Joseph•B•Audio
Audio Engineer
Game Audio
Showreel
About
My name is Joseph Bland and I am an audio engineer.
I graduated from Futureworks University (UCLan) with a First Class (Hons) Degree in Audio Engineering and Production.
Over the course, my studies refined my vocational interests from music-based, into game audio and post-production. I learned a great deal from the course and enjoyed collaborating with other creatives to help deliver high quality end results.
I am an AVID certified Pro Tools User and have been using the software regularly since 2014. I am also confident with Adobe Premiere Pro and Logic Pro X.
This website showcases my best work and the things that I am most proud of. Thanks for looking!
Portfolio
Now... Sleep is a psychological-thriller visual novel created by Samuel Bryant.
I provided all the sound for it, excluding two of the pieces of music. Working on the project was extremely satisfying for me as it was the first time I had worked with this medium and I enjoyed the challenge of using sound to elicit various emotions. I was a huge fan of the game, so I felt a responsibility to serve the experience, enhancing what was already there. I recorded the majority of the sounds myself, relying on sample libraries only when I had to. I followed Sam's creative vision and worked to create a fantastic end product.
As a bonus project, I created a video with a fresh audio track for the start of the game including voice acting and more music. I have written a blog post about the creation of this.
Sokobot is a short video game that I made with my friend Tom Cheng. I was responsible for the audio as well as designing the entire game.
I learned the game audio middleware software FMOD Studio for this project and found it incredibly useful and interesting. This was my first time implementing a dynamic soundtrack and FMOD made it easy and simple. I learned the basics of programming so that Tom and I could communicate more effectively. I have uploaded videos to my YouTube channel showcasing the game and the FMOD sessions.
I am working on a video essay detailing this project's development.
This is the opening cutscene to Square's 1995 RPG Chrono Trigger. I have edited existing music tracks to fit the video and recreated every sound effect. This was a brilliantly fun task and I enjoyed recording my friends' voices for the various characters. I used BFXR to generate crunchy sounding effects and combined these with high-fidelity sounds from sample libraries or my own recordings. This resulted in the aural quality of the cinematic feeling in between realistic and cartoonish.
My favourite part is when Ayla flies up and the wind is filtered, this transitions into the steam being released in the laboratory! The spaceship noise is predominantly a contact mic on a starting-up hard drive. I wrote a blog post detailing the development.
Whiskey Sour is a student short film that I worked on with two colleagues: Ted Booth and George Hopkins. Together we did the on-set recording and post-production, including dialogue editing, foley, and effects.
This was an invaluable learning experience and I gleaned a lot of information from these talented film makers, all working in different disciplines to create a coherent whole. I enjoyed collaborating on this project in particular synchronising foley recordings to the visuals. I thrived in the fast-paced environment, providing a high quality product.
This is the Unreal Engine's Strategy Game level that I have produced and implemented audio assets. A large and enjoyable part of this was learning about Blueprinting and how coding can relate to audio. Here's a blog post with details.
This video was a university assignment where we chose a studio in the building and analysed its design, explaining how and why it is configured. The video demonstrates my editing skills and technical understanding. I received 87% for this assignment.
During the COVID-19 Lockdown, I had the pleasure of editing together this video dedicated to the children and families of Wragby Primary School. Staff members sent in short video clips and I edited them to the song 'Count on Me' by Bruno Mars. It was met with much praise and even mentioned on local news outlets!
Testimonials
"Joseph Bland challenges the cornerstones of audio in games through experimental processes and a vigorous passion for the nature of sound's relationship to emotions and expectations"
- Samuel Bryant, Creator of Now... Sleep
"Organised is an understatement. He delivered bright, high energy on set and quality crafted audio in post-production. With such a precise approach, he pays attention to the details that make all the difference. An absolute pleasure having him on the project."
- Hannah Cottrell, Producer on Whiskey Sour
"I'll work with him again... He's nice."
- Chris Allison, Voice Actor