# Podcast backgrounds: video podcast sets and audiograms [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/podcast-video-background) Once a podcast goes on video, it needs a look. The background behind the hosts, the frame around remote guests and the clips that promote each episode should all feel like the same show. ## The short version - A podcast background is the visual behind a show's hosts and clips: a physical set, a digital frame for remote recordings, or the design behind an audiogram. - Full video episodes are 16:9 at 1920×1080, while clips for Reels, TikTok and Shorts are 1080×1920 and feed clips work well at 1080×1350. - Behind people, a background should be darker and calmer than their faces, with colour that contrasts with skin and clothing. - An audiogram needs a background with a clear, calm area for captions, because most people watch clips with the sound off. - Drawing the set, the remote frame, the clips and the cover art from one colour family makes a podcast recognisable in any feed. A **podcast background** has to work in three places: behind your hosts on camera, around remote guests when you record online, and behind the short clips that promote each episode. Choose one colour family and one mood for all three. Keep the background darker and calmer than the faces in front of it, and leave a quiet area for captions on every clip, because that is where most new listeners will meet the show. ## Video podcast formats and sizes One recording becomes many files. Plan the background for every shape before you build anything, so the important part of it sits where each format will show it. | Output | Size | Background note | | --- | --- | --- | | Full episode on YouTube or Spotify | 1920×1080 | The main set or frame; hosts in the middle third | | Reels, TikTok, Shorts clips | 1080×1920 | Speaker in the upper half, captions in the calm middle | | Feed clip on Instagram, LinkedIn | 1080×1350 | Room for a headline above the speaker | | Audiogram, audio only | 1080×1920 or 1080×1080 | The background carries everything: title, captions, cover | | Show cover art | 3000×3000 | Same colour family, so the cover and clips match | | YouTube thumbnail | 1280×720 | Borrow the set's colours for instant recognition | The files a typical video podcast produces each week. [Podcast cover size](https://gradiently.design/guide/apple-podcasts-cover-size) has the details for the cover. - Episode 1920×1080: 1920 × 1080 - Clip 1080×1920: 1080 × 1920 - Feed clip 1080×1350: 1080 × 1350 - Cover 3000×3000: 3000 × 3000 Four shapes from one show, to scale. A background designed only for 16:9 rarely survives the vertical crop. ## Designing a physical podcast set If you record in a room, the background is whatever the camera sees behind you. It does not need to be expensive. It needs depth, a little colour and nothing distracting at head height. - **Create depth.** Sit at least a metre or two from the back wall so it falls slightly out of focus and you separate from it. - **Light the background separately.** A coloured light washing the wall behind you gives the set its colour and keeps faces clean. - **Use a screen as a window.** A TV or monitor behind the hosts playing a slow, dark loop adds motion and brand colour. Keep it dimmer than the hosts. - **Keep head height clear.** Shelves, plants and logos belong low or to the side, never sprouting out of someone's head. - **Show the logo once.** A small sign or the screen loop is enough; the show name will be on every thumbnail anyway. - Studio dark: #16121f - Plum wall: #3a2a52 - Rust light: #c2563a - Lamp amber: #e8b46a - Caption cream: #f4ede4 An example show palette: a dark studio base, a plum wall, warm accent light and a cream for captions. Skin tones read well against all of it. Avoid colours that sit close to skin tones, such as beige and pale orange, directly behind faces. A cooler or deeper wall makes people look healthier on camera. [Talking head video](https://gradiently.design/guide/talking-head-video) covers framing and light in more depth. ## Backgrounds for remote podcast recordings When hosts and guests record from home, every square in the frame looks different: a kitchen, a bookshelf, a white wall. A shared designed background around those squares pulls them into one show. ### Feels like a video call - Camera squares on a plain black canvas - Each guest's room fighting for attention - Show name in a corner in a default font - No captions ### Feels like a show - Camera frames on the show's moving background - Frames the same size, evenly spaced - Episode title on the calm part of the background - Captions in the show's colours and typeface ## How to make an audiogram background An audiogram turns an audio moment into a video for social: a background, the episode title, captions and often the cover art. With no face on screen, the background does all the visual work, so it can carry a little more motion than a set would. A vertical podcast audiogram with an episode number and title over a slow moving background A 1080×1920 audiogram: the title high, a calm middle for captions, the show name low but clear of the app's buttons. A portrait podcast quote clip with one line from the episode on the show's background The best line from the episode as a 1080×1350 feed clip, on the same background. 1. **Pick the moment** 30 to 60 seconds that make sense on their own: a strong opinion, a story with an ending, a surprising fact from the guest. 2. **Set the background** Use the show's background at 1080×1920. Keep the middle third calm, because captions go there. 3. **Add the title and show name** Episode title near the top, show name near the bottom, both well inside the [safe zones](https://gradiently.design/guide/social-media-safe-zones). 4. **Add captions** Large, short lines in the show's typeface, timed to the speech. [Video captions](https://gradiently.design/guide/video-captions-design) covers style and size. 5. **Export each shape** Make the 1080×1350 and 1080×1080 versions from the same design rather than cropping the vertical one. ## One look across the whole show The strongest podcast brands repeat one look everywhere: the wall colour on set matches the cover, the clips use the same background as the episode frame, and the captions always look the same. Listeners scroll past dozens of clips a day; the ones they recognise are the ones they stop for. For the posts around each episode, see [podcast social media](https://gradiently.design/guide/podcast-social-media). Gradiently can hold that look together. Start from a template on a moving Mark; with Pro you can record a voice or camera clip in the Studio, add captions and music on the timeline, and resize the design to the episode frame, the clip sizes and the cover in one step. The Mark keeps its calmest region behind your captions at every size, so the show looks the same wherever a listener finds it. ## FAQ ### What is the best background for a video podcast? One that is darker and calmer than the hosts' faces, with some depth and a colour that contrasts with skin. A coloured wall light or a slow loop on a screen behind the hosts works well. ### What size should a podcast video background be? 1920×1080 for full episodes on YouTube and Spotify, 1080×1920 for Reels, TikTok and Shorts clips, and 1080×1350 for feed clips. ### What is an audiogram? A short video made from podcast audio, with a designed background, the episode title, captions and often the cover art, used to promote episodes on social media. ### How do I make remote podcast recordings look professional? Place every camera frame at the same size on one designed background, add the episode title in a calm area, and caption the clips in the show's colours.