Arata entered cinema in the silent era and worked prolifically during the 1920s including on one of the final entries into the long running Maciste series.

Until the fall of Fascism, he was one of the leading Italian cinematographers working on propaganda films such as Scipione l'africano (Scipio Africanus: The Defeat of Hannibal, 1937) and Luciano Serra, Pilot (1938) as well as more straightforward entertainment films.

Arata worked with Roberto Rossellini on the 1945 neorealist drama Rome, Open City.

He was instrumental in securing the backing of the distribution company Minerva Film for the production's release.

[1] Following the Second World War, Arata worked on several co-productions with Britain and the United States.