We’re probably the only Apple-centric site with someone who served on submarines on staff, so let’s talk about Apple’s new Immersive Video «Submerged.»
We’re probably the only Apple-centric site with someone who served on submarines on staff, so let’s talk about Apple’s new Immersive Video «Submerged.»
I’ve been here at AppleInsider for about eight years. Some of you know what I did in the nineties. Most of you don’t.
Dear reader, your author was in the US Navy between 1991 and 1999. Five of those years were spent rated as a machinist mate serving as a boiler and reactor chemist on the USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709). At the time, Rickover was a Los Angeles class submarine that was then based out of Norfolk, Virginia.
It’s razor blades now, and a new Rickover was commissioned a year ago.
If the hull number seems vaguely familiar, the USS Dallas, featured in , was virtually identical to Rickover in the real world.
This is me, in 1997, in the Groton, Connecticut submarine flood trainer in 1997. I had a few deployments under my belt already at this point.
To get ahead of the question, that flange in front of me pumped 10,000 gallons per minute. There is a poor soul underneath this plume of water holding the nut attached to the other end of this bolt, so I can apply what we colloquially called «star torque» to the bolt to seal off this flange.
Bonafides established, let’s discuss Submerged.
What is Submerged?
Submerged is a 16-minute short film for the Apple Vision Pro headset, in Apple’s own Immersive Movie format. It tells the story of a World War II submarine crew fighting to survive a torpedo attack.
Apple says that the Immersive Video format «leverages 3D video recorded in 8K with a 180-degree field of view and Spatial Audio to transport viewers to the center of the action.»
So far, the other Immersive Movies are documentaries, or sports reels. This is Apple’s first run at drama using the format.
Submerged was written and directed by Academy Award winner Edward Berger.
