Mike Wyeld

Biography

Mike Wyeld is a Royal Television Society Award–winning sound designer and lecturer across the Screen School in both Film Practice and Film & Television at London College of Communication (LCC), UAL. Recognised for his practice-based research, high-profile exhibitions, externally funded projects and written work, his interdisciplinary practice traverses sound art, ecological listening, queer theory, and immersive media—firmly situating media-based enquiry within socially and environmentally engaged contexts.

Academic and Professional Trajectory

As part of his strategic leadership at LCC, Mike conceived and led a pioneering partnership with Channel 4 Television, establishing a flagship work-based learning programme that embeds UAL students directly within the broadcaster—a key player in the UK’s screen industries. What began as a pilot supporting just four students has grown into a recurring industry-facing scheme, placing annual undergraduate cohorts into introductory roles at Channel 4. The initiative bridges the academic–industry divide and exemplifies UAL’s commitment to employability and real-world learning, particularly for those entering a precarious media landscape.

In parallel, Mike created and rolled out a transformative student funding initiative aligned with UAL’s Social Purpose strategy. Titled “Encountering Change: New Student Funding for Social Justice,” the programme launched within the BA Film and Television course to empower students working at the intersection of creative practice and equity. Developed with the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) team at LCC, the fund has since expanded to all schools within the College, affirming its institutional significance and cross-disciplinary impact.

The fund supports students developing original work that advances themes of social justice, community care, and cultural change. Its inaugural recipient, Outsiders, exemplified its ethos—winning Best Short Format Documentary at the 2025 Royal Television Society Student Awards. The project’s success underscores both the cultural impact and sectoral reach of the fund, establishing it as a flagship model for equity-driven creative funding in higher education.

Together, these initiatives reflect Mike’s ability to design and deliver structural interventions that reshape opportunity, strengthen industry engagement, and embed justice, access, and creativity into UAL’s institutional DNA.

Artistic Research & Practice

Mike’s sound work has been broadcast on Channel 4, BBC, Adult Swim, and many others. He has created commercial sound and visual works for A-list companies including Shell, McKinsey, and Booz Allen Hamilton. He has been published by major publishers including Cambridge, Harper Collins and Bloomsbury. He is a two-time nominee for the Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE) Golden Reel Awards, and has received multiple Royal Television Society nominations—including a win. His work has screened in Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival among dozens of others, and he has collaborated with prominent figures across film and television. Within UAL, he leads sound design education across undergraduate programmes in the Screen School, including BA Film and Television and BA Film Practice, mentoring students in practice-led methodologies, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary innovation.

As a BAFTA Scholar at the National Film and Television School’s prestigious M.A. programme, Mike developed expertise in post-production workflows and narrative sound craft, training under some of the UK’s most influential screen practitioners.
He is co-founder of the LOVED Collective—a globally impactful and funded creative initiative rooted in queer social and ecological sensibilities. The project explores masculinity, identity, and geological metaphors of erosion. Its commissioned residencies—including at QUEER UP NORTH (partially funded by the Canada Council for the Arts)—position Mike’s work within post-colonial and ecological frames. His solo and collaborative practice critiques acoustic politics, structures of listening and environmental transformation. “Nature is going quiet, while the world rumbles on.”

Exhibitions & Public Engagement

Mike’s sound installations and films have featured in international galleries including the Victoria & Albert Museum (London), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), and Sonar D (Barcelona) among many others. Alongside institutional shows, he performs and exhibits at festivals including the seminal Trans and Non Binary festival Transfabulous and FLARE (BFI’s flagship queer film festival), engaging audiences through queerness, and creative listening.

Funded Projects & Publications

Mike contributes to externally funded initiatives across practice-based media and cultural infrastructure. His participation within UAL research clusters—including the Subcultures Interest Group, Sonic–Screen Lab and CRiSAP—helps advance public engagement and thinking strategy. Key recent publications have thought about the ongoing problem of class in the creative industries including “Poor Sound Design: Guitars as a Gateway to Thinking Sonically” (Vexer Verlag, 2024) and “Handcuffed to Andy Warhol, the Queer writings of Rob Halford of Judas Priest” (Bloomsbury, 2025), both of which foreground DIY, working class, queer, and inclusive pedagogies.

Awards & Recognition

- MPSE Golden Reel nominations (x2) for sound editing/design
- Royal Television Society award winner (1) and nominee (x3)
- Collaboration with NUGEN Audio and Royal College of Art on curriculum innovation and loudness compliance in audio education—supporting A.I. enhanced software tools for broadcast and cinema

Collaboration & Vision

Mike works across UAL with colleagues in film and television, sound arts, design, and queer thinking. His international engagements include residencies, symposia, and gallery partnerships exploring queer identity, social justice and soundscape awareness. Looking ahead, he aims to secure funded projects linking queer aging, archives, and community-engaged exhibition platforms, nurturing inclusive, rigorous research that challenges disciplinary boundaries.