Apple takes soccer immersive with Real Madrid

I’ve been thinking a lot about soccer this week. My team won the Premier League for the first time since I became a fan, and they’ll play in the Champions League final later this month.

What better time to encounter Apple’s latest immersive film for Vision Pro? Spain’s Real Madrid is one of European soccer’s most decorated clubs, and it’s the subject of “Real Madrid: The Weight of Greatness,” out Friday. According to Apple, the 20-minute-long documentary was filmed with more than 30 Blackmagic immersive cameras to capture the fan and player of experience of Real Madrid’s Champions League match with Juventus back in October.

Apple’s immersive productions are really benefiting from the larger selection of immersive cameras, now that Blackmagic is apparently cranking out its URSA Cine camera in volume. The doc has shots from a wirecam above the pitch, various angles around the pitch, and separate cameras observing fans in a bar, a 94-year-old fan at home, and even a taxi driver watching on his phone from inside his car.

I admit that I’m still hungry for real sporting events in immersive, not short edited highlight packages interspersed with training ground footage overlaid with inspirational music and sound bites about how it’s all one for all, all for one, supporting the legacy of the team, and all the usual stuff. “Real Madrid: The Weight of Greatness” has all of that.

But the soccer looks great. I really, really loved watching the shots from the “suspended above the pitch” view, which gave me a perspective (literally and figuratively) on strategy that I’ve never had before. And the near-the-goal shots really show off the incredible athleticism and technique of soccer players that does not come across on most TV broadcasts, even if they’re in 4K.

Alas, Real Madrid was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Champions League this year, depriving it of its 16th title. I guess someone else will have to hoist that trophy in Budapest on May 30.