Last Week in AVP #37: Apple's First Scripted Immersive Video Film - Submerged - Released, New Apple Immersive Videos Announced, Lower-end Model Rumored at $2,000, and more!
If you enjoy the content, your paid subscriptions goes a long way in sustaining my work and it’s much appreciated! 🙏
Apple debuts the first scripted film captured in Apple Immersive Video and reveals new immersive films for Apple Vision Pro (Apple.com)
Submerged, the first scripted short film captured in Apple Immersive Video, written and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Edward Berger, is now available.
Submerged was filmed on location in Prague, Brussels, and Malta using Apple Immersive Video cameras, which feature two lenses to record 8K 3D video.
2024 NBA All-Star Weekend
Next Friday, basketball fans will enjoy an immersive short film of the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend, featuring the Rising Stars, the Slam Dunk contest, the first-ever NBA vs. WNBA 3-Point Challenge, “Stephen vs. Sabrina,” and highlights from the All-Star Game.
Concert for One
Concert for One is the first music series captured in Apple Immersive Video, bringing fans closer to their favorite artists than ever before. The inaugural performance comes from six-time BRIT Award winner RAYE, who alongside her 20-piece band offers her blend of R&B, jazz, and pop to viewers from the best seat in the house.
Adventure
After stepping into thin air above Norway’s breathtaking fjords with highliner Faith Dickey, and traversing the streets and rooftops of Paris with the world’s leading parkour group, viewers are invited to swim alongside freediver Ant Williams while he attempts to best his record for the longest distance under ice with just a single breath. The next episode of Adventure, “Ice Dive,” will debut in the U.S. in December.
Elevated
In the next episode of Elevated, “Maine,” available early next year, viewers will experience a crisp autumn in New England, with a stunning journey along winding coastlines and above breathtakingly beautiful rivers.
Apple shared a behind the scenes video on the making of Submerged
I just watched 'Submerged' on Apple Vision Pro — this could change the way we watch movies (tomsguide)
You are literally face-to-face with the crew as as they try to survive once they come under attack. There's a sense of intimacy I've never experienced before when watching this film.
…
And the camera movements really suck you into the action as there's an explosion near one of the torpedo tanks and the submarine starts to take on water. I wanted to help one character get up who gets hit in the face with steam, but then I realized it was "just a movie." This is not that.
Submerged Review: First Scripted Apple Immersive Video Sends Chills From Vision Pro (uploadvr)
I will never forget the sinking feeling achieved by Apple’s cameras steadily tilting off their horizontal axis in each subsequent shot. Altogether, the production value and execution here leave the viewer with nothing to do at the end except take a deep breath of fresh air.
Submerged is Vision Pro’s claustrophobic thrill ride that’s short on depth but long on immersion (techradar)
As the water poured in and rose around us – yes, I soon felt like a part of this – my unease grew. It was clear the water was just below my nose. I’m a little claustrophobic in real life so I was soon repeating a mantra of “no no no no” in my head. To achieve some of this effect, they shot the film in a giant custom-built tank and in open water where they slowly submerged some parts of the set.
A conversation with the director
Were there any technical surprises as you were preparing to do this or even as you were doing it?
Absolutely. I mean, not surprises so much because we tested it extensively, but certain things that we knew, we're gonna have to push the limit here in terms of movement, camera movement. How much can you shake it? What kind of dolly moves, crane moves can you make? Can you do a three-axis move, or is it better just to move on one axis? Just do push-ins or trackbacks or things like that.
So just all these things you need to test to know how is it gonna feel when you put on the put on the glasses, but also, you know, very quickly it became clear to us, okay, well where are we gonna hide the equipment? You know, where are we gonna put the lights? Where are we gonna put the microphones? Very quickly we realize, okay, we're gonna have to integrate everything into the set.
Apple 8K 3D Camera Unveiled with “Submerged” Short Film for Vision Pro (Cined)
Apple 8K 3D camera – what we know and what we don’t know
While they have not released any technical details on their Apple 8K 3D camera, we know a few things for a fact: the camera has two fixed focal length lenses built into the camera, and they deliver 8K resolution each in order to satisfy the high resolution OLED screens inside every Vision Pro. The field-of-view of the lenses is close to 180 degrees to mimic human vision including peripheral vision, allowing people to turn their head somewhat.
Submerged is everything impressive and isolating about the Vision Pro (theverge)
The result is impressive. As water rushed into this fictional submarine, I could taste the faint memory of salt water on my tongue. When characters walked down narrow submarine corridors, I felt claustrophobic. During a scene where sailors shoved a torpedo into its launch tube, I instinctively stretched my hands out. For a split second, I thought they were loading it straight into my chest.
Apple Vision Pro's First Scripted Film Locked Me in a WWII Submarine (CNET)
I'm wowed by the visual fidelity of Apple's immersive video format, for sure. It feels like living in a wraparound Imax experience. Berger says it's a more challenging format to work in, too. "It has more elements that you need to create. And that also is terrifying when you take the camera and start working with it, but it's terrifying in a good way because it's a challenge that you need to sort of overcome."
Gurman: Apple Could Release $2,000 'Apple Vision' Headset Next Year (source)
As I’ve reported, the Vision Products Group is working on at least four new devices. I expect a lower-end Vision headset to arrive as early as next year, with a second-generation Vision Pro — sporting a faster chip — following in 2026. The lower-end model would cost about $2,000 and probably use an inferior processor and cheaper materials. It also would lack EyeSight, a gee-whiz feature that shows a user’s eyes on the outside of the headset. With the lower price, Apple is expecting unit sales of the device to be at least double the level of the Vision Pro. But that’s not saying much.
…
Gurman's report also mentions that Apple is working on a second-generation Vision Pro, slated for release in 2026. This update would primarily feature a faster processor, with few other hardware changes expected. Apple is also said to also be working on a smart glasses project alongside the Apple Vision and Apple Vision Pro headsets.
Apple’s Vision Pro leader, Dan Riccio, is retiring (source)
Riccio joined Apple shortly after Steve Jobs' return in 1998, serving as VP of Product Design, and was heavily involved in the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. In 2012 he became Apple's SVP of Hardware Engineering, joining the executive team. During this time he oversaw the launch of the Apple Watch, iPad Pro, AirPods, HomePod, and the first Apple silicon Macs.
…
Ternus replacing Riccio may bring changes to Apple's XR strategy, and could even lead to the cancellation of or significant changes to these two in-development headsets. But regardless of Apple's exact hardware plans, the core element in common will be the visionOS operating system, which is set to continue to improve over time.
A long form essay about packing, using, movie watching, and working with AVP on a plane (source)
Personally I love long form content (4500+ words) like this that goes into every aspect of using the device with meticulous details.
The Vision Pro has quickly become an essential item that I take onto every flight.
It’s a fantastic device to travel with—Be it by train or by plane, it offers an unparalleled opportunity to selectively tune out your environment and sink into an engaging activity like watching a movie or just working on your laptop.
In this blog post, I’ll outline what I’ve learned about the Vision Pro while traveling, explain some of the functionality, shine light onto its drawbacks, as well as assess how it fares against solutions like a phone or a laptop.
…
To protect the front glass, I use the “Vision Pro Cover” that comes by default with the headset and on the inside, I use this affordable, generic VR lens protector cover to prevent anything from scratching the lenses. I then throw it into my backpack, face-first, sitting above the other items.
I tried the Apple Vision Pro headset. Did I see the future? (FinancialTimes)
“We wanted to make sure that you felt like you were where you were,” says Richard Howarth, Apple’s vice-president of industrial design. “So we put an awful lot of effort into the clarity — of the glass, the optics, the whole system — to make sure you didn’t feel separated from it.” This is full digital immersion, but you don’t feel imprisoned by it — indeed, Alan Dye, Apple’s vice-president of human interface design, contrasts the “freedom” of the Vision Pro with the way you’re “locked in” to a standard screen. “Tim [Cook, Apple’s CEO] often talks about how it’s the first [Apple] product you look through, and not at,” he says. “I think that’s a lovely sentiment.”
