A Q&A with ‘Ghost of Yōtei’ Senior Writer Ariadna Martinez

It’s safe to say that the battle for ‘Game of the Year’ at The Game Awards this December is going to be an all-out blood bath. From 2024 latecomer Indiana Jones and the Great Circle to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and sleeper hits like Blue Prince, the “Oscars of gaming” has never been more competitive. To make the race even tighter, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Ghost of Yōtei has emerged as yet another contender. Nominated in last year’s ‘Most Anticipated Game’ cate...

257 VFS alumni credited at The Game Awards 2025

If winter is dominated by Hollywood awards season, fall undoubtedly belongs to the video game industry. Between The Unity Awards (where alumni-made The Silence After recently picked up VFS’s 5th win for Best Student Project!) and The Game Awards, the end of the year is jam-packed with video game goodness.
At the 11th annual Game Awards on December 11, dozens of games were recognized and rewarded for their impact on the game industry in 2025. As with other prestigious awards ceremonies throughout...

Tyler Burton Smith shares his experience as a Senior Writer on Alan Wake 2

We are truly in the golden age of gaming. Between the countless AAA titles released every year and the ever-expanding game libraries offered by services like Microsoft Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, video games have never been more accessible. If you’re like this gamer, you likely have trouble remembering every last title you’ve played in recent years. But what you’ll never forget is “That One Game” – the one that defined and shaped your love of gaming, likely in your youth (for me, it was Majo...

Vancouver Film School’s Game Design program turns 20!

Time flies when you’re gaming – and even faster when you’re training wave after wave of AAA game designers! In the blink of an eye, Vancouver Film School’s Game Design program has turned 20. Nearly 1,800 Game Design students have walked the halls of VFS, training as game artists, coders, & level designers and building retail-quality games to prove their skills to the industry.
While we blow out the candles and make our wish (for another incredible 20 years!) read about all of the milestones our...

Vancouver Film School – and our students’ games – are officially on Steam!

It’s official. Vancouver Film School is on Steam – the world’s leading platform for PC gaming! Developed by Valve and launched in 2003, Steam has since grown into the largest online marketplace for video games, software, & creative tools, and VFS is beyond proud to be a part of this platform. For developers and creative institutions like Vancouver Film School, having a presence on Steam represents access to one of the most active and influential gaming communities in the world.
Our school’s Stea...

VFS makes Unity Awards history with three student game nominations

The (long-awaited) nominations for The 17th Unity Awards are out, and Vancouver Film School’s talented Game Design and Programming for Games, Web & Mobile have set a new record. For the first time in Unity Awards history, three games from the same school have secured nominations for Best Student Game.
Incorporeal, The Silence After, and Train Wreck – all VFS student-made games – have been nominated for the highest student honour in the game industry, showcasing both the undeniable talent of thes...

David Hayter (THE ‘Solid Snake’!) is coming to VFS

THIS IS NOT A DRILL. David Hayter – THE voice of Metal Gear Solid’s ‘Solid Snake’ and ‘Big Boss' – is coming to Vancouver Film School for a once-in-a-lifetime event. VFS’s Game Operative Bootcamp, happening on-campus from July 25-27, will bring writers & actors together with a game legend to create a cinematic cutscene for video games – powered by cutting-edge motion capture technology!
While the event is SOLD OUT, there will be more In-Production Bootcamps coming soon that you won’t want to ‘g...

VFS achieves Unreal Engine Gold status

Vancouver Film School is officially a Gold Member! No, this isn’t a Starbucks thing or an Austin Powers reference. As of 2025, VFS has officially reached Gold status in Epic Games’ Unreal Engine Academic Partner program! The perks of this partnership are many, including school aid, marketing support, & student support, and we could not be more thrilled by how this will enhance the student experience for current and future VFS Game Design and Programming for Games, Web & Mobile students. 
About t...

VFS & ASUS bring ProArt tech to students

Students at Vancouver Film School are provided with a unique opportunity: join the industry AT school. From our master industry instructors to the cutting-edge technology that is continually updated to match what professionals are using right now, VFS students are fully immersed in the industry while they’re training. 
This is especially true when it comes to the many industry partnerships that VFS has forged over the years. From our partnerships with Adobe to Avid, Final Draft, Native Instrumen...

Capture the magic of K-Pop at VFS’s ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Bootcamp

If you’ve ever dreamed of living the ultimate K-Pop experience – now you can! From Oct. 18–19, Vancouver Film School is bringing the magic of KPop Demon Hunters to our campus through our next In-Production Bootcamp! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for animators, actors, and makeup artists to collaborate with top industry talent – including renowned choreographer Joe Tuliao – on an animated K-Pop dance scene.

903 VFS alumni assemble to shape the Marvel Cinematic Universe across 1876 credits

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a worldwide phenomenon. The highest-grossing film franchise in history, its total worldwide gross currently sits at a staggering $30 billion. Meanwhile, on the small screen, its 20 series have been streamed for billions of hours on Disney+. Whether or not you’re a fan of the superhero genre, one thing’s for certain – Marvel has truly become an entertainment empire. 
At Vancouver Film School, our alumni can be found in all corners of the creative industries, acros...

VFS's 2025 Showreel has dropped! Join the celebration

Each year, Vancouver Film School unleashes its anticipated year-in-review, showcasing the incredible accomplishments of our superstar alumni & faculty who helped shape the creative industries over the past year. These are no small feats – these are BIG WINS. Our Showreel is the quintessential celebration of the VFS community and serves as a powerful reminder of why we create and what is possible when a creative journey starts at VFS.

5 VFS alumni “plug in” to Netflix’s new season of Black Mirror

It’s been nearly 15 years since Charlie Brooker released the freshman season of Black Mirror into the world – delivering a truly mind-bending, modern take on The Twilight Zone. Equal parts hope, terror, and tech, the series has given us some truly unforgettable cinematic moments across its 33 episodes (‘Nosedive’ remains my top pick). With season 7 available in its entirety on Netflix, the series continues in full throttle, offering 6 new episodes of tear-jerkers, jaw-droppers, and even the revi...

VFS Acting alum Adam DiMarco delivers a powerful performance in Overcompensating

If you’re looking for a solid binge-watch this June, Benito Skinner’s Overcompensating is essential Pride month viewing. As a fellow LGBTQ millennial who pursued a post-secondary education around the same time as Skinner, I can confirm that he absolutely nails the atmosphere of college campus life. The hyper-excessiveness, the complete lack of self-awareness, the absolute cringe-worthy choices we made & fashions we rocked – this was the reality we faced as college students who matriculated betwe...

How writer Mohamad el Masri shaped season 2 of AppleTV's Severance

The wait is (nearly) over. AppleTV’s two-time Emmy-winner Severance is returning to our TV screens on January 17, 2025 – just over 1,000 days since the season 1 finale aired; yes, we did the math! Starring Adam Scott, the sci-fi thriller centers around the mysterious Lumon Industries, the… intriguing procedure that its employees undergo, and the double lives they lead as a result. 
At Vancouver Film School, we love to see our alumni get hired onto these big, award-winning industry projects. That...

VFS students join Siobhan Williams for mocap demo

One of the many benefits of training at Vancouver Film School is the unparalleled access our students have to mentorship opportunities. Students from all VFS programs get to learn first-hand from professionals spanning the creative industries who are THE VERY BEST in their field. This past fall, screenwriters from VFS’s Writing for Film, Television & Games program entered Beyond Capture Studios – a 64,000 cubic ft. motion capture volume (and VFS industry partner!) that just-so-happens to be righ...

VFS and Sony Pixomondo to offer virtual production program

Breaking news! Vancouver Film School has officially partnered with Pixomondo (PXO) to provide a new offering to VFS students. Virtual Art Department Content Creation is a 12-week certificate program, developed by Pixomondo, to teach creatives the fundamentals of content creation for virtual production in VFX. The program will start September 15, 2025. 
As with all programs at VFS, the certificate program will be taught by industry professionals with direct experience in Virtual Production. By th...

How 79 VFS alumni helped shape this summer’s biggest hits

Hollywood is officially in the heat of blockbuster season, and this summer’s proving to be one of the biggest yet! From ballerina assassins to dragons, zombies, and creatures from outer space, this summer’s films have provided non-stop spectacle. 
Working behind the scenes to deliver these unforgettable films have been VFS’s talented alumni. To our current tally, 79 talented Vancouver Film School grads have been involved on many of this summer’s biggest blockbusters – from Lilo & Stitch to Super...

Mark Miller and Dark Igloo are re-designing content marketing

Vancouver Film School alumni don't just work for the best companies, they BUILD the best companies! This week we're highlighting Dark Igloo, a creative force in the design industry. Founded in 2008 by Dave Franzese & Mark Miller – a graduate of our Digital Design program – Dark Igloo brands themselves 'A Company That Specializes'. This is a bold statement, but one the New York based content marketing studio has earned the bragging rights for.
Since its inception, Dark Igloo has pushed the bounda...

VFS partners with Invictus Games for mocap collab

When the industry calls, Vancouver Film School answers! In 2023, the Invictus Games Foundation first contacted us to inquire about a collaboration between the 2025 Vancouver Whistler Games and VFS. They’d heard of Vancouver Film School’s reputation of being a leading North American film school and had pitched the idea of VFS collaborating from a film production standpoint. But what Invictus would soon discover is that Vancouver Film School is MORE than a Film School and that there was limitless...

VFS partners with Vancouver Canucks for cinematic video

Vancouver Film School prides itself on its industry partnerships. We work directly with the best of the industry to provide real-world film production training opportunities for our students while they’re at VFS, giving them exposure to and experience with the industry they are training to join. Before they’ve even graduated, our students get to add real, on-set industry experience to their resumes! A great example of this was late last year when Vancouver Film School’s Film Production program s...
Load More