September 14, 2026 • 8 mins
Video is now more prevalent in podcasting than it's ever been before, from full-length video episodes to bite-size clips that drive discovery on social media.
In this episode, we break down the video podcasting terms that matter so you can choose settings, frame your shots, and edit with less guesswork. I define the basics, from MP4 and resolution to talking head and B-roll, so you can make informed decisions without trying to become an expert overnight.
If you have a question about producing a video podcast, reach out to the Podcaster Success team by emailing support@buzzsprout.com.
Have a topic or question we should address on a future episode? Text us or email the Buzzsprout Podcaster Success Team at support@buzzsprout.com.
Keep podcasting!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Cara Pacetti (00:00):
Welcome to Podcasting Q&A, brought to you
by the people at Buzzsprout.
I'm your host, Cara Pacetti,and I'm bringing you the best
tips and strategies to keep youpodcasting with confidence.
Last week, we continued ourpodcasting terminology series by
(00:21):
focusing specifically on audioterms.
We talked about things likeMP3, WAV files, and terms that
you're likely to encounter whenyou're recording and editing an
audio first podcast.
But these days, podcastingisn't always just about what
your audience hears.
More and more podcasters areadding a video component to
(00:41):
their shows, whether that meansrecording a full video podcast
or creating clips to share ontheir social media platforms.
Since we're seeing more videosappear in podcasting, we're
breaking down some of the mostcommon video podcasting terms
you should be aware of as you'regetting started.
Your video component can varydepending on your content.
(01:02):
You may have video that usesone camera and shows you and
your guests sitting in chairshaving a conversation.
You might include multiplecameras focusing on each person
recording the podcast, or youmay include visual aids like
photos and videos to help youtell the story.
And just like your audiopodcasts, your video podcast
(01:25):
needs to be hosted with apodcast host.
And not every podcast host willbe able to send your video
episodes to the listeningdirectories that support them.
So you'll want to make sure youcheck that out before deciding
where to host your videopodcast.
Now that we've established whata video podcast is, let's talk
about the file format it uses.
The next term is MP4.
(01:47):
An MP4 file is one of the mostcommon video file formats you'll
encounter when creating anduploading video.
An MP4 file is a digitalmultimedia format.
And to make this a littleeasier to understand, I want you
to think of the file as acontainer file that's going to
hold both video and audio.
So if someone sends you an MP4file, it contains the video
(02:12):
footage you've recorded alongwith the audio that goes with
it.
You may see other video formatsout there, but MP4 is the one
you'll see most frequently whenworking with video podcasts.
Our next term is resolution.
Resolution describes thedimensions of your video and
it's measured in pixels.
(02:32):
The resolution not only affectsthe details in your image, but
it also affects your overallfile size.
You may hear someone refer to avideo as 1920 by 1080.
What this means is that thevideo is 1920 pixels wide and
1080 pixels tall.
This is a typical resolutionfor a high definition video.
(02:55):
You may also hear the term 4K.
4K means the pixels are fourtimes greater than that of a
1920 by 1080 pixel file.
And 4Ks are considered ultrahigh definition.
Generally speaking, the higherthe resolution, the more pixels
your video contains, which meansa sharper image.
(03:18):
The cost of having a sharperimage is, of course, a larger
video file.
So when you're choosing yourvideo settings, just expect to
balance the image quality withthings like file size, storage,
and upload time.
Now let's move on from filetypes in technical terms to some
terminology you'll hear whenyou're actually recording your
(03:40):
video episodes.
First up is talking head.
So a talking head is exactlywhat it sounds like.
It's a video shot thatprimarily shows a person
speaking directly to the camera.
If you've ever watched apodcast where you see the host
sitting at a desk or sittingacross from a guest, you're
probably looking at a talkinghead video.
(04:01):
It should be no surprise thatthis is one of the most common
setups for video podcastsbecause it keeps the focus on
the person who's speaking.
And to stay in step with thisrecording style, I want to talk
about another term, which isheadroom.
Headroom is the amount of spacebetween the top of a person's
head and the top edge of thevideo frame.
(04:22):
You generally don't wantsomeone's head almost touching
the top of the screen, but youalso don't want too much space
above them.
Good headroom helps your shotfeel balanced and intentional.
This may seem obvious, but it'sa detail that will set you
apart from novice videopodcasters and prevent you from
having to re-record the episode.
(04:42):
So before you hit record, takea quick look at where you're
positioned in the frame.
Are you centered appropriately?
Is there a reasonable amount ofspace above your head?
And are you comfortable withwhat's showing in the
background?
Those little adjustments canreally make a big difference.
Another term that relates topositioning while recording
(05:03):
video episodes is a wide shot.
A wide shot shows more of thescene.
So instead of framing thecamera tightly around someone's
face and shoulders, a wide shotmay show the person's entire
upper body or even the roomaround them.
Wide shots can help establishwhere the conversation is
happening and give viewers abetter sense of the environment.
(05:25):
A wide shot is great if you'rerecording in a well-designed
studio set, created specificallyfor your video interviews.
They're also especially usefulwhen you're using multiple
cameras because you can use thewide shot as an additional angle
during editing.
So if you have some camerasthat are recording more of a
talking head position, and thenyou have other cameras that are
(05:47):
positioned to record the wideshot of the overall scene, this
gives you the ability to bounceback and forth between those
angles as the episodeprogresses, which makes the
episode a little moreinteresting and a little bit
easier to watch.
The last term I want to mentionis a B-roll.
B-roll is additional footagethat you can layer over your
(06:08):
primary video inpost-production.
So if your main footage is youand your guest sitting across
from each other having aconversation, your B roll might
be something that you're talkingabout, like a location, a
product, a screenshot, or evensome behind-the-scenes footage.
So you can think of theoriginal footage of you and your
guest as the A role for yourvideo and the supporting images
(06:31):
as the B roll.
Using B-roll content can makeyour video more visually
interesting and can helpillustrate what you're talking
about without having to stay onthe same camera shot for the
entire episode.
B-roll segments are also agreat way to engage your audio
only listeners.
The way you're talking aboutthe image you're displaying may
(06:52):
generate curiosity for youraudio-only listeners to check
out the video version of theepisode they're listening to.
For example, if you'rediscussing the beautiful terrain
of the Grand Canyon and youmentioned that you're going to
show an image of that for yourlisteners, your audio listeners
may hear that cue and decide toswitch on the video in order to
(07:12):
see the image that you guys weretalking about.
So there you have it.
Some of the basic videopodcasting terms you're likely
to encounter as you startcreating video.
We've covered video podcast,MP4, resolution, talking head,
headroom, wide shot, and B-roll.
The goal here is not to be anexpert right away, but instead
(07:34):
simply understand theterminology well enough to make
informed decisions about yourshow.
I really hope that you guyshave enjoyed this podcast
terminology mini-series.
I've actually learned so muchwhile prepping for these
episodes.
And so I hope you've learned alot too.
With that said, I know I'mmissing terms out there and even
(07:54):
some as it relates to videopodcasting.
So if there are still termsthat you're unsure of, and it
would help for me to cover thoseon a future Podcasting Q&A
episode, send them my way usingthe send us fan mail link in the
show notes, or you can email uson the podcaster success team
by emailing support atbuzzsprout.com.
Be sure to join us every Mondayto kickstart your week.
(08:17):
Thank you so much forlistening.
And as always, keep podcasting.
Welcome to Podcasting Q&A, brought to you
by the people at Buzzsprout.
I'm your host, Cara Pacetti,and I'm bringing you the best
tips and strategies to keep youpodcasting with confidence.
Last week, we continued ourpodcasting terminology series by
(00:21):
focusing specifically on audioterms.
We talked about things likeMP3, WAV files, and terms that
you're likely to encounter whenyou're recording and editing an
audio first podcast.
But these days, podcastingisn't always just about what
your audience hears.
More and more podcasters areadding a video component to
(00:41):
their shows, whether that meansrecording a full video podcast
or creating clips to share ontheir social media platforms.
Since we're seeing more videosappear in podcasting, we're
breaking down some of the mostcommon video podcasting terms
you should be aware of as you'regetting started.
Your video component can varydepending on your content.
(01:02):
You may have video that usesone camera and shows you and
your guests sitting in chairshaving a conversation.
You might include multiplecameras focusing on each person
recording the podcast, or youmay include visual aids like
photos and videos to help youtell the story.
And just like your audiopodcasts, your video podcast
(01:25):
needs to be hosted with apodcast host.
And not every podcast host willbe able to send your video
episodes to the listeningdirectories that support them.
So you'll want to make sure youcheck that out before deciding
where to host your videopodcast.
Now that we've established whata video podcast is, let's talk
about the file format it uses.
The next term is MP4.
(01:47):
An MP4 file is one of the mostcommon video file formats you'll
encounter when creating anduploading video.
An MP4 file is a digitalmultimedia format.
And to make this a littleeasier to understand, I want you
to think of the file as acontainer file that's going to
hold both video and audio.
So if someone sends you an MP4file, it contains the video
(02:12):
footage you've recorded alongwith the audio that goes with
it.
You may see other video formatsout there, but MP4 is the one
you'll see most frequently whenworking with video podcasts.
Our next term is resolution.
Resolution describes thedimensions of your video and
it's measured in pixels.
(02:32):
The resolution not only affectsthe details in your image, but
it also affects your overallfile size.
You may hear someone refer to avideo as 1920 by 1080.
What this means is that thevideo is 1920 pixels wide and
1080 pixels tall.
This is a typical resolutionfor a high definition video.
(02:55):
You may also hear the term 4K.
4K means the pixels are fourtimes greater than that of a
1920 by 1080 pixel file.
And 4Ks are considered ultrahigh definition.
Generally speaking, the higherthe resolution, the more pixels
your video contains, which meansa sharper image.
(03:18):
The cost of having a sharperimage is, of course, a larger
video file.
So when you're choosing yourvideo settings, just expect to
balance the image quality withthings like file size, storage,
and upload time.
Now let's move on from filetypes in technical terms to some
terminology you'll hear whenyou're actually recording your
(03:40):
video episodes.
First up is talking head.
So a talking head is exactlywhat it sounds like.
It's a video shot thatprimarily shows a person
speaking directly to the camera.
If you've ever watched apodcast where you see the host
sitting at a desk or sittingacross from a guest, you're
probably looking at a talkinghead video.
(04:01):
It should be no surprise thatthis is one of the most common
setups for video podcastsbecause it keeps the focus on
the person who's speaking.
And to stay in step with thisrecording style, I want to talk
about another term, which isheadroom.
Headroom is the amount of spacebetween the top of a person's
head and the top edge of thevideo frame.
(04:22):
You generally don't wantsomeone's head almost touching
the top of the screen, but youalso don't want too much space
above them.
Good headroom helps your shotfeel balanced and intentional.
This may seem obvious, but it'sa detail that will set you
apart from novice videopodcasters and prevent you from
having to re-record the episode.
(04:42):
So before you hit record, takea quick look at where you're
positioned in the frame.
Are you centered appropriately?
Is there a reasonable amount ofspace above your head?
And are you comfortable withwhat's showing in the
background?
Those little adjustments canreally make a big difference.
Another term that relates topositioning while recording
(05:03):
video episodes is a wide shot.
A wide shot shows more of thescene.
So instead of framing thecamera tightly around someone's
face and shoulders, a wide shotmay show the person's entire
upper body or even the roomaround them.
Wide shots can help establishwhere the conversation is
happening and give viewers abetter sense of the environment.
(05:25):
A wide shot is great if you'rerecording in a well-designed
studio set, created specificallyfor your video interviews.
They're also especially usefulwhen you're using multiple
cameras because you can use thewide shot as an additional angle
during editing.
So if you have some camerasthat are recording more of a
talking head position, and thenyou have other cameras that are
(05:47):
positioned to record the wideshot of the overall scene, this
gives you the ability to bounceback and forth between those
angles as the episodeprogresses, which makes the
episode a little moreinteresting and a little bit
easier to watch.
The last term I want to mentionis a B-roll.
B-roll is additional footagethat you can layer over your
(06:08):
primary video inpost-production.
So if your main footage is youand your guest sitting across
from each other having aconversation, your B roll might
be something that you're talkingabout, like a location, a
product, a screenshot, or evensome behind-the-scenes footage.
So you can think of theoriginal footage of you and your
guest as the A role for yourvideo and the supporting images
(06:31):
as the B roll.
Using B-roll content can makeyour video more visually
interesting and can helpillustrate what you're talking
about without having to stay onthe same camera shot for the
entire episode.
B-roll segments are also agreat way to engage your audio
only listeners.
The way you're talking aboutthe image you're displaying may
(06:52):
generate curiosity for youraudio-only listeners to check
out the video version of theepisode they're listening to.
For example, if you'rediscussing the beautiful terrain
of the Grand Canyon and youmentioned that you're going to
show an image of that for yourlisteners, your audio listeners
may hear that cue and decide toswitch on the video in order to
(07:12):
see the image that you guys weretalking about.
So there you have it.
Some of the basic videopodcasting terms you're likely
to encounter as you startcreating video.
We've covered video podcast,MP4, resolution, talking head,
headroom, wide shot, and B-roll.
The goal here is not to be anexpert right away, but instead
(07:34):
simply understand theterminology well enough to make
informed decisions about yourshow.
I really hope that you guyshave enjoyed this podcast
terminology mini-series.
I've actually learned so muchwhile prepping for these
episodes.
And so I hope you've learned alot too.
With that said, I know I'mmissing terms out there and even
(07:54):
some as it relates to videopodcasting.
So if there are still termsthat you're unsure of, and it
would help for me to cover thoseon a future Podcasting Q&A
episode, send them my way usingthe send us fan mail link in the
show notes, or you can email uson the podcaster success team
by emailing support atbuzzsprout.com.
Be sure to join us every Mondayto kickstart your week.
(08:17):
Thank you so much forlistening.
And as always, keep podcasting.
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