Jan Heugel
ARRI’s Product Manager for Camera Stabilizer Systems Curt O. Schaller will receive a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the concept, design, and development of the Trinity 2 camera stabilizer system. Dr. Roman Foltyn is also recognized for the software and hardware design of Trinity’s motorized stabilized head. The Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards honor individuals and companies whose discoveries and innovations have contributed in significant and lasting ways to motion pictures.
According to the Academy, the ARRI Trinity 2 is being awarded a Scientific and Engineering Award for “a body-worn system that combines a traditional inertial camera stabilization system with electronic gimbal technology, allowing unprecedented freedom of camera movement for acquiring shots with multiple transitions that are otherwise unobtainable.”
Curt O. Schaller comments on the achievement. “This award goes to all Trinity operators around the world! Their trust and commitment in the Trinity concept and their extraordinary, innovative, and boundary-pushing work is what made this recognition possible in the first place. I would also like to thank the ARRI team in Munich, Vienna and the FoMa team for our many years of collaboration and I accept the award on their behalf. ARRI is a special place to work, and the ARRI spirit is reflected in the products we make. The entire organization and our technology partners are driven by innovation and a passion to produce the best to serve the industry we love,” he says.
ARRI Managing Director Walter Trauninger congratulates in advance: “We are very grateful to the AMPAS for recognizing the groundbreaking work of so many engineers and scientists behind the scenes. This award marks the 20th time ARRI has received such a recognition from the Academy, and we are beyond humbled.” He continues: “A special congratulation to Curt for his achievements. He is a gifted professional who has his finger on the pulse of what the industry needs. His tools have helped countless filmmakers around the world and demonstrate ARRI’s commitment to providing excellent equipment and services for the motion picture industry.”
In 1984, Curt O. Schaller began training as a camera assistant and then as a cameraman at the Bavaria film and television studios in Munich, Germany. Following his training, Schaller worked as a cameraman in series productions and as a Steadicam operator in TV series, films, shows, and documentaries. In the mid-1990s, Schaller used his experience as a cameraman and Steadicam operator and began to develop his own camera stabilization systems, from which the Artemis series of the company Sachtler / Vitec Videocom emerged in 2001. In 2015, Schaller developed the Trinity system together with Roman Foltyn, a Doctor of Engineering.
“Trinity is the world's first camera stabilization system to combine a mechanical and electronic stabilization system. In April 2016, ARRI took over the stabilizer business from Vitec. Since then, Schaller, as Product Manager Camera Stabilizer Systems, has been responsible for driving the further development of ARRI’s stabilizer portfolio,” the announcement concludes.
Curt O. Schaller and other award recipients will be honored at the Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on April 29, 2025.
