A podcast where guests talk about their most meaningful and memorable video games

I'm Keifer, the host, editor, promoter and producer of Select and Start. I work in the business world by trade but my passion is in editing and video creation. Against my better judgement, I love video games. And I'm doing my part to argue for them as a legitimate art form. In doing so, I invite guests with varying degrees of experience with video games to talk about the ones that mean the most to them. Some of my guests are Twitch streamers, cosplayers and professional podcasters. Some just play video games as a hobby.

Likewise, my listeners range from video game enthusiasts, to those with just a casual interest in the subject. Some play games every day, some hardly play games at all. I want to bridge the gap between those with a passionate enthusiasm, and those with just a passing curiosity. Everyone has a different relationship with the art form, and I want as many unique perspectives as I can get. I also want to give listeners a greater understanding of the medium, the industry, and the games we discuss so in addition to our conversation about our relationship with the game I do segments where I give the production background of the game and how available it is to consumers today. Game preservation is another passion of mine, and if games want to be perceived as art, they also need to be preserved as such.
 

Before film, literature, music, and television, I was uniquely attracted to video games as a medium. Not a lot of my real life friends are as into it as me though, so I’ve created this space for myself where I can enthusiastically talk about my interests with people with varying levels of engagement with video games as a medium. I’m trying to keep my enthusiasm for gaming alive, and being able to have in-depth discussions with people about these games will keep me engaged. It feels more personal than just tweeting out my thoughts.

This podcast is more to me than just talking about video games though. For me, it’s also an important stepping stone towards more ambitious projects, as well as self improvement. I’m making this show because I want to refine my skills as a creator without putting too much pressure on myself. I intend to make this the best show I can, but the format allows me to put less effort into the preparation, research, and writing and more into the act of recording, interacting with my guests, and editing and promoting the show. This is all a learning experience for me, but I intend to make the best show possible and I hope listeners like you get to see, or hear, the improvement over time.
 

Making time is the hardest part of any hobby. I work a full time job, and I manage every part of the creative process on my own. Every part of the show, aside from the voice and thoughts of the guest, is entirely mine. I have to record, edit, and promote the show in my spare time. There's also writing and research that goes into the process. Sometimes my guests pick a game I've already played, but if they pick one I've never played, I have to see it through to the end on my own time. I also do research on the background and availability of the game. I do my best to commit to a biweekly schedule, and doing so demands about 10-15 hours a week to work on my podcast in some capacity, not including the time where I'm playing the game in question. Most of that 10-15 hours is dedicated to writing or editing. To make the most efficient use of my time, I work during lunch breaks or on weekday evenings so I still feel like my weekends are dedicated primarily to relaxing.

The podcast is funded primarily by myself, with voluntary contributions from listeners that I receive via Patreon. I use Zencastr to expedite the post-production process which runs about $20 a month. Hosting fees amount to a little over $100 a year. Podbean is my preferred hosting site.
 

As of now I have no formal sponsorships but I'm open to the idea. I am mainly funded with support from my fans on Patreon, and I pay out of pocket for anything the Patreon cannot support. The purpose of this podcast was to make me a more confident and efficient editor. Money is nice but the experience is invaluable to me. People deserve to be paid for their hard work, especially when they work for others. But this is a passion entirely for myself. This podcast trains me to be more ambitious in the future. My hope is that it pays off down the line.
 

Zencastr is my main resource for recording and post production. It's recorded entirely in the browser so guests don't need to download any additional applications and we can get right to recording. As for editing, I primarily use Adobe Audition. Most people use Audacity, but since most of my video editing is in Premiere, I find it to be more beneficial to know as many Adobe applications as possible. Adobe Audition isn't the most popular audio editing software, but I've come to understand it.

The interviews are pretty informal so it's not as writing intensive as the video essay process I'm used to. I come to each recording with some general questions I ask each guest, as well as some personalized questions relevant to their game and experience. The most intensive writing is for the research oriented segments I do where I discuss the game's background and its availability.
 

I promote the show entirely by myself. Even though my background is in business and marketing, this is the most challenging part to me as I try to avoid paying for sponsored posts. Social media has been my best friend. I use Twitter as often as possible to promote my show. Whenever a tweet of mine gets popular I will promote my show underneath. I depend on the word of mouth of my guests and listeners as well. Guests will promote their show to their audience and many of them become regular listeners. I always remind listeners to review and share the show as often as possible so the show's audience can grow. My audience is scattered across multiple listening platforms.

Around 20% of my listeners are from Spotify, 13% are from Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict and CastBox account for about 8% each, and the rest are on other, smaller applications.
 

It's a cliché but the best thing to do is actually start recording. Getting over the idea phase and actually starting the process of making something is the hardest part. Make it into a reality, commit to it as a responsibility. Find your voice along the way.

I also think you should always start with your simplest idea. Never lead with your most ambitious project because you'll feel too limited by your skill set to make it exactly as good as it is in your head. If you start small you have less to lose. The failures hurt less and you feel like you compromise less based on your skill set. The more you learn, the bigger you can get. Work your way up to the ambitious stuff.
 

Other than listening to Select and Start you can follow my personal twitter at @DannyVegito and follow the show @SelectPodStart.

My videos can be seen over at YouTube. My most popular video as of the time of this writing is about the live-action Cowboy Bebop series Netflix recently produced. It currently has over 56,000 views! You can check my channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/KeiferLirette
And you can support me and the show on Patreon! People who contribute at least $1 a month get episodes that are longer than they are on the main feed and they're released several days earlier! https://www.patreon.com/KeifersCorner

Thank you so much for your time. Please give the show a listen.