SOCAN representatives took part in various musical activities – including panels, one-on-one sessions and a dinner – during the Atlantic Film Festival, held Sept. 13-22, 2008, in Halifax.

On Wednesday, Sept. 17, SOCAN sponsored a day-long event, “Making Music for Film: A Composition Master Class,” led by composer Andrew Lockington. More than 65 musicians attended the course from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Nova Scotia Community College. During the last portion of the class, Lockington was joined by Michael McGowan, director of the movie One Week, which was being screened during the festival. (He also directed the movie Saint Ralph.)

The next day, SOCAN’s Los Angeles representative Bob Hunka moderated a panel of film music supervisors, entitled "Easy Riders, Raging Songs: Has Music Supervision Saved the Music Business?" The core of the discussion was how music supervisors may have replaced the traditional role of record company A & R reps, and how music supervisors’ decisions have made a strong impact in the success of some artists due to their song placements.

The same night, Hunka, along with SOCAN representatives Tim Hardy and Paul Stillo, hosted a small, informal dinner for some SOCAN members in attendance at the festival, including SOCAN board members Jodie Ferneyhough, of Universal Music Publishing Canada and Paul Cram of Upstream Music; Darren Fung from the Guild of Canadian Film Composers; Don Quarles, Executive Director of the Songwriters Association of Canada: and Music New Brunswick Executive Director Jolene Keats.

On Sept. 18 and 19, Stillo, Ferneyhough, Hunka and several music supervisors met with various individual SOCAN members to offer them career advice and useful information during the festival’s “Inspired Music – One on One” meetings. These are face-to-face meetings between established film music industry personnel and aspiring musicians who want to work (or are already working) in the business.