It really felt like I was on the submarine, experiencing what was happening.
Again, it was like being at the game, but I was sitting on a couch at Apple.
Submergedand other new Vision Pro content is now available to watch.
Image by Jefferson Chacon
Check out what Berger had to say below.
The technology is, pardon my language, fucking crazy.
EDWARD BERGER: It’s a huge honor.
Image via Apple
It’s a huge honor to tackle that challenge because no one really knows how it works.
You figure it out.
This camera, we perceive it differently.
Image via Apple
We perceive films like that differently.
How Does the Apple Vision Pro Compare to IMAX?
It reminds me a lot of an IMAX camera.
Can you talk about the camera itself?
Does it make a lot of noise?
What is it like to work with?
BERGER: No, it’s a very new camera, specially developed by Apple.
It’s a specially designed stereoscopic camera with microphones that are also, in a way, multidirectional.
This camera obviously sees 180 degrees, and that comes with, Where do you hide lights?
Image via Apple
Where do you hide the microphone?
Where do you hide the tripod that the cameras on?
You don’t want to carry it around on your shoulder.
Image via Apple
I didn’t like that as much, but other filmmakers might find that wonderful.
I’ve spoken to so many cinematographers about using IMAX cameras, and this setup reminds me of IMAX.
Obviously, it’sradicallydifferent, but its the way it puts you in the movie.
Image via Apple TV+
The negative of IMAX is the camera makes so much noise when you’re shooting film.
Everything has to be ADR.
Im curious, with this camera, is it dead-silent?
BERGER: It is dead-silent.
Just like a regular camera, like, let’s say, an ALEXA 35 or so.
It has that silence.
you’re able to’t get very close.
The editing always felt deliberate.
He’s so 3D.
Within that frame, you always have to imagine why you shoot it.
If you then double that up with more editing, it just becomes too much.
That’s wonderful, actually, that you don’t have to rush through things.
That’s what I did.
That’s what we calculated.
Obviously, Apple was very secretive about the Vision Pro and having any information get out.
I saw it in January this year.
Oh, so this has all been this year?
BERGER: Yeah, it’s all this year.
I shot it in April.
So, maybe I saw it in December.
The news was out that there was gonna be an Apple Vision Pro at some point.
You have to be within Apple to know about it earlier.
But people who had seen it all signed NDAs and were very much not talking.
I wasn’t one of those.
I saw it in December or January.
Where Did the Idea for ‘Submerged’ Come From?
Once you were approached to make this, talk a little bit about coming up with the idea.
BERGER: The submarine was our preferred approach.
We had it from the beginning.
Because VFX is a very lengthy process in this because the resolution is very high.
So, I wanted to do as much real authenticity and real sets as possible.
It felt like an enclosed space underwater seemed to be the right idea for that.
you’re free to play with tension wonderfully.
For the mix of tension and action, the best player seemed to be a submarine.
BERGER: About the technology, I learned a ton.
There were a lot of things that we were worried wouldn’t work because this equipment is different.
We watch movies differently.
As we said, we don’t need to edit as much.
Apple kept pushing the limits and exploring the technology.
Theaudienceis going to get used to this technology.
Part ofthis movie is also introducing everyone to narrative filmmaking for the Apple Vision Pro.
Now we do much more things.
BERGER: I think tension is one of the best things for this medium.
It could have been a horror film.
We use the techniques of a psychological thriller, a psychological horror, to create tension.
If I were a horror filmmaker, I would use this tool to create the first horror film.
Oh, I’m definitely curious about that.
BERGER: I’m so sorry, I knew this, but I forgot.
You should ask the tech people at Apple.
They’re so savvy with it.
I know that we ran through a lot of SD cards, so they fill up fairly quickly.
We obviously had enough SD cards, but I remember, they fill up.
Could you shoot a five-minute take if you wanted to?
BERGER: Yeah, definitely.
These SD cards come pretty large.
I think we as a team only scratched the surface.
BERGER: Yeah, exactly.
What Else Can the Apple Vision Pro Be Used For?
Do you actually have a Vision Pro, and what is your favorite stuff about it to use?
I’m just curious if you have one and what you’ve done with it.
BERGER: I love my Vision Pro.
I have one, and I keep watching movies because it is like in the cinema.
The audio is amazing.
You keep forgetting, yourself, that youre watching a movie.
I really feel I’m there.
you’re able to really hone down on your locations and see that.
So, I use it for a lot of different things.
Submergedis now available to watch exclusively on Apple Vision Pro.
