show.

Screenshot: YouTube / The Bald and the Beautiful

It tin get moreover worse. When podcasts are audio first but pinch a video component, you often spot awkward practices caught connected camera, for illustration this lawsuit wherever each impermanent is holding their telephone up to their look to grounds their audio while looking straight astatine the viewer. This is simply a communal believe for power interviews but isn’t awesome erstwhile video is involved.

Four model boxes pinch 3 group holding a telephone up against their look looking straight astatine the computer. The big is connected a webcam looking down.

You ne'er spot group usage their phones for illustration this connected a video telephone successful existent life.

Screenshot: YouTube / The Daily

The Shure SM7B microphones are still really celebrated successful this mean arsenic good arsenic the budget MV7 model. For the purposes of branding, cubes pinch the sanction of the show are often stuck awkwardly connected the bottommost of the microphone. This is reminiscent of microphone flags connected newscaster instrumentality mics, and they are now being retrofitted for these classical power workplace microphones. This is apt because it’s much effective branding connected vertically cropped videos than a large logo connected the wall successful a studio.

A bluish cube connected the bottommost of the host’s mic bears the logo of the showA achromatic cube connected the bottommost of the host’s mic bears the logo of the showA achromatic cube pinch branding connected the bottommost of Warren G’s micA achromatic cube connected the bottommost of Tom Hank’s mic bears the logo of the showAn SM7B microphone pinch a mini logo connected the bottommost of the microphone facing the camera.A achromatic cube connected the bottommost of the microphone displaying the logo.

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Get that logo successful there!

Screenshot: YouTube / Pod Save America

Big isolating headphones are communal successful power and podcasts and are still utilized successful a batch of video versions. But erstwhile guests are distant and are looking straight astatine their webcam, those ample receptor cups instrumentality retired very awkwardly — much truthful than if you’re looking astatine someone’s floor plan view. 

Heather Cox Richardson and Jon Stewart are wearing bulky headphones while looking straight astatine their webcams.One impermanent has bulky headphones while the different uses Apple’s EarPods.A big connected a distant video telephone pinch different guest. The outline of the host’s headphones are getting trim disconnected from the greenish surface inheritance connected video.A impermanent wearing headphones is connected a elephantine movie surface down the hosts.Guest Carlos Odio is wearing achromatic bluetooth headphones connected a webcam.

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The distant impermanent uses immoderate headphones they own.

Screenshot: YouTube / The Weekly Show pinch Jon Stewart

So that’s what a batch of video podcasts person looked for illustration done 2024. But really astir adjacent year?

The early looks much professional

I judge that, successful 2025, podcast producers will yet extremity pursuing these tropes and effort to differentiate themselves. Some producers that were hired to thief make the modulation to video will commencement questioning the logic for the ample headphones and heavy microphones covering people’s faces and opt for smaller lavalier mics and in-ear monitors. 

New audiences whitethorn commencement to hide astir the connection “podcast” and mention to the chat shows they watch arsenic conscionable “shows.” Media executives will effort to opt for syndication of the programs connected linear platforms for illustration Roku, Pluto, aliases Tubi. The bladed statement betwixt podcasts and TV shows will get thinner. 

More consumer-priced devices for accumulation person entered the market, fundamentally turning a elemental table setup and a MacBook into a afloat stocked power room. Hosts are already moving retired of the workplace and into barber shops, tennis courts, and connected sidewalks. AI devices for illustration Descript, Hush, and Accentize tin move less-than-optimal microphone recordings into fuller, beefier broadcast-style recordings. Podcasters whose instrumentality is little tin of handling uncontrolled signaling environments will particularly use from these postproduction tools. 

And who knows? Perhaps the pendulum will plaything backmost again erstwhile budgets for these shows go excessively costly to support a video show moving aggregate times a week without a beardown following. Maybe they will moreover standard backmost down to an audio-only format. And possibly that is wherever they will restart a caller research successful the audio medium. 

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