The Arri Group () is a German manufacturer of motion picture film equipment. Based in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, the company was founded in 1917. It produces professional motion picture cameras, lenses, lighting and post-production equipment. Hermann Simon mentioned this company in his book ''Hidden Champions of the 21st Century'' as an example of a " hidden champion". The

Arri Alexa The Arri Alexa (stylised as ΛLEXΛ) is a digital motion picture camera system developed by Arri. First introduced in April 2010, the camera was Arri's first major transition into digital cinematography after previous efforts such as the Arrif ...

camera system was used to film Academy Award winners for Best Cinematography including ''

Hugo Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on ...

'', ''

Life of Pi ''Life of Pi'' is a Canadian philosophical novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist is Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, India who explores issues of spirituality and metaphysics from an early age. He ...

'', ''

Gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...

'', '' Birdman'', '' The Revenant'' and ''

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...

''.

History

Early history

Arri was founded in Munich, Germany on 12 September 1917 by August Arnold and Robert Richter as Arnold & Richter Cine Technik. The acronym ''Arri'' was derived from the initial two letters of the founders' surnames, ''Ar''nold and ''Ri''chter. In 1924, Arnold and Richter developed their first film camera, the small and portable Kinarri 35. In 1937, Arri introduced the world's first reflex mirror shutter in the

Arriflex 35 The Arriflex 35, released by Arri in 1937, was the first reflex 35mm production motion picture camera. Function It was built around the spinning reflex twin-bladed "butterfly" mirror shutter designed by Erich Kästner, chief engineer at Arnold & ...

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, and the ability to focus the image by eye through the viewfinder, much like an SLR camera for photography. The reflex design was subsequently used in almost every professional motion picture film camera and is still used in the Arri Alexa Studio digital camera. The first Hollywood film to employ an Arriflex was the 1947 Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall film ''

Dark Passage ''Dark Passage'' (1946) is a crime novel by David Goodis. It was the basis for the 1947 film noir of the same name. The film implements extensive use of the first-person camera technique. Plot Vincent Parry, wrongly convicted of murdering hi ...

'' in 1947. Over the years, more than 17,000 Arriflex 35s were built. The design was recognized with two Scientific and Technical Academy Awards in 1966 and 1982. Ramachandra Babu

1950–1989

Stafford Air & Space Museum, Weatherford, OK, US (59)

In 1952, Arri introduced the

Arriflex 16ST The Arriflex 16ST, also Arriflex 16S, is a 16mm MOS production motion picture camera released in 1952 by ARRI. The camera utilizes a voltage of 8.4 volts DC Function Like earlier models, the ARRI 16ST was built around the spinning reflex twin-b ...

, the first professional 16mm camera with a reflex viewing system. In 1965, a self-blimped 16mm camera was released: the Arriflex 16BL. The

Arriflex 35BL The Arriflex 35BL is a 35mm motion picture camera released by ARRI in 1972. Function The Arriflex 35BL was the first silent 35mm camera (BL stands for blimped). It uses a fixed butterfly reflex shutter, which gave the cinematographer an exact ...

followed in 1972 as a lightweight, quiet alternative to the rather heavy and cumbersome blimped cameras of the time. Also in 1972, Arri pioneered the development of daylight luminaires with the Arrisonne 2000 W. The

Arriflex 16SR The Arriflex 16SR is a motion picture camera product line created by Arri, introduced in 1975. This 16SR camera series is designed for 16 mm filmmaking in Standard 16 format. 'SR' Stands for Silent Reflex. In 1982, Arri released the 16SR2, for i ...

, launched in 1975, featured a redesigned viewfinder with a through-the-lens light meter. The

Arriflex 765 The Arriflex 765 is a 65 mm movie camera created by Arri in 1989. History The camera was conceptualized by Otto Blaschek, who had already engineered the Arriflex 35BL and the 35 III, for which he won the "Scientific and Engineering Award" of th ...

, a 65mm camera, was released in 1989, partly in response to the growing industry demand for 70mm release prints.

1990–2009

The

Arriflex 535 The Arriflex 535 is a movie camera product line created by Arri The Arri Group () is a German manufacturer of motion picture film equipment. Based in Munich, the company was founded in 1917. It produces professional motion picture cameras, l ...

camera was released in 1990, followed by the Arriflex 535B and the Arriflex 16SR 3 in 1992. The

Arriflex 435 The Arriflex 435 is a movie camera product line created by Arri in 1995 to replace the Arriflex 35III line. The number reflects its position as a successor camera to the Arri III and the fact that it is designed for 35 mm film. The 435 cameras ...

was released in 1994. Arri partnered with

Carl Zeiss AG Carl Zeiss AG (), branded as ZEISS, is a German manufacturer of optical systems and optoelectronics, founded in Jena, Germany in 1846 by optician Carl Zeiss. Together with Ernst Abbe (joined 1866) and Otto Schott (joined 1884) he laid the f ...

in order to develop and manufacture advanced lenses for the motion picture industry. In 1998, Arri released the Ultra Prime lenses. Development of the Arrilaser, a postproduction film recorder, began in 1997 and it was released for beta testing in 1998. In 2000, Arri purchased the company

Moviecam Moviecam is a Film, motion picture equipment company specializing in movie camera systems for 35mm movie film, 35 mm film. History Originally started in Vienna, Austria as an in-house project of Fritz Gabriel Bauer and Walter Kindler's Moviegro ...

and developed

Arricam Arricam is a 35 mm movie camera line manufactured by Arri. Description It is Arri's flagship sync-sound camera line, replacing the Arriflex 535 line. The design was developed by Fritz Gabriel Bauer and Walter Trauninger, and is heavily deriv ...

, a 35mm camera platform. In 2003, Arri developed its first digital camera, the Arriflex D-20, which later evolved into the D-21. The camera used a 35mm CMOS sensor (instead of CCD) and allowed cinematographers to utilize standard 35mm lenses. This technology was further developed and improved for the

camera. Arri revealed its Arriscan prototype during IBC 2003. The 16mm/35mm film scanner worked alongside the Arrilaser to support the increasingly popular digital intermediate route through postproduction. Later, the Arriscan became a widely used tool for film restoration work and was recognized with a Scientific and Engineering Academy Award in 2009. Arri released the Master Prime lenses in 2005, designed for a super-fast aperture of T1.3 without breathing and distortion. In 2007, the Master Prime 14mm and 150mm lenses were released. The Arrilaser 2 was released in 2009, with new client-server architecture and speeds twice as fast as the original model. In 2011, the Arrilaser was recognized with an Academy Award of Merit.

2010–present

In 2010, the

camera was released. The camera had the ability to compress 1080p footage to ProRes QuickTime formats and allowed direct-to-edit workflows. Later models added to the range included the Alexa Plus, Alexa Studio and Alexa M, which was designed to get the camera closer to the action. The Alexa Plus 4:3, like the Alexa Studio, allowed the full area of the sensor to be used with

anamorphic Anamorphic format is the cinematography technique of shooting a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film or other visual recording media with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio. It also refers to the projection format in which a distorted ...

lenses. The 16mm Arriflex 416 camera and Ultra Prime 16 lenses were used in the filming of the 2010 film '' Black Swan''. Arri announced a strategic partnership with Zeiss and Fujinon in 2010 to create new lenses that incorporated enhanced electronic lens data transfer in order to simplify visual effects workflows in postproduction. The Arri/Fujinon Alura Zooms were released that same year, while the Arri/Zeiss Master

Anamorphic Anamorphic format is the cinematography technique of shooting a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film or other visual recording media with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio. It also refers to the projection format in which a distorted ...

lens series was released in 2012. In 2013, Arri created ''Arri Medical'', a business unit that utilizes its camera technology for medical purposes. Apart from a medical imaging documentation service, it has developed a fully digital 3D surgical microscope called the Arriscope. The Arri Alexa 65, released in 2014, was used in the filming of '' The Revenant'' as well as '' Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation'' and '' Star Wars: Rogue One''. The Arri Amira camera was also released in 2014. In 2015, four of the five nominees for the cinematography category of the Academy Awards were filmed using the Arri Alexa. Arri's subsidiary postproduction and creative services company, Arri Film & TV, was renamed Arri Media in 2015 as part of a company restructuring. At NAB 2015, the SkyPanel LED fixtures were introduced by Arri. The SC60 and the SC30 have a full color tunable LED option. In April 2016, Arri acquired the Artemis camera stabilizer systems developed by Curt O. Schaller from

Sachtler Sachtler is a manufacturer of film and video camera support products and reporter lighting equipment. The company was founded in 1958 and was bought by the United Kingdom's Vitec Group (now Videndum) in 1995. History Wendelin Sachtler was a cine ...

/ Vitec Videocom. As a result, Arri became the exclusive seller of Artemis Trinity stabilizers. At NAB 2016, Arri unveiled its version of the Trinity system.

Awards

Products

;Camera lines *

Kinarri 35 The Kinarri 35 was the ARRI's first 35mm camera, released in 1924. Function This was Arri's first camera, constructed by August Arnold. The Kinarri 35 was a hand cranked 35mm camera, in a round aluminum camera body, which was inspired by the Ake ...

(1924) *

Kinarri 16 The Kinarri 16 was the ARRI's first 16mm camera, released in 1928. Function The Kinarri 16 was first released as a hand cranked version, in a round camera body. The crank was on the right side and the framerate was obviously completely manually ...

(1928) *

(1937) *

Arriflex 35 II The Arriflex 35, released by Arri in 1937, was the first reflex 35mm production motion picture camera. Function It was built around the spinning reflex twin-bladed "butterfly" mirror shutter designed by Erich Kästner (camera designer), Erich Kä ...

(1946) *

(1952) * Arriflex 16M (1960) *

Arriflex 35 IIC The Arriflex 35, released by Arri in 1937, was the first reflex 35mm production motion picture camera. Function It was built around the spinning reflex twin-bladed "butterfly" mirror shutter designed by Erich Kästner, chief engineer at Arnold ...

(1964) * Arriflex 16BL (1965) * Arritechno 35 (1970) *

(1972) *

(1975) *

Arriflex 35BL II The Arriflex 35BL is a 35mm motion picture camera released by ARRI in 1972. Function The Arriflex 35BL was the first silent 35mm camera (BL stands for blimped). It uses a fixed butterfly reflex shutter, which gave the cinematographer an exac ...

(1975) * Arriflex 35BL III (1980) * Arriflex 35 IIIC (1982) * Arriflex 16SR2 (1982) * Arriflex 35BL 4 (1986) *

Arriflex 35BL 4S The Arriflex 35BL is a 35mm motion picture camera released by ARRI in 1972. Function The Arriflex 35BL was the first silent 35mm camera (BL stands for blimped). It uses a fixed butterfly reflex shutter, which gave the cinematographer an exac ...

(1988) *

(1989) *

(1990) * Arriflex 535 B (1992) * Arriflex 16SR 3 (1992) *

(1994) *

Arriflex 435 ES The Arriflex 435 is a movie camera product line created by Arri in 1995 to replace the Arriflex 35III line. The number reflects its position as a successor camera to the Arri III and the fact that it is designed for 35 mm film. The 435 camera ...

(1995) *

Studio and Lite (2000) *

Arriflex 235 The Arriflex 235 is a lightweight 35mm MOS movie camera released in 2003 by ARRI. Function The number reflects its position as a smaller and lighter companion camera to the Arriflex 435 and the fact that it is designed for 35 mm film. In contr ...

(2003) * Arriflex D-20/21 (2003/2008) *

Arriflex 416 The Arri Group () is a German manufacturer of motion picture film equipment. Based in Munich, the company was founded in 1917. It produces professional motion picture cameras, lenses, lighting and post-production equipment. Hermann Simon ment ...

(2006) *

(2010) * Arri Amira (2013) *

Arri Alexa 65 The Arri Alexa (stylised as ΛLEXΛ) is a digital motion picture camera system developed by Arri. First introduced in April 2010, the camera was Arri's first major transition into digital cinematography after previous efforts such as the Arri ...

(2014) * Arri Alexa Mini (2015) * Arri Alexa SXT (2016) * Arri Alexa LF (2018) * Arri Alexa Mini LF (2019) * Arri Alexa 35 (2022) ;Lighting * Arri Fresnel (1937) * Arri Gigant (1952) * Arrisonne 2000 (1972) * Arri Apollo (1979) * Arri Studio (1988) * Arri Compact Daylight (1991) * Arrisun 40/25 (1992) * Arrilux Pocket PAR (1996) * ARRIMAX 18/12 (2005) * Arri M40 (2011) * Arri L7 LED Fresnel (2011) * Arri SkyPanel S60-C (2015) *Arri SkyPanel S120-C *Arri SkyPanel S360-C *Arri SkyPanel S30-C *Arri Orbiter (2019) *Stellar Lighting Control App ;Camera stabilizers * artemis Maxima Stabilizer * artemis Trinity ;Film recorder * Arrilaser film recorder, used for

film-out Film-out is the process in the computer graphics, video production and filmmaking disciplines of transferring images or animation from videotape or digital files to a traditional film print. ''Film-out'' is a broad term that encompasses the conve ...

;Film scanner * Arriscan

Corporate espionage

In 2011, it was alleged that Michael Bravin, an executive of the US-based subsidiary Arri Inc., had unlawfully accessed a rival company email account. A suit was brought before a US court and in September 2011, Bravin entered a guilty plea. Arri Inc. denied knowledge or gains from Bravin's actions, and a separate lawsuit against the company was dropped as a result of an out-of-court settlement.

References

External links

*
Arri's cameras histories in CinemaTechnic websiteReviews: D-20 & D-21 on The Reel ShowArriflex 16 S operating instructions - PDF
* Discussion and demonstration of the Arriflex ST 16mm film camera by ex BBC cameramen Brian Tufano and David Whitson {{Authority control Film and video technology German brands Manufacturing companies based in Munich Movie camera manufacturers Movie cameras Photography companies of Germany Recipients of the Scientific and Technical Academy Award of Merit