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We're probably the only Apple site with employees who served on submarines, so let's talk about Apple's new immersive video “Under the Sea.”
I've been here at AppleInsider for about eight years now. Some of you know what I did in the nineties. Most of you don't.
Dear Reader, Your author served in the United States Navy from 1991 to 1999. I spent five of those years as a Machinist's Mate, working as a Boiler and Reactor Chemist on the USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709). At the time, Rickover was a Los Angeles-class submarine then based out of Norfolk, Virginia.
It's razor-sharp now, and a new Rickover was commissioned last year.
If the hull number looks vaguely familiar, the USS Dallas featured in The Hunt for Red October was virtually identical to the real-world Rickover.
This is me in 1997, on a submarine flooding simulator in Groton, Connecticut, in 1997. At this point, I already had several deployments under my belt.
Looking ahead, that flange in front of me was pumping 10,000 gallons per minute. Under that plume of water is the poor thing holding the nut attached to the other end of that bolt, so I can apply what we colloquially call “star torque” to the bolt to seal that flange.
By Mike Wurtele on a submarine flooding simulator in 1997
Having established good faith, let's discuss Submerged.
What is Submerged?
Submerged is a 16-minute short film for the Apple Vision Pro headset in Apple's proprietary Immersive Movie format. It tells the story of a World War II submarine crew fighting for survival after a torpedo attack.
Apple says the Immersive Video format “uses 3D video captured in 8K with a 180-degree field of view and spatial audio to transport viewers into the action.”
The Submerged hands-on set is courtesy of Apple
Until now, other Immersive Movies have been documentaries or sports videos. This is Apple's first attempt at a drama using the format.
“Submerged” was written and directed by Oscar winner Edward Berger. Berger has several German credits, but is best known recently for “All Quiet on the Western Front.” I haven't forgotten that he, like your author, is 54 years old.
Apple Vision Pro Immersive Video Is No Joke
The film is protected. So, unfortunately, it is not possible to take screenshots. This is a shame, but on the other hand, a lot of detail and all the immersiveness will be lost.
In any case, the film covers the last war patrol of the Balao-class submarine, as well as the lives and deaths of some of the crew.
The Rickover was over 360 feet long and 33 feet wide. We had room, but with over 120 people on board typically, and more than half the boat devoted to non-sleeping engineering space, we didn’t have a lot of room.
I’m a Cold War veteran. It’s a completely different environment and different stress than World War II.
The souls on those WWII Balao class boats had it much harder, on a smaller boat with less operating space — and diesel engines versus nuclear power, which made all the air you could breathe and all the water you could drink without fear of running out of fuel. Those fleet boats were 311 feet long with most of that forward space, and 27 feet wide.
Submerged is fortunately short. I say fortunately not because the media and the portrayal are bad, but it’s that good and incredibly, deeply, stressful. Apple Vision Pro is an incredible media delivery tool that shows how claustrophobic submarines are.
And it gets worse when the patrol goes wrong. At one point, a surface destroyer depth charges the Swordfish and all hell breaks loose.
Scroll back up to my photo of the scuttling drill. I included it for a reason.
Although it's not credited, the doors of number two torpedo tube fail after an explosion near the side, flooding and eventually sinking the boat. The skill of the director and the craftsmanship of the practical filming capture the horror of water rushing into your fragile air tank, 400 feet below the surface with 170 psi of pressure crushing your boat, as the video's caption makes clear.
The moment things go wrong — Credit – Apple
In my own experience and practical skills, it's better if you find water coming into the boat, or you find a fire before the smoke finds you. The Submerged crew didn't have that luxury.
It's not shown, but some of the crew certainly died. For the rest, there's an uncertain ending. They end the film adrift in the open ocean, theoretically close to shore since the sub was resting on the bottom, probably 500 feet below, allowing them to swim out of the escape hatch to the surface.
But that destroyer is lurking, and they're clearly in hostile waters. Knowing this, I scanned the horizon for that destroyer. It wasn't there, but the Apple Vision Pro happily panned the field of view so I could see it.
A Showcase of Apple Vision Pro's Potential and the Terror of Submarining
They say that war is “a matter of months of boredom punctuated by moments of terror.” That was certainly true of Cold War submarine deployments, and the reverse was probably true of World War II patrols.
Submerged delivers a 15-minute sample of that terror, incredibly effectively. After watching it, I felt a lingering post-crisis adrenaline rush after the crew escaped, which is high praise for the film, the equipment, the cast, and the crew.
The lower-resolution screens on competing headsets might have shown some of this, but the headset made the environment so visceral. Even the smallest, irrelevant details were clear, like the door signs.
If you watch, pair the Apple Vision Pro with your Spatial Audio-enabled AirPods, you won’t regret it.
This is Apple’s first more or less fictional immersive video. While I’m not a fan of the headset ecosystem as it currently stands, I am a fan of what the future could bring with this delivery method. I’m obviously a fan of this topic.
If you have an Apple Vision Pro, check it out. If you can borrow it, it’s worth 15 minutes of your day.
I’ll watch it again.
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