Relations with Film Professionals - Text 1
Founded on 9 March 1971, the Aaton company had to face off against already existent rival companies. Aaton’s staff was made up in part of former Éclair employees, whose know-how made it possible to quickly develop devices meeting the needs of operators. At the forefront of this equipment was the Aaton 7, which began to be marketed in 1974. The company’s success also rested on the connections between Aaton’s engineers and cinema professionals, who were sensitive to the company’s high standards with respect to possible modification of its machines, in contrast with the planned obsolescence which had become the broad symbol of the digital industry.
Collaboration between Engineers and Users
Cinema technicians and filmmakers worked with members of the Aaton staff with the goal of contributing to the improvement of the sound and image recording equipment. Many of the company’s cameras were sold to television networks (TF1, BBC, France 3, etc.) and being responsive to the demands of the technicians concerned was essential to preserving these markets decisive to the company’s economic success. Some equipment modifications were carried out for a single order alone, as the more modest scale of production than that at firms such as Arri made it possible to create “tailor-made” devices. Some modifications, such as those to the Aaton 7 LTR for the Chinese market, could also be added to the mass-produced models, as the entire chain of production was handled in Aaton’s premises in Grenoble.