Viewers can experience Bastille Day alongside President Macron with a film created for Apple Vision Pro, recorded on the URSA Cine Immersive in Blackmagic RAW, finished with Resolve.
Bastille Day is one of France’s most recognisable national events, combining military parades, aerial flyovers and state ceremonies, all of which are televised and watched around the world. In 2025, it was captured as an immersive film for the first time, allowing viewers to experience the celebration from the point of view of the President.
A studio based in Paris called Immersive Flashback, specializing in immersive video, produced the film in Apple Immersive for Apple Vision Pro, recording on the Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive digital film camera. From the Élysée Palace to the Place de la Concorde and down the Champs-Élysées in the command car, the project’s intention was to give audiences a perspective normally reserved for heads of state. President Emmanuel Macron himself served as narrator, speaking directly to viewers and guiding them through the day.
What Makes Immersive Video Different
“The concept was simple – to let French people experience Bastille Day as never before, right alongside the President,” said Director Frank-David Cohen. “Apple Immersive Video set this format, and Blackmagic’s workflow made it practical to deliver. Together they allowed us to take viewers inside places normally off limits, as if teleported into the scene.”
For Frank-David, one moment in particular captured what makes immersive video different. “The scene in the president’s office, right at the beginning of the film, drew us into an celebrated place,” he said. “We waited as a clock chimed, the door opened, and the President entered and spoke to us. That feeling of realism was something no other format could provide.”
However, achieving that sense of presence required preparation. Stabilization was crucial to avoid motion sickness, particularly for a camera mounted on the presidential command car. “We trialed several techniques with early access to the vehicle on a military base,” Frank-David said.
Collaboration with France Télévisions was also essential to make sure that the immersive rigs would not appear in the live broadcast seen by audiences.
Easing Complexity
The pressure of coordinating with precise presidential schedules added to the challenge. “Previously, immersive shoots meant staging carefully, because the workflows couldn’t handle surprises,” said Frank-David. “At the Maison Élysée, we had to move straight from office interiors into daylight with no time to adjust our settings. Using a Blackmagic camera helped us manage this issue because we were recording in Blackmagic RAW. We could keep rolling, and knew those transitions could be managed in post without breaking the workflow.”
Earlier immersive projects had been more complex in other ways as well. No single camera was able to deliver the resolution required for Apple Vision Pro, forcing producers to patch together systems and rely on AI upscaling. “With the URSA Cine Immersive and its DaVinci Resolve workflow, capture was native and the process was almost as simple as 2D,” he said.
Audio was also treated as part of the immersion. Each camera carried ambisonic recording to match the viewer’s perspective, supported by traditional microphones for voices or effects further away. Frank-David commented, “The camera became both our eyes and our ears.”
Immersive Post
Post production was completed in DaVinci Resolve Studio, combining editing, grading and spatial sound in one environment. The final sound mix was then carried out by Studio 31dB, a team specialising in spatial audio. “Resolve’s integration meant we could handle everything in one place. Fairlight gave us spatial mixing at a level sometimes better than external dedicated tools,” noted Frank-David.
For him, this project has shown how immersive video could extend into culture, entertainment and beyond, in ways that are new and contrast with existing video formats for TV and cinema. “Apple Immersive Video isn’t here to replace cinema but to stand as a new format in its own right, capable of delivering emotions no other medium can,” he said.
The film was first presented to the public during the European Heritage Days, and is now available for viewing on Apple Vision Pro at the Maison Élysée. www.blackmagicdesign.com
