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VIFF Amp

Nurturing Careers in Music for Media | Oct 6 – Oct 11, 2025

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VIFF Amp’s Music in Media Summit continues to nurture, educate and champion emerging and established music professionals, including composers, songwriters and music entrepreneurs, with a strong emphasis on supporting those from marginalized or underrepresented communities.

This year, the summit will offer creative insights, mentorship and unique career development opportunities in the form of feature panels, workshops, 1:1 dialogues, interactive sessions and more from international experts in the Music for Media space, including:

  • Music supervisor Heather Gardner, known for her work on Robyn Hood, Acting Good and Hell of a Summer, and as Head of Music Supervision + Licensing at Vapor Music and Long Division

  • Production Executive at Sony Pictures Television, Tammy Glover, known for her work as former VP at Warner Bros. She is also an accomplished musician and composer, recently bringing Wendy, My Darling to The Edinburgh Fringe Festival

  • Director, Licensing & Creative at Anthem Music, Dante Berardi Jr., known for supporting artists like Rush, and for guiding emerging talent across the Canadian music industry

Check out some of our other guests below!

This year’s Amp cohort will be selected through a competitive, juried application process. Those chosen will receive free admission to the summit, along with a stipend to support their involvement and professional development, encouraging diverse participation and engagement.

How do I access VIFF Amp?

If you are an industry professional with an interest in music and its role in media, you can register for an Artist & Industry Pass and get access to keynotes and panels at VIFF Amp’s Music in Media Summit.

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Funded by

Creative BC logo

MusicBC logo

RBC Foundation logo

Supported by

SOCAN logo

Music in Media Summit 2025

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Stages-to-Screens

In this edition of Stages-to-Screens, we are focusing on music artists who have made the transition to allied entertainment roles: studio executives, actors, showrunners, and how the experience of working in music helped lay the foundation for a broader experience in media.

Moderator: Dante Berardi Jr.

With support from

MusicBC logo

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Art of Music Supervision in Documentary

Music supervision for documentary presents unique challenges. This lively conversation will explore how music supervisors work with directors and composers to shape narrative — while navigating tight budgets and the unique demands of the documentary form.

Featured Speakers: Burt Blackarach, Paty Carerra
Moderator: Tony Scudellari

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Music BC's SOUNDOFF

SOUNDOFF is a platform for showcasing our most promising local musicians, focusing on song placement and sync licensing in film and TV. Local artists perform their songs in front of music supervisors at this live event.

Featured Music Supervisors: Burt Blackarach, Laura Nikolic, Heather Gardner

Presented by

MusicBC logo

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Building Music Experiences that Players Remember

The music-gaming relationship has evolved far beyond “in-game radio.” Dive into real-world case studies and learn how developers and music rightsholders are teaming up, building co-branded activations and integrated player experiences that go beyond traditional sync placement.

Featured Speakers: Mike Ault, Heather Johnson
Moderator: Daniel Turcotte

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Pixar’s ONWARD: The Story Behind the Score with the Danna Brothers

Presented by SOCAN, the Danna Brothers explain the strange symmetry between the plot of Onward (2020) and their own lives, while exhibiting the techniques of thematic composition and how powerful it can be to help tell a story, especially in animation.

Featured Speakers: Mychael and Jeff Danna

Presented by

SOCAN logo

Program Curators

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Amp is curated by Tony Scudellari and Rob Calder. Tony oversees all aspects of music for Sony Pictures Television programming, and is also the lead creative executive for the division’s music releases. Rob has been an active part of Canada’s creative industries for over 20 years. He is known for building impactful events and growing audiences and community.

Composer Filmmaker Accelerator

Where Music Meets Film: A Premier Program for Emerging Composers

This year, 12 talented composers will collaborate with four established filmmakers through virtual sessions and an in-person recording and mixing session at Vancouver’s renowned The Warehouse Studios. Their compositions will be performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Over six weeks, participants will develop symphonic scores through collaboration with the filmmakers and mentorship from industry experts, focusing on both traditional and innovative scoring techniques. The CFA remains a pivotal program for advancing careers for emerging talent, driving forward the future of music in film.

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Tune into This Year's Cohort

Featured Guests

Adrian Ellis headshot

Adrian Ellis

Adrian is a Canadian Screen Music Award winner and 4-time CSA nominee known for concept-driven scores, including Last Call (recorded live in a single take), The Scarehouse (NBC Universal) and The Strings (Shudder). His inventive approach often uses unconventional sounds — like broken pianos and power saws — documented in The Music of Madness. His TV credits include Secret Nazi Ruins, Daily Planet and CFL broadcasts. He serves as Chair of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada.

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Ally Newman headshot

Ally Newman

Allyson Newman is an Emmy-nominated composer whose work includes The L Word: Generation Q (Showtime), Partner Track (Netflix), and First Day (Hulu). She’s received nominations from the SCL, HMMA, and ISFMF. In 2024, she was selected for the Spot the Composer program at Cannes. Recent scores include Diane Von Furstenberg: Women in Charge (Hulu) and Arrest the Midwife (SXSW 2025). Allyson is also co-president of the Alliance for Women Film Composers.

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Amanda Cawley

Amanda Cawley is an award-winning orchestral composer known for creating fantastical scores for film, television and games. In 2024, she won Canadian Screen Music Awards for Ostinato and Siegebreaker, and received the SOCAN Foundation’s Emerging Screen Composer Award. Her credits include 104 episodes of Fireman Sam and 20 of Ageless Gardens. Amanda’s melodic, narrative-driven style brings characters and worlds to life with carefully crafted instrumentation and soundscapes.

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Burt Blackarach headshot

Burt Blackarach

Burt Blackarach is a Grammy-winning engineer, DJ, producer, composer, and music supervisor, excelling in both roles on major productions. Based in Los Angeles, he’s worked on The Wonder Years (ABC) and Oscar-shortlisted Stamped From The Beginning (Netflix), earning multiple NAACP Image Award nominations. A longtime collaborator with Chuck D, he’s produced for Method Man, Andre 3000, and more, and performed with Prince, Jay-Z, and Nas — bridging worlds from turntables to television.

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Daniel Turcotte

Monstercat, founded in 2011 in Waterloo, Canada, is one of electronic music’s leading independent labels, representing artists like Marshmello, Kaskade, DIESEL (Shaquille O’Neal), WHIPPED CREAM, and Sullivan King. With teams in Vancouver, Toronto, and Los Angeles, the label released over 350 tracks in 2024, partners with major games like Fortnite and Rocket League, and appears at top festivals worldwide. Monstercat proves that independent labels can shape and redefine the music industry.

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Dante Berardi Jr headshot

Dante Berardi Jr

Anthem Music Group, headquartered in Toronto, is a leading independent music company with a vast catalog and a blend of major-label resources and indie agility. As Publishing and Sync Creative lead in Canada, he supports writers like Chantal Kreviazuk and Steve Molella through A&R, sessions, and placements. Highlights include Stompin’ Tom Connors for Tim Horton’s Superbowl ads and Rush for Molson’s Canadian Pride campaign.

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Eric Johnson

Eric David Johnson (aka DJ Bunny Ears) is a multi-award-winning music and branding specialist, producer, music supervisor, and DJ. With over two decades in advertising, he’s held executive roles at agencies like Wieden+Kennedy, DDB, and McCann. Now at UnitedMasters, he continues to lead music-driven creative. A member of The Recording Academy and longtime DJ, Eric also directs music videos, advises the ARChive of Contemporary Music, and speaks regularly at global industry events.

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Heather Gardner headshot

Heather Gardner

As Head of Music Supervision + Licensing at Vapor Music/Long Division, Heather’s work spans TV, film and advertising, including global Top 10 Netflix hit BET (adapted from manga Kakegurui), season 2 of Mistletoe Murders (Hallmark), Hell of a Summer (directed by Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk) and former MuchMusic VJ Sook-Yin Lee’s Paying For It.

Heather is a multi-Canadian Sync Award winner, and President of the Guild of Music Supervisors, Canada.

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Heather Johnson headshot

Heather Johnson

Since 2019, Heather has worked at the intersection of tech, gaming, and music, first as “Chief Everything Officer” at Ninety9Lives, a label for content-creator-safe music. In 2021, she joined A2IM’s board to bridge gaps between these industries while protecting creatives’ rights. Now at Sub Pop, she continues this work while championing artists on the iconic Seattle label. She also serves as Co-Chair of Women in Music’s Seattle Chapter.

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Jeff & Mychael Danna joint headshot

Jeff & Mychael Danna

Brothers Mychael and Jeff Danna are award-winning composers known for blending orchestral music with global traditions. Mychael won an Oscar and Golden Globe for Life of Pi, with other credits including Capote, Moneyball, and Where the Crawdads Sing. Jeff’s work includes The Boondock Saints, Silent Hill, and Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Together, they’ve scored The Breadwinner, The Addams Family films, and Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur and Onward, collaborating with directors like Ang Lee and Terry Gilliam.

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Laura Nikolic

As Head of Film, TV & Animation at PIRATE SOUND, Laura leads music teams across platforms. A seasoned Music Supervisor, Producer and Composer, she shaped the musical identity of Barney’s World and helmed music for four seasons of Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go! She’s known for her creative precision, talent for music-driven storytelling and ability to manage complex productions — all grounded in her self-taught, multi-instrumentalist roots and passion for collaboration.

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Mike Ault

At Riot Games, Mike focuses on designing and optimizing how music teams operate within its multifaceted music ecosystem — spanning publishing assets, composition, global esports anthems, virtual artists, and soundtracks. Previously, he spent over a decade at Psyonix and Epic Games, shaping the sound and partnerships behind Rocket League, and co-founded the Same Same But Different music festival, bridging AAA game development, live events, and creative leadership.

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Paty Carrera headshot

Paty Carrera

Paty Carrera has worked extensively in music supervision, consulting, and licensing for productions on Netflix, Amazon, Disney, and HBO. President of the Spanish Speaking Music Supervision Association (ASM), she safeguards the rights of artists and collaborates with producer Phil Vinall, managing artists like Beto Cuevas and Ely Guerra. She has led workshops, panels, and educational programs in countries including Colombia, Chile, Poland, Canada, Spain, and Mexico, staying attuned to industry innovations and trends.

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Robert Kraft

Robert Kraft is an award-winning songwriter, composer and producer and former President of Music at 20th Century Fox, where he oversaw scores for Titanic, Moulin Rouge! and Slumdog Millionaire. He co-produced The Little Mermaid soundtrack, including “Under the Sea”, and founded Kraftbox Entertainment, which produced the top-charting SCORE: A Film Music Documentary. Current projects include Jazz Ambassadors with Quincy Jones and Ray Charles: Keep My Name Alive with Frank Marshall.

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Ryan Clark

Ryan Clark is the founder of Brace Yourself Games and designer of award winning games such as Crypt of the NecroDancer, Cadence of Hyrule, and many more. A veteran indie game developer, Ryan has been making games professionally since 2004 and as a hobby since 1984. Ryan is also the co-founder of a charity in the education space, Claren Academy.

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Tammy Glover

Tammy Glover is SVP of Production at Sony Pictures Television and former VP at Warner Bros. Discovery, overseeing physical production for TNT, tbs and TruTV. A former Television Academy Governor, she’s also an accomplished musician and composer. She toured globally with Sparks, appears in The Sparks Brothers documentary, and recently debuted her original musical Wendy, My Darling — starring Jon Cryer and Busy Philipps — at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

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Past Highlights

Success Stories

Brian & Caleb Chan combined headshot

Chan Brothers

Vancouver composers Brian and Caleb Chan attended VIFF Amp in 2020, where they met Frank Garcia from DreamWorks, as part of an animation panel. This resulted in them landing two animated series. In 2021, Arbel Bedak of Spectra Creative Agency met the duo and chose to represent them. Through Tony Scudellari and Sony Pictures Television, the Chan brothers were selected to score two series: Panhandle, produced by Nick Stoller (Bros, Neighbors), and Alert, produced by Carla Kettner (Bones, The Blacklist).

DeAndre James Allen-Toole & Madison Anglin headshot collage

DeAndre James Allen-Toole & Madison Anglin

Issa Rae’s label and music supervision company, Raedio, is in discussions with both CFA graduates for potential scoring opportunities, a direct result of the orchestral reels created as part of the CFA program.

Mina Samy headshot

Mina Samy

One of last year’s CFA composers reports he had “added credibility and confidence” from taking part. This resulted in him landing his first composing project with Academy Award-winning UK studio Slick Films. Mina also signed a contract with Oticons, an agency for film composers, after the head of the agency heard his music and saw his CFA reel.

Bukola

A local singer songwriter who participated in VIFF Amp in 2020 and 2021 drew high praise from invited international music supervisors and impressed the ear of composer Natalie Holt. Holt, an accomplished composer on Marvel and Star Wars projects, was a 2021 speaker at Amp, and heard Bukola at the SOUNDOFF showcase. Holt subsequently hired Bukola to do original vocals for the film The Princess.

What Attendees are Saying

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I took away nuggets of wisdom from every session I attended…  all of the panelists and speakers were very open to sharing info on their approach and how indie musicians and composers can make headway in the sync world.

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If you are a composer or a songwriter looking to write for TV or Film, this is the event to attend. Easily my favourite industry event of the year!

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I have wanted to go into film composition for some time and it felt impossible to even try the first steps. With Amp, a new world has opened for me.