Fremont, CA, USA - Blackmagic Design today announced that a new brand campaign for Robot.com was completed using Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive digital film camera and DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, color grading, visual effects (VFX) and audio post production software. The immersive films were created by Sandwich Vision as part of a global brand campaign to the new company Robot.com.

Founded by Adam Lisagor, Sandwich Vision is an immersive media company that integrates software, platform, production and distribution to deliver mainstream access to the future of media. The company is an extension of Sandwich Video, a pioneering tech storytelling studio specializing in commercial production, including Sandwich Vision, which focuses on the development of productions and apps for Apple Vision Pro, such as the popular Theater App.

Shot in Nashville, TN, the Robot.com project is the first commercial project shot with the URSA Cine Immersive. Lisagor also used several Blackmagic Media Module 8TBs for longer shoots and a Blackmagic Media Dock for quick transfers to go straight into post for tight timelines. Footage was shot in Blackmagic RAW and was sent directly into DaVinci Resolve Studio, with immersive project presets used to calibrate clips to the right color space.

Lisagor explained why they chose to shoot with the URSA Cine Immersive: “At Sandwich, we’re filmmakers on the cutting edge of tech. That doesn’t just mean we make films about tech, it means we care deeply about the tech of filmmaking. And we know that new tools for filmmaking will inform new kinds of films and empower new creators to think in new ways. An opportunity to participate in the development of a new media language comes around once in a generation, and we knew we had to be a part of this one.”

For the Robot.com campaign, Lisagor and his crew were tasked with telling the story of robots integrating into society.

“Robot.com is a typical Sandwich tech client: a company working on world changing innovations that came to us to produce a big brand campaign. We shot the spot with our traditional crew in Nashville, shooting for the 2D rectangles as I now call them. I was hoping and dreaming that the URSA Cine Immersive would arrive in time to bring it to the shoot, and it did,” he continued. “From there on, it was just about placing myself wherever I could. The challenge I faced was capturing the same story while keeping all of our production crew and gear out of the enormous field of view.”

With years of experience perfecting the use of new filmmaking technologies and formats, Sandwich Vision understood that shooting for Apple Immersive required a new way of telling the story.

Lisagor explained: “In the story we were telling of robots integrating into society in somewhat awkward, humorous and ultimately endearing ways, there is a cinematic language of absurdity at play, even in the ‘2D rectangle’ expression of the film. With traditional cinema, we invoke that awkwardness using techniques like the timing of a cut, or the choice of lenses that cut together to create detachment, for instance.

“But in immersive cinema, we don’t bring those techniques to the story; we let the space and the characters within that space create that same sense of awkward absurdity and endearing closeness between robot and human. I think the great opportunity with this camera is that it will allow filmmakers to explore space in ways they never have before. To treat the field of view more like a stage than a screen.”

Having used Blackmagic Design cameras and DaVinci Resolve for years, as well as having experimented with a number of different stereoscopic and VR production techniques, Lisagor and his crew relied on both the unique new immersive features of the URSA Cine Immersive, and also the consistent image quality, ease of use and efficient post workflow of all Blackmagic Design cameras.

“The camera and its interface are just so easy to use. With the URSA Cine Immersive, you can typically set the camera down in its place and lock in the ISO, not needing to change shutter speed, focus or aperture, set exposure by adjusting white balance and tint using AWB, potentially add an ND or two, and then start rolling,” Lisagor explained. “Immersive is different from traditional shooting. It’s about having a feel for what you’re capturing, rather than ‘framing’ it like you usually would. It’s more about being present in the space, with the camera as a proxy for the viewer. That can be very freeing to the filmmaker.”

He finished: “The URSA Cine Immersive camera was the star of the show. There wasn’t a crew member or bystander that wasn’t curious and excited about the two enormous lenses giving that beautiful object its anthropomorphic robot like presence. There was no grumbling from the traditional film crew, only excitement about seeing a glimpse of the future. They all knew, even unconsciously, that this is something they’ll soon be seeing a lot more of.

“Before the URSA Cine Immersive, shooting for immersive was either very hard or very disappointing. Now the challenge is just how to schedule in all of our shoots and managing all the data.”

The standard video is available to view on robot.com. The immersive version is available in the Theater app for Apple Vision Pro by Sandwich Vision.