The VFO.

Welcome to the VFO.

Only a short flight from LA, the Vancouver Film Orchestra is an 80-player symphonic ensemble dedicated to recording motion picture scores with the utmost is technical, artistic, and musical precision.

We have recorded more than 50 scores for clients including Universal, Disney, Lionsgate, Netflix, Amazon, PBS, and Discovery, featuring Oscar-winning composers such as Mychael Danna, and Michael Giacchino, stars such as Carol Burnett and Tracey Ullman, and let’s not forget the Pirates from Disney’s Peter Pan & Wendy.

We have also recorded for artists such as Michael Bublé (a Grammy for Crazy Love), Bryan Adams (a Juno nomination for 11), Marinas Trench (double and triple platinum albums), David Foster, as well as live concerts for The Legend of Zelda Tour.

The orchestra members are hand-picked from the Grammy Award-winning Vancouver Symphony, The Vancouver Opera Orchestra and highly skilled freelancers, and the sessions are recorded by the most specialized and dedicated technical team in Canada.

We record at primarily 3 different facilities in Vancouver: The Warehouse features a Neve Air A6630, originally from Air Studios in London, Armoury Studios features an SSL 4072 G+, and CBC Studio One is the largest recording room in Canada, purpose-built for the CBC Radio Orchestra. Vancouver, British Columbia, has a very active film and television production infrastructure.

We have the BC Labour Tax Credits in place for subsidizing crew, labour and musicians. Combined with a low USD to CND exchange, the rates for recording and music services are very competitive.

We handle every step of the scoring process from budgets, contracts, orchestration, music preparation, studio bookings and recording sessions, music mixing and editing, up to the final delivery to the dub stage, providing a hassle-free music experience.

VFO Crew

Hal Beckett

Composer / conductor Hal Beckett has been active in the Vancouver film music scene for over 40 years, scoring well over 500 television episodes and 50 films, and has been recognized with a Canadian Screen Award (Gemini), an Emmy Nomination Call of the Wild, and multiple Leo Awards for his music. He has composed concert work commissions for the Vancouver Symphony, Vancouver Chamber Choir, Victoria Symphony, Kamloops Symphony, and Dance Arts, and has conducted orchestral ensembles for recording artists such as Bryan Adams, Michael Bublé, and Marianas Trench.

He also produced 102 National Anthems for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Hal is the Music Director of the Vancouver Film Orchestra, which, under his baton, performs and records scores for feature films, television, and other media projects. Recent VFO scores include: In God I Trust, The Hollow for SyFy Channel, Super Pupz and Scaredy Cats for Air Bud Productions, Fly Over Canada, the soaring attraction at Canada Place, and Aurora for Canada’s Sesquicentennial, filmed with 360 degree cameras.

Previous clients include Disney, Universal, Gold Circle Films, ABC Television, Infinity Features, Lionsgate Entertainment, CMC Pictures (Hong Kong), and PBS/Nova.

When not composing, Hal takes an active role in the Vancouver arts community – he is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre (CMC) and was the Music Director of the Leo Awards. He is an Adjunct Professor in Film Music at the University of British Columbia, and has lectured at Simon Fraser and Capilano Universities.

In 2016, Hal was honoured with his own star on the B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame StarWalk.

Roger Monk

Roger Monk is a recording engineer, best known for his established yet unique approach using methods and techniques that he first learned in the analogue days.

He has recorded virtually all types of music for dozens of motion pictures, television shows, documentaries and theatre projects. Some highlights include scores for Platoon, The Dirty Dozen, The Haunting in Connecticut, and I’ll Take Manhattan.

For the music industry: 102 National Anthems for the 2010 Olympic Games with the Vancouver Symphony, Anne Murray, Gordon Lightfoot, Olivia Newton-John, Metallica, The Tragically Hip, Marianas Trench.

He received a Grammy™ for his work with Michael Bublé.

Vince Renaud

Vince Renaud a freelance recording engineer with over 40 years of experience in music recording and mixing, audio post production, equipment installation and maintenance, remote recordings, and sound reinforcement.

Notable projects include Dialogue Supervisor/Re-Recording mixer for Neill Blomkamp’s 2015 feature film Chappie, and 2013 feature film Elysium, mixing the scores for Peter Jackson’s 2009 sci-fi blockbuster District 9, Gold Circle’s horror hit The Haunting In Connnecticut, and also all 102 national anthems for the 2010 Winter Olympics, recorded with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, as well as audio editing, mixing and supervision on hundreds of hours of television.