Edward Berger talks about working with Apple Immersive Video on a new short film

Director Edward Berger is fresh off his Oscar-winning German-language film All Quiet on the Western Front and is currently receiving high praise and awards for his latest thriller, the Ralph Fiennes-directed Conclave. new short film made specifically for Apple Vision Pro. The short film, titled “Submerged,” is about a group of young Navy men who operate a submarine that suddenly comes under attack during World War II. “Submerged,” the first scripted short film to utilize Apple Immersive Video, aims to immerse viewers in the terrifying experience, but also has the larger goal of creating a new form of entertainment.

“It’s a wonderful new medium that simply expands the horizons of storytelling,” Berger said in a promotional video for the short film. “Because you’re no longer watching a film, you’re in the middle of the story. It will change the future of filmmaking.”

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Berger explained that he was drawn to the project less by a plot detail than by the potential of the new technology, saying that the first Apple Immersive Video footage he saw “blew me away.” ”

“We wanted to tell a story using this medium and see how far we can push it, what barriers we can break and how much we can make you feel like you’re actually on that submarine,” Berger said. “And I wanted to experience that, I wanted to go on the submarine.”

The ability to place himself and his audience into the story also forced Berger to pay close attention to details surrounding the experience and to pay attention to actions that would facilitate the plot.

“We thought, OK, how do we create tension with this medium? And where do we have tension? There is silence, there is silence and distinct sounds, sounds like the creaking of metal that is underwater in the submarine. And we can take the audience by the hand and place them on this ship right next to our heroes,” Berger told THR. “And the second is action, which we hadn’t really seen because no one had made it, but we thought the tension contrast was action. Using the full breadth of the medium of this technology seemed like the best place to do it.”

At the same time, as much direction as Berger wanted to include in the piece, he also wanted to give viewers the opportunity to have their own experiences. It may not be a complete DIY adventure in the style of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, but it does allow Apple Vision Pro users to view different aspects of their surroundings. As Berger shared, this was a big advantage of immersive video technology.

“You have a lot of freedom to create your own instructions or create your own design to create your own visual experience,” Berger said. “Some people might look to the right because of the noise, others might be more interested in the figure crawling around to the left. So there are a lot of things outside of your field of vision that you can design and create, use and really direct the audience’s eye.”

In addition to “Submerged,” Apple will unveil a short film filmed at NBA All-Star Weekend 2024 this week and a music experience next month celebrating the release of The Weeknd’s new album “Hurry Up Tomorrow.” They also have new episodes of their immersive documentary series Elevated and Adventure coming later this year, as well as an immersive concert experience series called Concert For One, which begins with a set from singer-songwriter RAYE.

Submerged is now available for Apple Vision Pro users.