Find Arthur Hendriks @
Official website
SoundCloud
Tell us a little about yourself and what you do for a living?
I am Arthur Hendriks and I’m working as a composer for the Media. This could be anything from scoring for picture or arranging for a play. I work as a composer officially from 2006. Before that (from my youth till 2006) I was a keyboard player and singer in several bands. I started composing since I borrowed my friends Roland digital Sequencer. This goes back into the 80’s. From then till now, music is one part of me. It’s like breathing I suppose.
What is your niche or speciality, that makes you stand out from rest of the audio professionals?
I think it must be my way of composing. Sometimes I start from scratch and see what happens. I have the big picture in mind but let my fingers play the keys and tell me where to go. From that sketch I do the arranging. So usually I start with Piano and the rest will follow. I think everyone has his or her own style, and for me music is the inner self deep inside. The way you listen to this, is the way you express yourself in music.
Can you give us a brief summary of the equipment you use regularly?
My main tool is my Mac Pro 8 core with 20 Gig’s of RAM. I use the M-Audio Keystation Pro 88 with the heavy weighted keys.. I use the Projectmix as my main mixer and audio interface. To trigger the samples and sounds I have on my hard discs I use the Korg PadKontrol. I stream my samples from my Slave PC by LAN network. For monitoring I’m using the KRK VXT 8. Excellent powered nearfields.
What are your go-to plug-ins and software? (virtual instruments, audio processing etc.)
My main DAW is MOTU’s Digital Performer 7. It works very well with lots of virtual instruments. Better than Avid’s Protools 9 which I use for Audio editing and processing. I’m using Vienna Symphonic Library instruments for my strings, percussion, winds and brass. NI Evolve Mutations for percussion beds and FX’s, Cinematic instruments, 8Dio and ToneHammer for weird sounds and choirs and many many more.
When do you find you are most creative?
Early in the morning after my first coffee from 8 till 13:00 hours in the afternoon.
What is your usual process for creating audio content for games, films etc.?
First, watching it from start till end and getting the total feel of it. Then set my markers and sketch it out from start to finish. After that it’s fine-tuning and maybe changing some instruments etc.
Are there any particular secrets to your creativity?
Not that I know. And if I would know I wouldn’t tell you, because it’s no secret anymore. :)
Do you have any audio creation techniques that resulted in something interesting?
The results of unpredictable events during the process. When designing sound you need to look (listen) close of what sound is about. How sound is build and from which elements. Listen like a child that is hearing a sound of noise for the first time.
Any specific “lessons learned” on a project that you could share?
What I’ve learned is, that people intrepid sound and music differently from each other. So understanding what a director means is essential for the overall process. You need to get into the director’s skin and brain to understand you are talking the same language.
Any tips, hints or motivational speeches for the readers?
Listen to your heart, work hard and follow your path, which you setup when you first started this journey. Listen to experts from the field, and look around what’s happening in the business. Read the books that develop your skills.