SOCAN’s Gagan Singh presented a breakout session, The Creative Spark, at the 2022 Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) Amp Conference, held Sept 29 through Oct 9, 2022. Singh, SOCAN’s Creative Executive, Film/TV & Visual Media, used his experience as a songwriter, producer, and screen composer in an intimate seminar – based on his similar Tedx Talk – that took attendees through his strategy for developing ideas quickly and efficiently to find the elusive “creative spark” for music content creation.

SOCAN also supported the Upping the Sonic Game: Live Scoring Masterclass, which showed, by example, how live musicians enhance a score, and featured composers Amritha Vaz, Caleb and Brian Chan, and David Ramos, as well as live performances with members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

VIFF Amp explores every aspect of the intersection of music and sound in visual media, supporting an annual cohort of songwriters, composers, music supervisors, and managers. The event features curated masterclasses, case studies, panel discussions, networking, breakout sessions, and musical showcases, all designed to develop skills and create connections that can accelerate a career in film and television.

Other standout events included the opening keynote, An Evening with Michael Abels, the award-winning Composer of Jordan Peele’s hit movies Nope, Get Out, and Us. It was an evening of insight, creativity, and performances of Abels’ music, featuring the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Music BC’s SOUNDOFF provided a showcase for promising local music-makers, with a focus on song placement and synch licensing in film and TV. Local artists performed live, to connect with music supervisors. Little Destroyer, Meltt, Kimmortal, Dacey, and Mikey Jose played for music supervisors Yvette Metoyer (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Walking Dead); Shannon Murphy (Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Spider-Man: Far From Home); and Natasha Duprey (re-boots of The L Word, Kids In the Hall).

The Art of Composition seminar saw four composers – Vaz, the Chans, Miriam Cutler, and Adrian Ellis –  discussing the challenges of building a career based on personal values and an understanding of one’s role as an artist. From Hip-Hop to TV Scoring offered a conversation between Mato Wayuhi, who scored the hit Reservation Dogs TV series, and Jarrett Martineau, composer, and host of Reclaimed, the first-ever Indigenous music program on CBC Radio and CBC Music. The Art of Music Supervision featured  Metoyer, Murphy, Christine Greene Roe, and Tony Scudellari, Senior VP Television Music, Sony Pictures Entertainment. Another key session was Composing for Docs: The Collaboration of Filmmaker & Composer, with Cutler, Scudellari, and filmmaker Lisa Leeman.