With more than one hundred years of company history, the ARRI Group has extensive experience in event and media production. The company now operates worldwide in the camera systems, lighting, media, rental and medical divisions. With its origins in Germany, the company now convinces many international customers. We spoke with Florian Bloch, Head of Product Management at ARRI Lighting. He told us a lot about the company philosophy and the connection to Prolight + Sound.
1. Which products do you offer and which quality requirements do you have?
Florian Bloch:Today ARRI Lighting offers a wide range of classic lights and modern daylight units. In addition, there is a unique system in the LED category: from spotlights to extensive accessories to communication and control options. Our stellar control unit is the best example of this. In addition, we implement turnkey studio solutions in the broadcast sector.
As a matter of principle, we also demand from our products what our customers rightly expect from ARRI products: longevity, performance, and excellent serviceability. This is also reflected in our extended warranty periods of eight years for incandescent lights, five years for daylight systems and – new starting in 2019 – three years for L-series and SkyPanel LED lights. Customers who opt for ARRI aim to invest in products they can enjoy for a long time and for which they can get assistance quickly if they have any questions or problems. These are two important motivation factors for us.
2 How would you describe your company in five words?
Florian Bloch: Customer-oriented, innovative, cosmopolitan, down-to-earth, curious.
3. How has the industry changed since you started and what potential do you see?
Florian Bloch: The most significant change is the digitalisation of light and the associated possibilities. This applies to the luminaires themselves, but even more so to the workflow. The combination of LED luminaires and modern communication protocols such as ArtNet or streaming ACN form the basis for a new way of working. At the same time, the pressure on production costs and team sizes has increased. We want to help small teams to focus on creativity instead of building.
Training and development of know-how on the user side as well as the simplification and improvement of the handling and control of the many features are particularly important. We see this as a clear task for us as manufacturers.
4.How many times have you exhibited at Prolight + Sound? What motivates you to participate?
Florian Bloch: In fact, ARRI was an exhibitor at the fair again for the first time in a while. In recent years, we had been represented by our German dealers – LightEquip, trendco and Ultralite – in the best possible way. The development of the trade fair, on the one hand, and the importance of the key applications for which Prolight + Sound stands, on the other hand, mean that we as manufacturers can now take the next step and present ourselves directly. The trade fair has grown in important areas, the visitors are more international, users from the event sector, but also from the areas of film and television, even theater experts approached us specifically at Prolight + Sound.
5. What can visitors to Prolight + Sound 2019 look forward to?
Florian Bloch: In recent years, we have shown that ARRI can set trends and standards in all important technical areas of modern lighting, even after 100 years. The MAX range of daylight systems and most importantly the SkyPanel are the best examples of this. Especially with SkyPanel, it was and is important, and generally with LED lights, that we were able to realize and implement further features thanks to new firmware and apps. The hardware has remained the same. In this way, we are trying to take into account some of the pressure on rental companies to invest. We certainly want to demonstrate our ability to be innovative again in 2019, and Prolight + Sound offers a great platform here.
