Product I built & run · Studio operating system · 2026
The Recording Pod
Built the software layer for my studio: public booking and payments on the front, an internal production command center behind it.
A-I
production workflow
13
clips from one real run
0→100
job progress tracking
Local
Premiere handoff
- Problem
- A studio outgrew Wix and needed both a credible sales surface and repeatable production operations.
- Build
- Next.js booking/payment platform plus a local Flask production command center with AI clip scoring, ffmpeg cutting, Premiere handoff, and archive proof.
- Result
- The studio now runs on software designed around how it sells, produces, delivers, and protects client work.
Visual proof
Screens that show the work.
Cropped for the case study. Open the live link for the full production surface.
Real studio, real operation
The physical set the software supports: bookings, rentals, recording runs, production handoff, and delivery.
Internal review cockpit
The private production app: approve clips, inspect scores, export approved files, and keep the run moving.
Booking and add-on flow
The production booking page: session selection, pricing, and post-production add-ons in one path.
Operating proof
The private system behind the public studio
The customer sees booking and payments. Behind that, the operator has a production workflow that keeps editing, handoff, delivery, and archive from becoming a pile of manual steps.
Upload
Source video enters the workflow.
Transcript
Premiere transcript attaches to the episode.
Workspace
Local edit package and project files are prepared.
Detect
Claude finds and scores clip candidates.
Review
Operator approves, flags, or rejects clips.
Edit set
Approved clips become a saved cut plan.
Cut
ffmpeg generates MP4s, SRTs, and thumbnails.
Handoff
Marker CSV and handoff manifest are created.
Launch
Premiere opens with the package ready.
Receipts
- ✓A-I smoke workflow passed with disposable data.
- ✓Real EP06 hardening run produced 13 approved clips, 13 MP4s, 13 SRTs, and 13 thumbnails.
- ✓Archive path includes manifest, Backblaze upload, remote verification, local restore test, and quarantine.
“Working with The Recording Pod has been an incredible experience… professional, welcoming, and supportive.”
Jerry, The Queer & Kinky Couch · Google review of The Recording Pod (a studio I own & run)
What it is
The operating software for The Recording Pod, a podcast and video studio I built and run. The public side replaced Wix with a real booking, payment, and studio-rental platform. The private side is a local-first production command center that moves a recording from source video to reviewed clips, Premiere handoff, delivery, archive, and restore proof.
What I built
- 01A custom Next.js public platform that replaced Wix: services, booking paths, Stripe payments, studio-rental requests, member-hour logic, and the trust layer a service business needs before someone pays.
- 02A studio-rental approval flow that reviews the request before money moves, so the business controls what it accepts instead of charging blindly.
- 03An internal Flask production command center for the daily operator workflow: upload video, attach a Premiere transcript, prepare the edit workspace, find clips, review them, build the edit set, cut approved clips, prepare the handoff, and launch the edit.
- 04The AI content pipeline behind that command center: Deepgram/Premiere transcript ingestion, Claude candidate extraction and four-pillar clip scoring, platform copy generation, ffmpeg clip cutting, SRT sidecars, thumbnails, and Google Drive delivery.
- 05Local Premiere package plumbing: copied project templates, standard Finder package folders, marker reference CSVs, handoff manifests, approved-clips folders, and launch/open triage.
- 06Operating safeguards: Redis/RQ background jobs, 0-to-100 progress tracking, retry/error surfaces, API cost tracking, smoke-test ledgers, backup/restore checks, Backblaze archive verification, and quarantine-only cleanup.
Business problem
A real studio is not just a brochure site. It has to sell sessions, avoid bad-fit rentals, track member time, process media, make editing repeatable, deliver assets, and prove archives can be restored. The old Wix setup could not carry that operating load, and off-the-shelf tools would have left the business stitched together across too many places.
My role
Owner-operator and full-stack developer. Product, booking flow, payments, internal workflow design, AI pipeline, media automation, ops hardening, and go-live — all me.
Proof
- ✓Public platform is live at therecordingpod.com.
- ✓The internal app completed an A-I smoke workflow: upload, transcript, workspace, AI detection, review, edit set, clip cutting, handoff, and launch.
- ✓One real production hardening run moved 13 approved clips through cut files, SRT sidecars, thumbnails, marker CSV, handoff manifest, and launch/open triage.
- ✓Archive flow has proof paths for manifest generation, Backblaze upload, remote verification, local restore test, and quarantine.
What this proves
This proves I can build past the website into the operating system of a service business. The customer-facing surface, payment flow, production workflow, AI assist, editor handoff, delivery path, and archive proof all fit together because I built them around the way the studio actually makes money and does the work.