Timber Sound Productions

Yup, it's Fall. You know what that means...

No longer feeling guilty about all the time you're spending indoors! 🎉

Oh yeah, and cozy fires - like this rager.

How a Sound Engineer spends his free time:

Step 1: Establish how much free time is available + create a schedule
Step 2: Get side tracked by son or daughter wanting another popsicle from the freezer
Step 3: Relax by learning Beethoven's Hammerklavier, Sonata No. 29 on piano (10 mins) If you don't know what that is, look it up you brute
Step 4: Memorize a dictionary (5 mins)
Step 5: Balance on the rooftop of the house, practicing a confident "cocka-doodle-doo" (2 mins)

There you have it. The entire 17-minute long, free time schedule.

Grateful to be living here on this amazing island.

Some people call it the Hawaii of Canada, others call it the lands of the Coast Salish, Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.

We understand and acknowledge that we live on unceded territory.

Personally, we call it home. And we love it here.

VO Tip of the Day: Listen and imitate!

Pay close attention to various voices in movies, TV shows, and commercials. Practice imitating different accents, tones, and emotions to expand your range as a voice actor.

The more you do this, the more you'll begin to notice each of your imitations mix into the characters you develop.

Try it! And remember to have fun 🫵

👀This is what teleportation looks like.

If you're a voice actor, we can take your voice and transport it across the world without compromising on any quality.

And it's called...
⭐️ Source-Connect ⭐️

It's basically wizardry. Also perfect when your director is in New York, client is in Toronto, and you're HERE on Vancouver Island.

Get in touch on our profile if you're booking Source-Connect jobs and need a space.

If you're a media company on the island:

1) Stop taking the ferry
2) Just stop (you know you wanna)
3) Since you're trapped here anyway, you might as well record your stuff right here

You don't have to go to Vancouver to access state-of-the-art recording solutions.

That is all.

I'm gonna go back to my daily activity of saving little old granny's cats from trees, peace ✌️

The Paper Street Theatre Co. is beginning yet another uproarious season!

If you haven't heard of them yet; they're an improv theatre that holds improv shows based on themes.

Some of the themes they'll have going on this season are:

1) Sylvia Plath, the Glass Bell ✍️
2) The Piano Man
3) & Mythos

All Improv shows! 😆

We'll definitely be seeing a couple of those ones over the season.

Can you spot the turkey vulture in this photo?

Tip: It's actually there, this isn't a trick. 🥲

Vancouver Island is one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

🎃 It's that time of year, Victoria.

We wanna hear the best places to bring your in-laws for a thanksgiving pumpkin spiced latte.

Share below in the comments if you know a good one.

We caught "Yaga" at the Belfry Theatre a little while ago, so I'd just like to sing its praises a bit.

First off, intricately set, finely tuned stage and actors. Magnificently done.

Second, the story pulled us in so perfectly. We found ourselves lost in the themes, characters, and story.

🎩👏 Hats off to all members on set, actors and author of the play itself!

We highly recommend you catch this production. Performances go until October 8th at the Belfry Theatre.

Am I the only one who has wondered about this before?

The reason that lots of animated characters in movies only have 4 fingers is because with one less finger on each hand, the animators save hours of rendering! (Ultimately saving millions of dollars in cost)!

Moral of the story:

Know where you can creatively make shortcuts for yourself behind the scenes, without compromising on any quality! (Nobody minds that these characters only have 4 fingers)!

If anything, the fact that these characters don't have 5 fingers actually adds to their character, and creates an alternate reality that they can exist in. Which is pretty cool, because then it becomes a bit of a hallmark of these movies.

Why musicians are the craziest people on the planet:

1) They can survive off of eating only 7-eleven taquitoes and discounted bananas for months.
2) They sleep between the hours of 5-7am, after going on their nightly caffeine-induced songwriting bender.
3) When a string breaks, they conjure new strings from thin air ... 🤯 🪄
4) When their van breaks down on the way to the show, they instantly become red seal mechanics. 🤷 (???)

Anything we missed?

PS, this photo is of Jesse Roper. If you haven't checked him out yet, you should. But not because we told you so. Just because you want to hear an awesome, super talented local star. You know? Cheers. ⭐️

Jesse Roper

Mother Nature is the original sound master.

Let me explain;

Have you ever sung a song at the top of your lungs on top of a mountain? Heard your echo somewhere in a far off valley?

The feeling is unparalleled.

Really gets you inspired to learn some yodelling, too. (Seriously, try it!)

(Also, caves are the coolest places to get some neat audio effects just for fun. Go spelunking safely there, folks!)

Only 1 week left to enter!!

1 FREE Booth Recording Session in our professional audio studio!

Perfect for you if you're:
- A Musician wanting to record that perfect take!
- A Video production company needing pro vocals/sound design!
- A Voiceover actor creating your PRO demo!

or- An agency wanting to branch out and try outsourcing to specialists for your sound design

WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO ENTER:
1) Find the original giveaway post (pinned to the top of our page)
2) Like the post, follow+like our page & Tag 2 friends in the comments!
3) Check back at the end of September to see if you're the lucky winner!

Must be a Vancouver Island resident to qualify. Winner must redeem free session before Christmas, 2023.

Good luck, everyone!

It's a crisp autumn morning, a fork falls to the floor.

Grumble grumble, moan. You pick it up.

Why were you stirring your coffee with a fork? Oh, right. It's 6 am on a Thursday and you've got to wake your kids up for school.

You just remember you've gotta get that big new project over to your client, and today's the deadline. Yup... Stirring your coffee with a fork... On a deadline.

But don't worry, you got this. Your sip of coffee invigorates you as you make your way down the hall. It's just another deadline, you got this.

On the way to wake up the kids, you stop in the hallway mirror. Glance at yourself, there you are. Tired eyes, housecoat, and coffee in hand.

But damn, you're good. You're an awesome parent, and a go-getter at doing what you do best. You get s*** done. Flex your arm, there you go. Show your baddest "lion hunting prey" face.

"I would be scared if I were you." You growl to yourself. That was a good face.

Time to slay it on the savannah and show those jackalopes who's boss.

Now, go wake up your monkeys and have an awesome day.

Okay, we'll start.

Booth: Studiobricks

Mic: U87, 416, UA Sphere L22 Modeling Microphone (our personal favourite)

DAW: Protools

Interface: UA Apollo x4

Additional Software: Source-Connect, Isotope RX10, and too many other plugins to count...
..seriously though, we might have a real plugin problem. Just can't get enough of those sonically scrumptious softwares.

🍪

We were playing around with a couple of captions for this post.

Can't decide which we like more, so here's both.

#1 👉 Sometimes a quiet morning hike through the forest is exactly what you need to recharge before a busy week. Every once in a while, you can see as well as feel the difference.

OR

#2 👉 Now THIS is what I call Timber Sound!

…oh come on, you know it's funny.

Setting up your first booth can be overwhelming (but it doesn't have to be).

Here are 5 simple tips you can steal to improve your home audio quality today.

👉 Choose a quiet and relatively small room with minimal external noise and sound reflections. (Pro Tip: Most people's first booth is their closet).

🤙 Do the hang loose symbol with your hand. Congrats! That's how far the mic should be from your mouth.

🎧 Get good headphones. Period. (Another Pro Tip: Shure's SRH440A is a good beginner-friendly choice).

🔕 To get rid of even more noise, use sound-dampening curtains or moving blankets to reduce echo. (Vocal Booth To Go has some quality options)

⚙️ Always be listening for any background noise, echoes, or other issues. Then adjust as needed.

Bonus Tip: Shoot us a message if you have any questions about your setup - we're always happy to help.

What is Victoria's best kept secret?

The Victoria Symphony, of course!

They'll be beginning yet another riveting season this September. To celebrate, we'll be heading there and enjoying a show on the 17th!

Hoping to *note* every memorable moment and stay *sharp* throughout the performance! 🎵🎻
Will you be seeing any concerts this upcoming season? Comment below!

Victoria Symphony

📣 Calling all Victoria creatives, business owners and production companies!

Get 1hr of professional studio time with a dedicated audio engineer for FREE (valued at $115).

All you gotta do are 3 things:

1️⃣ Like this post
2️⃣ Follow our page
3️⃣ Tag 2 friends in the comments

The winner’s name will be drawn at the end of September.

A little about us: We’ve got close to 20 years of experience in the voiceover and creative arts industries. Now, we want to make Victoria’s arts scene even awesomer with our industry-standard studio setup.

Good luck everyone!

*Must be a Vancouver Island resident to qualify
**Winner must redeem free session before Christmas 2023

🏝 Island Living at its finest

Even though we love what we do, we also love unplugging every once in a while to recharge our creative batteries.

Grateful to be on this gorgeous island with such amazing wild places!

-Langford 💎 Alert-

Here's three reasons why the Langford Business Center is our favourite co-working space:

1. Cute dogs every day.
2. They have the best coffee machine in all of Victoria (yes, we're certain).
3. It's a modern & friendly place with an awesome coworking atmosphere.

Oh yeah - the best donuts in the Victoria area are also right downstairs at Rhino Coffee House Langford.

👏 👏 👏

🔥 Good News! Voice Acting class for Foundations is back!

We have a new cohort opening now, starting on Wednesday September 6th on a weekly basis!

👉 Have you been thinking about getting into voiceover as a career, or sharpening up on your skills? Learn the basics of voice acting for exciting opportunities such as animation, commercial, and corporate narration.

🎤Experience a professional sound studio, and receive guidance and teachings from a talented teacher in the industry.

These classes are held in our Langford based world-class audio studio, by On The Mic Training. We're happy to partner with these epic humans to bring you quality education.

🏆Comment below ⬇️ the word "VOICE" to get the link for more info.

🎶We're excited to hear your answers!

Our favourite is the Victoria Conservatory of Music 🎻

And it's because their wide variety of concerts are always sure to please.

What's your favourite venue? Let us know in the comments!

How we can help you make your audios 🔥

As a voice actor, recording from home can be a nice perk of the job… as long as everything is working right.

One of the biggest challenges in running a home studio is the fact that you are not only the talent, but also the engineer. Sometimes it's better to just get into the booth and perform without needing to worry if your levels are right.

Interested in learning more? Comment the word "VOICE" below in the comments, and we'll be in touch!

You CAN'T miss this year's Victoria Fringe Fest.

This is a 13 day long event, filled to the brim with live performances such as dance, comedy, drama, spoken word, kids programming, late-night cabaret and more.

👍Why we're going: Getting into the community and seeing what our local creative artists are up to is something we simply couldn't miss. Blue Jaye Productions, SNAFU Dance, and iuvenis productions are among the many local acts that will be there!

Plus, they'll probably have a popcorn vendor. I love popcorn vendors.

🔥So yeah, you should probably hop on their website and order a couple tickets to some shows! -->

👉Are you going? And if so, is there any particular act you're excited about? Let us know in the comments below!

🍏 A green apple a day keeps the mouth clicks away (and your audio engineer happy).

👉Share this with a friend who wants to get into voice acting or singing!

The Harbour Blues and Roots Festival is coming to town, people!

Get excited for a lineup of local, international, and regional blues and R&B artists in performances on the legendary outdoor stage in Victoria’s Inner Harbour, Ship Point Picnic Site.

This festival will run from August 25th-27th. Just in time to catch one last nibble of summer fun before school comes back in September!

Will you be there?