Videndum

Videndum

Company type	Public limited company
Traded as	LSE: VID
Founded	1910
Founder	William Vinten
Headquarters	Richmond, London U.K.
Key people	Ian McHoul (Chairman) Stephen Bird (CEO)
Products	Camera Supports: Pan & Tilt Heads, Tripods and Pedestals
Revenue	£394.3 million (2021)
Operating income	£33.5 million (2021)
Net income	£25.9 million (2021)
Website	videndum.com

Videndum plc is a manufacturer of hardware and software for the film industry founded in 1910 and based in Richmond, London.

History

Vinten, then trading as 'W. Vinten Cinematograph Engineers', was formally founded by William Vinten in 1910 and was originally based at 89-91 Wardour Street, London. The company began in 1909 by manufacturing Kinemacolor projectors for Charles Urban.

In 1914, the company workshops were taken over by the government and Vinten were invited by Sopwith at Kingston upon Thames to work alongside them in their aeroplane factory. This led in 1915 to an invitation by the Royal Flying Corps for William Vinten to design and build. the Model B, a special cine-camera for use in aircraft.

In 1928 Vinten expanded and moved to Cricklewood, North London, mainly supplying the film industry by creating specialised equipment for companies such as Kodak.

The Second World War created an increased requirement for reconnaissance cameras and military contracts secured world market presence for reconnaissance work.

In the late 1940s, the broadcast market began to flourish and Vinten developed the first telerecording camera. As a result the British Broadcasting Corporation became increasingly involved with Vinten. The BBC became the world benchmark for whom Vinten adapted many of their original film camera supports creating equipment more suitable for television cameras.

In 1964 Vinten moved to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. In 1972, Vinten was floated on the London Stock Exchange.

Vinten robotic camera control at Al Jazeera studios in London

In the early 1980s, Vinten worked in partnership with the BBC to develop pedestals, tripods and other equipment for use in their news studios.

In 1988 Vinten split into two separate entities, W Vinten Ltd (which became Thales Optronics), focused solely on reconnaissance equipment, and Vinten Broadcast, focussed on broadcast mounting equipment.

From 1989 Vinten Group began a series of acquisitions: Manfrotto (1989), Bexel (1991), Gitzo (1992), Bogen Imaging (1993), TSM Inc [known for its AutoCam product range] (1993), Sachtler (1995), OConnor (2003).

Vinten Group plc changed its name to Vitec Group plc in 1995.

Following the acquisition of Radamec in 2003 a new brand Vinten Radamec was created to take over the manufacture of robotic camera support products.

Vinten heads and pedestals being used to film "Kripo live" in Studio 1 of the MDR

In May 2022, the company changed its name to Videndum plc. Vinten continues to exist as one of the group's brands.

The traditional Vinten logo

Operations

The company continues to be a manufacturer of lightweight manual and robotic camera supports such as tripods, pedestals, pan and tilt heads, robotic heads, and robotic tracks, many of which are aimed at the television studio and outside broadcast markets. Notable Vinten Products include:

• Vinten HP 419: The Vinten HP 419 'Hydro-Pneumatic'gas-balanced pedestal was launched in 1957. The pedestal enabled TV cameramen to track and jib all at the same time without losing sight of the viewfinder. Many thousands of the HP 419 design were sold worldwide. Very few remain in production use, often replaced by the later Vinten Fulmar.

• Vinten Mk 3: The Vinten Mk 3 Pan & Tilt head used risers and cams to maintain the centre of gravity. This made the tilting of heavy cameras considerably easier and if correctly mounted a camera could be left at any tilt angle without lock off.

• Vinten OB Dolly: In the late 1950s Vinten's received a request via the BBC from the Queen. She asked for a less intrusive dolly to be used at Sandringham during the filming of the Royal Christmas Message. The Vinten Outside Broadcasting Dolly was designed to fulfill this requirement. The dolly, which ran on solid or pneumatic tyres, was quite narrow so it could be wheeled easily along a narrow passage or through a royal living room.

• Vinten Plover: The Vinten Plover was a compact and relatively lightweight nitrogen-balanced studio/OB pedestal using a central three-stage column and three sets of linked wheels which could be either pneumatic or solid. The centre column could be separated from the wheeled base for transportation.

• Vinten Fulmar: The Vinten Fulmar was a studio pedestal featuring a three-stage column.

• Vinten Vector: Launched on 1993, the Vinten Vector range of pan and tilt heads are used for television studios and outside broadcast television production. The first Vector head, the Vector 70, was famous for its unique pantographic counterbalance mechanism that allowed heavy broadcast cameras to be balanced without the use of interchangeable cams. The Vector 700 and Vector 750, developed from the Vector 70, can be seen in use at nearly all major broadcasting events.

• Vinten Vision: The Vinten Vision range of pan & tilt heads are used for lightweight cameras and camcorders.

• Vinten Quattro: The Vinten Quattro pedestal range was introduced in 1996 and features a four-stage column design that provides an on-shot stroke of 100 cm/39.4". The pedestal is now available in three versions: studio, outside broadcast and compact studio.

Further reading

• The Vinten Story (German) Fernsehmuseum Wiesbaden
• Sansom, Stuart; Vinson, Luke (1993). Images of Success. The History of Vintens 1910-1992. Wolsey Press.