Audio Storytelling: Creating Your Nonfiction Podcast
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About this Live Online Course
"It's given me the confidence to know I'm on the right path. It was so practical that I feel like I have everything I need to pitch the project to potential sponsors and to get it made."
—Fern S., Bristol, UK
Sundance Collab offers a robust collection of online courses in the Sundance spirit of amplifying your independent voice as a storyteller. Join our global community to hone your craft, network with other creators, and develop career strategies to help you navigate the film and television industry.
Create your own narrative nonfiction podcast series or audio documentary with an accomplished audio storyteller as your guide. Podcasts offer an engaging and relatively inexpensive platform for creators to craft audio stories and distribute their work to an international audience—and they’ve never been more popular. In this nine-week live, online course, you will develop a rough cut of a trailer or a 3-5 minute audio story as a proof of concept that can be used to develop your project into a series or longer piece. This course focuses on narrative-style nonfiction storytelling.
In class sessions, you will analyze successful audio stories, complete interactive exercises, discuss relevant topics, and raise questions with others in your course. Select homework assignments are reviewed by your course advisor and are designed to move you closer to your completed audio story. The course concludes with a one-on-one mentoring session focused on your project.
By the end of the course you will:
- identify the elements of a successful podcast and how to apply them to your project.
- determine how to conduct thorough research and find your story.
- understand character development, story structure and determine the appropriate length/arc of your series.
- develop an approach to interviewing and writing your script.
- become familiar with the access and use of archival materials.
- understand how to take notes and approach the edit.
- learn about implementing music, sound design, and the final mix.
- learn about the equipment and recording techniques for producing your own podcast.
This course is ideal for:
- first-time podcasters with a great idea for a nonfiction audio story or series.
- filmmakers or writers interested in exploring audio storytelling.
Course enrollment is approximately 50 participants per session, with a participant-to-advisor ratio of 12-to-1. To apply, you must have an idea for a nonfiction audio story, or have a fiction project that you feel could benefit from a nonfiction storytelling approach.
Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Accommodations and services are designed to meet the needs of each participant. Please email us at accessibility@sundance.org to arrange for services.
Outline
Topics covered include:
- Introductions to Creators
- History of audio storytelling
- Podcast formats and subgenres
- Business landscape overview
Topics covered include:
- Identifying aesthetic elements to bring to your podcast
- Topic vs. story
- Finding the theme in your story
Topics covered include:
- Conducting thorough research and identifying characters
- Ethical considerations and consent
- How to create an interview prep from initial research
- Interview techniques
- Creating outlines
Topics covered include:
- Production teams and roles
- Workflow management
- Gear/equipment needs (field vs. studio)
- Case study on building an episode
Topics covered include:
- Tape management
- Working with transcripts
- Cutting and organizing selects
There is no class this week in order to focus on putting your project together.
Topics covered include:
- What to expect when it’s time to edit
- Types of audio edits
- Sound design/scoring
- Review of first cuts
Topics covered include:
- Creating Pitch Decks
- How to map out a series
- Continued review of first cuts
- Next steps
The course concludes with a one-on-one mentoring session with your advisor.
Team

Annie Nguyen
Advisor
Annie Nguyen is a producer at Snap Judgment’s award winning show SPOOKED, which is an iTunes chart-topping podcast with over 5 million total downloads. She reported on an investigative series called SOMEBODY, which won the IDA’s Best Audio Documentary Award and Third Coast's Best Serialized Story Award. She built up her production and reporting background at CITY BUREAU, INVISIBLE INSTITUTE, and MAKING OPRAH.

Cher Vincent
Advisor
Cher Vincent is a senior producer at Pushkin Industries. She has been a senior editor and producer at such places as Gimlet Media, Spotify, NPR, The New York Times, and other places on the internet. She co-founded the podcast collective, Postloudness, in 2016 in Chicago. She currently resides in Brooklyn and is often told she is delightful.
FAQ
In Sundance Collab’s Live Online courses, participants attend live, virtual class sessions on the same day and time for a specified period. These sessions are led by an instructor and in some cases, supported by a team of advisors. In some courses, you are given assignments with submission deadlines to help you take the next step with your work.
- Each week you will be able to attend live lectures via Zoom video and ask questions of your instructor.
- In some courses, you will receive individualized feedback from your course advisor on elements of your work.
- In some courses, you will have the opportunity to have a 1-on-1 session with your advisor. Depending on the course, this session may be included or may be purchased separately for an additional cost. Check the course description for specifics.
All members of the Sundance Collab community are welcome to register for Sundance Collab courses. Please review the course description and any eligibility requirements to ensure the course is a good fit. If you have any questions about a course, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.
Note that space is limited. If the registration window is open, you will see a “Register” button on the course page. If there is an application, applications are considered as they are received and applicants are accepted on a rolling basis until the course is full or the deadline has passed, whichever comes first.
We do not allow creative partners to do our live online courses as a team. However, both creators can individually register for the course.
Part of Sundance Collab's unique educational approach is to create a teaching team for every course. Each class is led by an instructor who may be accompanied by additional course advisors. This allows us to keep an intimate ratio of participants to advisors and to provide a diversity of voices and approaches to the course content.
We often offer a limited number of need-based, full or partial scholarships. Check the course description to see if that course currently has scholarships available. Scholarships are prioritized for one per person per year (from the date of issue). Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline. To apply for a scholarship,complete the registration form by clicking the REGISTER button and selecting the option to apply for a scholarship, if available.
Applicants will be notified about their scholarship decision prior to the first day of the course. Due to the volume of applicants, we are not always able to provide a scholarship, but we may still offer a spot in the course. In this case, depending on the course, payment plans may be available and can be selected at checkout.
Yes, we offer two or three-part payment plans for Live Online courses, depending on the length of the course. In all cases, the first payment is due at the point of registration. The remaining payment(s) are spread out throughout the course term. For specific payment plan dates for a course, please reach out to our team at: collab_courses@sundance.org.
Yes, you are welcome to take a live, online course even if you can’t make the live sessions. Recordings of each class session are available online by the following day so you can keep up with the course lectures. For courses that include a 1-on-1 session with an advisor or instructor, the meeting is scheduled according to your (and their) availability.
All sessions are recorded and usually made available within one business day. The videos will also contain the chat and transcript from the class session, viewable in the video playbar.
Participants will have access to the recordings for one year following the last class session.
All participants will receive a Certificate of Completion. The certificate will include the name associated with your Sundance Collab account.
You can find any courses that you are enrolled in or have already completed in the profile section of your Sundance Collab account under “Courses.”
You can join a course via a computer or mobile device. All of our live, online courses are conducted via Zoom.
Download and set up the Zoom software (https://zoom.us/download) and make sure you have the latest update. Here are some great resources from Zoom’s Knowledge Base to take a deeper dive into using Zoom:
- Watch Zoom's Video Tutorials or review training materials on the Getting Started page
- Join a Live Training from Zoom
If you have any further questions, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.
Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Please contact us at (435) 776-7790 or email us at accessibility@sundance.org to ask any questions or to discuss your specific needs after you have been accepted into the course.
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