New products, renowned industry professionals at the Big Screen event, as well as a big 100th anniversary celebration: IBC 2017 in Amsterdam was a very special event for ARRI.
“We have a fantastic product-line-up,” said ARRI Executive Board member Dr. Joerg Pohlman at the beginning of the 50th IBC, which took place in Amsterdam from September 15–19, 2017. ARRI presented its extensive portfolio of professional film technology equipment at one of the world's most important broadcast trade fairs.
At booth 12.F21 in hall 12 of the RAI Amsterdam Conventio Centre, trade visiors were able to see ARRI´s latest product innovations for the first time. The new SkyPanel S360-C – ARRI’s largest and brightest LED spotlight to date – was met with great interest. In addition to its high performance, the LED surface area luminaire impresses lighting professionals with a multitude of extraordinary functions. These include the fully tunable color temperature, lighting effects on a huge aperture, wireless DMX built in, and a unique carbon fiber yoke. Learn more about the SkyPanel S360-C in a video from the IBC.
ARRI also presented the perfect solution for SkyPanel wireless control at the IBC – with SkyLink, DMX cables are a thing of the past. Fully compatible with all SkyPanel models, SkyLink is a two-part system for wireless communication between the spotlights via DMX and RDM. More about SkyLink in this video.
Another ARRI innovation at the trade fair came from the camera stabilizer systems product line, which has been very well received in the market: The SRH‑3 is a three-axis fully stabilized remote head allowing for cameras to go where no person can, with increased flexibility and ease. Whether it be on set, in a studio, or at an event, this compact but high-quality stabilized remote head offers solutions that were simply not previously possible at such levels of precision. See more about the new SRH‑3 in this video.
A new bundle called Master Grips Basic Set has been added to the existing range of Electronic Control System (CS) accessories. This new pair of handgrips includes, for the first time, a mechanical standard grip in addition to an intelligent and responsive Master Grip. Now, users can benefit from the proven ergonomic design of the Master Grips for both hands without having to purchase two electronic grips.
For the first time in Europe, the new external ARRI Full Spectrum ND filters were shown. This filter guarantees the highest contrast and absolute color fidelity in HDR recordings. More about the filters in a video.
In addition, ARRI presented a multitude of established products and services in Amsterdam. ARRI experts were on hand to demonstrate the premium camera systems ALEXA SXT W, ALEXA Mini, ALEXA 65, and AMIRA, as well as high-end lenses, stabilizer systems, and an extensive range of professional camera accessories. In the lighting segment, the complete SkyPanel range, the L and M series headlamps, and accessories were only a few lighting products on display. Trade fair visitors were also able to experience the advantages of the cloud service ARRI Webgate and be impressed in the HDR tunnel by the high dynamic range (HDR) images taken with ARRI cameras.
Another highlight of the show was ARRI's must-see Big Screen event. The show, which attracted some 600 attendees at the IBC Auditorium, was dedicated to ARRI’s 100th anniversary. Opened with a warm welcome by Dr. Joerg Pohlman, Henning Raedlein, Head of Digital Workflow Solutions, introduced the video series "The Filmmaker´sView," for which a team from ARRI conducted more than 250 interviews with filmmakers and contemporary witnesses from all over the world. Selected highlights of this extraordinary anniversary project were presented in a special screening.
Experts from ARRI then welcomed prominent industry guests on stage. In talking with ARRI Lighting Senior Product Manager Mike Wagner, rigging gaffer and lighting designer Keith S. Woods recalled his first experience with SkyPanel. “We replaced a 6,000-watt space light with something that draws less power than my toaster,” he noted.
Legendary color guru Peter Doyle, currently Supervising Visual Colorist at Technicolor, used clips to demonstrate the differences between grading for Xenon and Dolby Vision projection, as well as the hidden depths of the ALEXA sensor. “My approach in going from SDR to HDR is to reproduce the lighting as it was at the time,” he said. “If you grade purely with HDR in mind, focusing mainly on the highlights, then you can destroy the original lighting design.”
Next up, ARRI Camera Systems Product Manager, Marc Shipman-Mueller, invited Emer Patten, Executive Producer at EP-PIC, and Dan Studley, Group Technical Director of Procam, to share their experiences with AMIRA and ALEXA Mini Multicam while filming a live concert by The Who. “The AMIRA is now our go-to camera for live events,” said Patten.
The final guest speaker was Steadicam operator Ari Robbins ("La La Land," Oscar for Best Cinematography in 2016), who explained why he is so excited about the ARRI TRINITY camera stabilizer. “It’s like being a little, walking Technocrane – there’s nowhere I can’t put the lens,” he said. “With the TRINITY you maximize every square inch of the location or set.”
The versatile application possibilities of TRINITY and MAXIMA camera stabilizer systems were demonstrated with new showreel, which made its world premiere at the Big Screen. More pictures of ARRI's Big Screen event can be found on Facebook.
“The IBC is a fantastic platform for us to meet people from all over the world. It is probably the most international trade fair for the entire industry,” explained ARRI Executive Board member Dr. Joerg Pohlman. The open exchange with industry professionals was the focus at a reception of the Digital Workflow Solutions department at the ARRI booth. Shortly before IBC began, ARRI also invited international dealers to present and discuss the latest products and services.
On the eve of IBC 2017, ARRI held a grand 100th anniversary celebration at EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam. Here ARRI toasted the successful collaboration and future endeavors with around 1,000 long-standing customers, partners, and friends from all over the world. Impressions of the memorable evening can be found on Facebook.
“The IBC 2017 is over. It will go down in history as one of the best Amsterdam events we ever had,” summarized Stephan Schenk, Managing Director of the Camera Systems business unit. “And this was not only because of our great new products. The whole atmosphere was created by the 100-year party and the Big Screen event.”
Further photos from IBC on Facebook
Photos: ARRI
