Roam Podcast
Roam captures unique audio snapshots of the cities, trails, and shores that surround us. Each episode takes you on a short trek — no talking, no interviews, just the sounds of the world and periodic ambient music. Best enjoyed when you need to focus, relax, or escape and embark on a quiet journey.
The initial seed of an idea that would become Roam was born out of a personal need. The goal was to create something easily accessible that would help users focus, relax, and be more productive during the workday, something I wanted in my noisy office environment.
My role:
Producer/Art director/Editor
The Process
Initial research:
I suspected anecdotally that having a low din of background noise could help keep me focused and productive. Working at a coffee shop was a favorite of mine at the time, or opening a window to let in far off traffic noise.
I needed to test my suspicions against real research. Luckily, there's plenty of research out there lauding the benefits of background noise.
Findings:
A study in 2012 found that ambient background noise of around 70 decibels stimulates the brain and causes us to be more productive. Another study found that changing up your environment (including the sounds you hear) causes our brains to release dopamine, which can help motivate us.
Conclusion:
The research lead me to the conclusion that I needed some form of audio that was ambient, and would change form often enough to stay fresh. I decided a podcast would be the best medium.
A clip from the Pilot Episode
Futher research & ideation:
I landed on the idea of blending field recordings with ambient electronic music to create a space that allowed users to focus.
My thoughts were that using ubiquitous sounds (nature, traffic, indistinct conversations) and ambient music would create a soundscape that felt natural and wasn't distracting, but also helped drown out other unwanted noise.
I created the pilot from a phone recording and a piece of music I sourced from a free music website. I coupled this recording with a survey about the episode and sent it to as many people in my circles as I could.
Conclusion:
With the survey results in hand, I concluded the podcast was viable. I made a few changes to the format and began planning for Roam Season 1.
New skills
I realized I didn't have the experience I needed to create the podcast, so I taught myself how to use Adobe Audition and edit audio in order to keep the editing in-house. I went to a studio to record the outro, and found a generative music artist to supply unique ambient music for each episode.
Season 1 artwork
I contacted an illustrator I knew well and we worked together to give the podcast a visual identity. I wanted something that reflected peaceful nature of the audio, and also needed a logo that would both fit into the square format standard to podcasts, and stand out from the sea of other podcast logos.
I gave the illustrator a sample of the audio I was planning to launch the podcast with, and they were able to create a visual identity based on an early episode. This identity would carry me through the first season.
Season 2 & Iteration
With season 1 complete, I took feedback from listeners and iterated on the idea for season two. Where season 1 had been 12 completely different episodes, season two would have a theme. Season 1 had been bi-weekly, season 2 would become a weekly podcast.
I expanded the visual brand, adding a website and individual episode artwork in addition to a new logo. Artwork was also created for the podcast's Twitter account.
Season 2 Trailer
Season 2 artwork
Conclusion
Roam is a passion project of mine, years in the making. It's a perfect example of how the creative process works no matter the medium.
If you'd like to take a listen and see if Roam might help you through your workday, you can find every episode at roampodcast.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
Special thanks to Shannon Finazzo for creating the illustrations for Roam. See more of her work at shannonfinazzo.com
