| Justin E. Bell Developers | |
|---|---|
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| Details | |
| Occupation | Audio designer, composer |
Justin E. Bell is an audio designer, composer and musician. At Obsidian Entertainment, he was the composer for Pillars of Eternity and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, producing the music for both games, including trailers and teasers shown during the Kickstarter campaign and other promotional material.[1][2]
Work on the Pillars of Eternity series[ | ]
Pillars of Eternity[ | ]
The audio team in Pillars was a team of four, comprised of Justin Bell, Mikey Dowling, Adam Lehwald, and Zachary Simon. Due to their relative inexperience with the audio capabilities of the Unity Engine at the time, and the budgetary and time constraints of the crowdfunded project, the team had to make many strategic decisions to maximize the coverage of audio without using a lot of valuable resources.[3]
The sound effects made for the game were a mix of prerecorded libraries and in-house foley, the latter of which often featured the voices of the team. For example, the tell-tale laughs that can be heard in inns were performances by Justin Bell and Zachary Simon.[3]
Justin Bell composed a three track score that was featured in the Project Eternity Kickstarter trailer, in The Road to Eternity "making of" documentary, and a number of other trailers and promotional material for the game. These tracks were performed by a collection of Obsidian employees in-house - as Bell didn't have access to an orchestra at that time. These employees are listed as "Additional Musicians" in the game's credits.[4]
He would continue to arrange and compose the entire soundtrack for the game, with performances by the The Budapest Art Orchestra, and recordings by the East Connection Music Recording Company. The soundtrack, titled Pillars of Eternity (Original Soundtrack), consisted of 26 tracks, and was included with certain editions of the game. He also composed a variety of ambient music and stingers that play throughout the game, some of which were consolidated into the Pillars of Eternity Soundtrack B-Sides. Bell also composed the music for the two-part expansion, The White March - Part I and The White March - Part II, which had it's own release as Pillars of Eternity: The White March (Original Soundtrack). Later, as part of the crowdfunding campaign for Deadfire, he arranged a Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack, which included most of the music that had been released prior, as one larger collection.
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire[ | ]
Justin Bell was the audio lead, audio director, and composer for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. The soundtrack for the game, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (Original Soundtrack), took many of the leitmotifs and reccuring themes from Pillars of Eternity, giving them a twist for the seafaring setting of the Deadfire Archipelago.
He also worked with the German folk music band Frölich Geschray to produce alternate arrangements of some of their tracks for use in the inns and taverns in the game.
When Josh Sawyer came up with the idea of having sea shanties in the game, Bell contacted Nils Brown, who worked on the shanties in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. He coordinated with Brown and was involved throughout the entire production of the shanties, including picking the melodies (which are based on real-world shanties), and producing the recordings. The male vocals were a mix of Obsidian employees, including Sawyer and Bell, and local student vocalists. Later, he worked with Carrie Shaw to produce and record the female vocals.[3]
Avowed[ | ]
He worked on Avowed between 2020 and 2021, prior to his departure from Obsidian Entertainment in June 2021. He preceded Raison Verner, the composer and audio director on the game, however his exact involvement is unknown.
Soundtracks[ | ]
- Pillars of Eternity (Original Soundtrack)
- Pillars of Eternity: The White March (Original Soundtrack)
- Pillars of Eternity (Deluxe Edition) (Original Soundtrack)
- Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (Original Soundtrack)
Employment[ | ]
| From | To | Company | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 2014 | Freelance, self-employed | Sound Designer, Composer |
| August 2007 | August 2008 | WhiteMoon Dreams, Inc. | Sound Designer |
| April 2009 | November 2009 | Pandemic Studios, LLC | Sound Designer |
| January 2010 | June 2021 | Obsidian Entertainment | Sound Designer, Audio Director, Composer |
| June 2021 | April 2023 | Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC | Supervising Sound Designer |
| May 2023 | Present | Santa Monica Studio | Audio Director |
Credits[ | ]
Video games[ | ]
| Year | Title | Credited as/for |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Stunt Cars | Sound Design, Music Composition |
| 2009 | Arcade Darts | Sound Design |
| 2009 | Build 'n Race | Sound Design |
| 2009 | Arcade Air Hockey & Bowling | Sound Design |
| 2009 | The Saboteur | Voice Over Implementation, Localization, Additional Sound Design |
| 2010 | Fallout: New Vegas | Sound Design, Additional Music Composition |
| 2010 | Fallout: New Vegas - Dead Money | Sound Design, Additional Music Composition |
| 2011 | Fallout: New Vegas - Honest Hearts Fallout: New Vegas - Old World Blues Fallout: New Vegas - Lonesome Road |
Additional Sound Design |
| 2011 | Dungeon Siege III | Sound Design |
| 2012 | Stormlands (cancelled) | Sound Design |
| 2014 | South Park: The Stick of Truth | Audio Direction, Sound Design, Additional Music Programming, Additional Music Composition |
| 2015 | Pillars of Eternity | Audio Direction, Music Composition, Sound Design |
| 2015 | Pillars of Eternity: The White March - Part I | Audio Direction, Music Composition, Additional Sound Design |
| 2016 | Pillars of Eternity: The White March - Part II | Audio Direction, Music Composition, Additional Sound Design |
| 2017 | Tyranny | Audio Direction, Music Composition, Additional Sound Design |
| 2017 | Pathfinder: Adventures | Audio Direction, Sound Design, Music Composition |
| 2017 | Armored Warfare | Audio Direction, Additional Music Composition, Sound Design |
| 2018 | Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire Beast of Winter Seeker, Slayer, Survivor The Forgotten Sanctum |
Audio Direction, Music Composition |
| 2019 | The Outer Worlds | Audio Direction, Music Composition, Additional Sound Design |
| 2020 | The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgan | Studio Audio Direction, Music Composition |
| 2021 | The Outer Worlds: Murder on Eridanos | Studio Audio Director, Composer |
| 2021 | Grounded | Audio direction, Music Composition |
| 2021 | Horizon Forbidden West | Sr. Sound Designer on Cinematics Foley Editorial, Sound Design, and Mixing. Tools Creation, Pipeline Improvements, and Team Support |
| 2023 | Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores | |
| 2022 | God of War Ragnarök | Sub-Lead heading up Sound Design for Set Pieces and Scripted Moments (GPMs). |
| 2023 | God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla | |
| 2024 | Avowed |
References
- ↑ post at somethingawful by Josh Sawyer
- ↑ Update #14: The Music of Project Eternity by Justin Bell
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Obsidian [Obsidian] (July 19, 2024). "Road to Avowed w/ Audio Director and Composer Justin E. Bell" - Twitch.
- ↑ Obsidian [Obsidian] (June 28, 2024). "Road to Avowed w/ Gameplay Programmer Brian MacIntosh" - Twitch.