It’s no secret that ARRI Alexa cameras are the main cameras used in major Hollywood productions, but with so many high-end cameras on the market, why is ARRI Alexa so dominant?
Although this topic can be somewhat biased, it is difficult to argue with the lists that are published after each big festival and, above all, it is difficult to argue with the awards that show in detail the cameras used in the films. Budget movies are almost always shot with Alexa, with a bit of a casual love for Sony and RED cameras.
- For an example.
- Check out this list of cameras and lenses used in the films nominated for Best Cinematography.
- Best Director.
- And Best Picture at the last Oscar:.
Bird man
Nominated for Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki), Best Director (Alejandro Gonzalez Isrritu) and Best Film (Alejandro G. John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole).
Cameras: ARRI Alexa M, ARRI Alexa XT
Nominated for Best Cinematography (Robert Yeoman), Best Director (Wes Anderson) and Best Picture (Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson).
Camera: Arricam ST
Glasses: Technovision / Cooke, Cooke S4, Varotal and Angenieux Optimo
We are go
Nominated for Best Cinematography (Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski) and Best Foreign Language Film (Pawel Pawlikowski).
Camera: ARRI Alexa Plus 4: 3
Glasses: Zeiss Prime Ultra Glasses
Mr turner
Nominated for Best Picture (Dick Pope)
Cameras: ARRI Alexa Plus, Canon EOS C500
Glasses: Panchro Speed Cooke glasses
Uninterrupted
Cameras: ARRI Alexa XT M, ARRI Alexa XT Plus, ARRI Alexa XT Studio, ARRI Alexa XT
Lenses: Zeiss Mestre Prime Lenses
infancy
Nominated for Best Director (Richard Linklater) and Best Picture (Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland).
Cameras: Moviecam Compact, Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2
Glasses: Panavision Prime, Zeiss Super Speed
Foxcatcher
Nominated for Best Director (Bennett Miller)
Cameras: Arriflex 235, Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2
The copycat game
Nominated for Best Director (Morten Tyldum) and Best Picture (Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman).
Cameras: Arricam LT, Arricam ST
Glasses: Zeiss Master Prime
American sniper
Nominated for Best Picture (Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan).
Camera: ARRI Alexa XT
Goals: Panavision Prime and C-Series Goals, E-G
Selma
Nominated for Best Picture (Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner).
Camera: ARRI Alexa XT
Lenses: Falcon C-Series, V-Lite, V-Series and Angenieux HR
The theory of everything
Nominated for Best Picture (Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten).
Cameras: ARRI Alexa, ARRIflex 16 SR3
Lenses: Leica Summilux-C Lenses
lash
Nominated for Best Picture (Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster).
Cameras: ARRI Alexa, Canon EOS 7D
Lenses: Cooke Speed Panchro, Leica Summilux-C and Angenieux Optimo lenses
As you can see, ARRI is really the most chosen. Of course, image quality?both in terms of color reproduction and dynamic range?tops the list of reasons for the ARRI domain and especially Alexa. However, I firmly believe that reliability and intuition are the driving forces behind the choice of filmmakers (and producers) who continually choose these cameras project after project.
When you combine the fact that ARRI Alexa is very easy to learn and use (at least compared to many competitors) with the fact that these cameras are built like tanks and are firmly reliable, plus excellent camera quality. Picture, it’s no wonder people keep coming back to ARRI Alexa.
And what do you think about why ARRI Alexa cameras are used so frequently in the industry, despite stiff competition from Sony, RED and now with the new Panasonic Varicam35?