Arri

Arnold & Richter Cine Technik (A&R)
Private
Industry Motion picture equipment
Founded 1917
Headquarters Munich, Germany
Key people
 August Arnold,
Robert Richter, Founders
Products Movie cameras
Film lights
Arrilaser
Arriscan
Revenue Increase€259.7 million EUR (Last Reported 2007)
Number of employees
 1,161 (2007)
Website www.arri.com

The Arri Group is a global supplier of motion picture film equipment.[1]

History

Arri was founded in Munich, Germany as Arnold & Richter Cine Technik in 1917, named after founders August Arnold and Robert Richter. It produces professional motion picture equipment, movie cameras and cinematic lighting equipment.[2] Hermann Simon mentioned this company in his book Hidden Champions of the 21st Century as an example of a "Hidden Champion".[3]

In 1924, Arnold and Richter developed their first film camera,[4] the small and portable Kinarri 35. In 1937, Arri introduced the world's first reflex mirror shutter in the Arriflex 35 camera, an invention of longtime engineer Erich Kästner. This technology employs a rotating mirror that allows a continuous motor to operate the camera while providing parallax-free reflex viewing to the operator,[5] and the ability to focus the image by eye through the viewfinder, much like an SLR camera for still photography. This technology is still employed today in almost every motion picture camera.[6] The first Hollywood film to employ an Arriflex was the 1947 Humphrey Bogart – Lauren Bacall vehicle Dark Passage in 1947.[7] Over the years, more than 17,000 Arriflex 35s were built.

Indian cinematographer Ramachandra Babu with Arriflex 535B camera

At the same time, the company manufactured lightweight and portable cameras for both news and war photography, as well as feature film production in the 1960s which saw an increase in shooting on location rather than in a studio. The introduction of the Arriflex-16ST camera revolutionized the 16 mm format as a cheaper news-gathering and television medium, and the Arriflex-35BL provided a lightweight, quiet alternative to the rather heavy and cumbersome blimped cameras of the time. The headquarters in Munich also expanded to include sound stages, audio dubbing studios, production offices and a lab. Developments in lighting also continued. In 1972, Arri pioneered the development of daylight luminaires with the Arrisonne 2000 W.

While Arri manufactures and designs its own motion picture cameras, lenses are supplied by the Carl Zeiss group and Fujinon, unlike its rival Panavision which manufactures both its own cameras and lenses for exclusive use with each other. Arri's relationship with Panavision is somewhat contradictory, as Panavision is both Arri's largest rival (as an equipment manufacturer) and largest customer (as a camera rental house).

With its Arrilaser, the company expanded into post-production equipment and in 2000 purchased Moviecam to refine its new camera platform Arricam. Arri developed the Arriflex D-21 high definition camera. The camera uses a 35 mm CMOS sensor (instead of CCD) to allow cinematographers to utilize standard 35 mm lenses.[8] This technology was further developed and improved for the Arri Alexa camera. Other recent products of note include the Arriflex 235, a compact 35 mm camera; the Master Prime lens series; the Ultra 8R, an 8 mm rectilinear lens; L-Series LED lights; the Arrimax, an HMI light which can use 18 kW or 12 kW bulbs; and the Arriflex 416, a 16 mm camera optimized for high-end production.

Espionage Allegations

In early 2011, it was alleged that an Arri executive Michael Bravin was unlawfully accessing rival company email accounts and was brought to court by the United States of America.

An excerpt from the judgement "United States of America vs Michael Bravin" from the United States District Court (CR 11 00807) reads:[9]

"While an officer of Arri Camera, Michael Bravin admitted that he intentionally accessed the computer used in interstate commerce belonging to Band Pro in violation of the law. On or about January 19, 2010, in Los Angeles County, California, defendant intentionally accessed the computer used in interstate commerce belonging to Band Pro Film & Digital, Inc. ("Band Pro"), without authorization, and obtained information from that computer. Defendant obtained the user name and password for the Band Pro email account for Amnon Band, President and Chief Executive Officer of Band Pro, during defendant's employment with Band Pro. Defendant resigned from Band Pro in December 2009, and began to work for another company. After resigning from Band Pro, from approximately December 2009, through June 2010, including on January 19, 2010, defendant accessed, without authorization, Amnon Band's email account and thereby read Band's emails. The total loss to Band Pro from defendant's unauthorized accesses totaled at least $5,001."

In September 2011, Michael Bravin entered a guilty plea.[10][11]

In addition to the United States criminal investigation, multiple commercial companies affected by the actions of the Arri executive including Sony, Red Digital Cinema and Band Pro have responded with either statements[12] or lawsuits.[13][14]

Arri has denied knowledge or gains from Michael Bravin's actions.[15]

Awards

Products

Camera lines
  • Kinarri 35 (1924)
  • Kinarri 16 (1928)
  • Arriflex 35 (1937)
  • Arriflex II (1946)
  • Arriflex 16 ST (1952)
  • Arriflex 16 M (1962)
  • Arriflex 16 BL (1965)
  • Arritechno 35 (1971)
  • Arriflex 35 BL (1972)
  • Arriflex 16 SR (1975)
  • Arriflex 35 BL II (1975)
  • Arriflex III (1979)
  • Arriflex 35 BL III (1980)
  • Arriflex 35 III C (1982)
  • Arriflex 35 BL 4 ((1986)
  • Arriflex 35 BL 4S (1986)
  • Arriflex 765 (1989)
  • Arriflex 535 (1990)
  • Arriflex 535 B (1992)
  • Arriflex 435 (1994)
  • Arriflex 435 ES (1995)
  • Arricam (2000)
  • Arriflex 235 (2004)
  • Arriflex D-20/21 (2005)
  • Arriflex 416 (2006)
  • Arri Alexa (2010)
  • Arri Amira (2013)
  • Arri Alexa 65 (2014)
  • Arri Alexa Mini & Arri Alexa SXT (2015)
Film recorder

Arrilaser film recorder is used for film-out.

Film scanner

Arriscan

Arri Medical

In 2013 Arri created Arri Medical a business unit for applying its camera technology for medical purposes.[30] Apart from a medical image documentation service[31] it is developing a fully digital surgical microscope called Arriscope which is currently still in prototype stage.[31]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Arri Group: Introduction
  2. ↑ AMIA 2007
  3. ↑ Simon, Hermann. Hidden Champions of the 21st Century: Success Strategies of Unknown World Market Leaders. London: Springer, 2009. ISBN 978-0-387-98147-5
  4. ↑ Leitner, David (1 October 2010). "Bridging past and present". Filmmaker  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  5. ↑ Birchard, Robert (1 June 2008). "90 years of precision". American Cinematographer  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  6. ↑ Goethe-Institut, "Motion picture technology made in Germany"
  7. ↑ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7119/is_200806/ai_n32283190/
  8. ↑ Arriflex D-20 picture and description
  9. ↑ "'UNITED STATES OF AMERICA vs MICHAEL BRAVIN United States District Court # CR 11 00807 '" (PDF). Deadlinen. 2011-09. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ↑ "'Former ARRI exec pleads guilty to hacking into rival CEO's e-mail account, faces jail time'". Engadget. 2011-09-23.
  11. ↑ "'Guilty Plea Rocks Hollywood Camera Biz'". Deadlinen. 2011-09. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ↑ "'Sony to support reseller in arri legal battle'". Broadcastnow. 2009-04-26.
  13. ↑ "'RED sues ARRIz'". StudioDaily. 2012-01-04.
  14. ↑ "'Bandpro Seeking Damages '". Engadget. 2012-04-15.
  15. ↑ http://variety.com/2012/digital/news/camera-maker-arri-denies-rival-s-espionage-claims-1118050295/
  16. ↑ Session Timeout - Academy Awards® Database - AMPAS
  17. 1 2 Session Timeout - Academy Awards® Database - AMPAS
  18. ↑ Session Timeout - Academy Awards® Database - AMPAS
  19. ↑ Session Timeout - Academy Awards® Database - AMPAS
  20. ↑ Session Timeout - Academy Awards® Database - AMPAS
  21. ↑ Session Timeout - Academy Awards® Database - AMPAS
  22. ↑ Session Timeout - Academy Awards® Database - AMPAS
  23. ↑ Session Timeout - Academy Awards® Database - AMPAS
  24. 1 2 Session Timeout - Academy Awards® Database - AMPAS
  25. ↑ Session Timeout - Academy Awards® Database - AMPAS
  26. ↑ Session Timeout - Academy Awards® Database - AMPAS
  27. ↑ Session Timeout - Academy Awards® Database - AMPAS
  28. ↑ 2008 Scientific & Technical Awards Winners | Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
  29. ↑ 2009 Scientific & Technical Awards Winners | Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
  30. ↑ "Official website of Arri Medical". 10 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  31. 1 2 "Arri Medical Service". 10 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.

External links

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