Meet Alexander Arntzen | Film Composer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alexander Arntzen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexander, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
My Work/Life balance has certainly shifted in different directions over the years. I’ve always held a high priority on making sure I meet whatever deadlines I am under at the moment. For a long time I didn’t have an exact schedule. It was just a matter of getting done what clearly needed to get done and then the rest of my life fell in line. Then I got big into using Google Calendar and once I could actually SEE what I was really doing with my day (not as productive as I thought), I started enacting a pretty strict schedule of when I worked which actually allowed me to feel more free when I wanted to relax or be with friends and family. These days, I have sort of doubled down on work. I am finding the more I give to it, the more it gives back to me. I’m not sure this will be permanent, but at the moment I am happy with the lack of balance, but I still always find time to decompress. Being freelance, you’ll always have the option to be as busy as you want, or have nothing “technically” to do that day. But it usually balances out at some point along the timeline in the long run, which I’m totally happy about!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a film composer. Which means that I write the music you hear on films and tv. It’s a very tricky business to get into, let alone be successful at. I’m still striving everyday to be better at what I do. I think one thing that sets me apart from others is that I love the visual medium as much if not more than music itself. So I am always thinking about the whole piece of art and not just the role that I play in it. I got where I am today by being, as one person said about me, being a “laster guided rocket”. I am constantly trying to meet new talented filmmakers who share my vision of what movies and tv can be. The trickiest thing about being a film composer is that you don’t create the whole product. You are someone who adds value to the greater whole. So it’s all about connecting with others, in this case filmmakers, who make film and tv projects that you think you can add something special to in a way no one else can through music.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There’s so many people that have had a huge impact on my life to date. First and foremost my parents. They have been from the very start 100% supportive of my career even when they knew it was going to be a tough one having been in the entertainment industry a long time ago. Obviously, the filmmakers who I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with all these years, especially those who took a chance on me early on. They saw something in my music and allowed me to begin expressing my abilities on their films. That gave me such confidence to keep going and feeling like I belonged in this space. Without that, I’m not sure where I would be.

Website: www.alexanderarntzen.com

Instagram: alexanderarntzen