Today it is normal to record a fast-paced movie, combat or chase scene. Anyone can even do it from their camcorder or cell phone. We owe this stability in videos and on the big screen to Dynalens, a device created by Juan de la Cierva y Hoces. The Spanish genius revolutionized the world of cinema, so much so that even Hollywood surrendered at his feet … and honored him with the golden statuette.
Juan de la Cierva y Hoces graduated from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Telecomunicaciones, of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid UPM. A worthy descendant of the famous creator of the gyroplane, from the age of 18 he began his long list of ingenious creations, such as the heliodoro, the horse race recorder and unmanned spacecraft.
The best inventions? They are top secret, because they were made for the U.S. Department of Defense (claimed by himself).
The most famous? The Dynalens. He created it in the 1960s, wanting to record his children at play. It’s an optical stabilizer capable of keeping the image still even if the camera moves, eliminating the effects of shake, vibration and blur.
Until then, filming moving scenes meant giving up a good part of the image quality. But this visionary mind, or as he called himself, “a mathematician who knows how to transform physical problems into mathematics”, found the technical solution and changed the way films were shot forever.
Dynalens was first used in the movie Tora! Tora! Tora!, achieving high quality in every attack, combat and war scene.
Without this invention, movies would not be seen as they are known today.
For this invention, Juan de la Cierva y Hoces, a member of the Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, received the 1969 Oscar for Best Technical Contribution.
Even today, the film world still benefits from Dynalens.
