Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1544083
24 cgw j a n u a r y • f e b r u a r y • m a r c h 2 0 2 6 l ight Sail VR is an Emmy-winning, full-service, and cutting-edge creative studio that is pushing the boundaries of immersive media storytelling. Based in Los Angeles, the studio is helmed by co-founder and creative director Matthew Celia, as well as co-founder and executive producer Robert Watts, and recently won an Emmy at the 2025 awards for Outstanding Emerging Media Pro- gram for "SNL 50th The Anniversary Special: Immersive Experience." Celia begins by explaining Light Sail VR's inception in 2015: "Rob- ert and I were very interested in the immersive video space, but most of the content at that time seemed to be lacking great narrative sto- rytelling, so I felt there was a tremendous opportunity to add value to the medium by focusing on projects that told great stories and felt perfect for immersive video." With 10 years in the medium, Celia has charted immersive's growth: "There was an initial bubble where a lot of content was being made but was limited by the technology at the time, and that turned people off the format. However, a few of us stayed with it, and we are passionate about exploring storytelling in this new medium. With the launch of Apple Vision Pro, we're seeing a renewed interest, and the tech across the pipeline has gotten better. These aren't the immer- sive videos of a decade ago. The storytelling is better, the capture and delivery are better with tools like URSA Cine Immersive and Da- Vinci Resolve Studio, and audiences are really starting to connect." Immersive Capture to Post Before adding Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive digital film cam- era to Light Sail VR's arsenal, Celia captured immersive films on just about every other camera system over the last decade. "Previous- ly, every camera was a tradeoff: we didn't have the dynamic range we wanted, the resolution we wanted, the support for 3D that we wanted, the image quality that we wanted due to compression, etc.," he explained. "The tools oen didn't understand modern movie sets and workflows, or they were custom built, which is cool but also dif- ficult to get several cameras together for a multicamera capture, like we do at our concerts. "A good experience must start with a good image. We're doing so much manipulation to it, that each transform slightly degrades the quality, and those pixels are getting blown up to look huge in front of our audience. So, our needs are very precise. We want huge res- olution, so we have a healthy pixels per degree. We want large dy- namic range and great color science. We want traditional cinema standards, so the equipment can plug into preexisting pipelines and close the knowledge deficit that's already so high with immersive filmmaking. The URSA Cine Immersive checks all these boxes: it's a purpose built immersive camera, it's an actual cinema camera, and there's the seamless camera to post workflow with DaVinci Resolve Studio." Testing, One, Two, Three Light Sail VR has been testing URSA Cine Immersive in a variety of scenarios to better understand how to create the best looking im- mersive content with it. "I'm pleased to say that it has surprised us time and time again," said Celia. "Low light historically has been a problem, and one that we knew would be especially challenging given that this camera captures at 90fps. We shot some fire dancers, and while the footage inevitably has some noise, it cleans up with denoising quite well, and the HDR capabilities of Apple Vision Pro make the fire pop. It's incredible to see," he added. Close proximity was another test important to Light Sail VR. "Once you explain that the idea of being close to characters to de- liver an unparalleled feeling of connection is what makes immersive filmmaking so powerful, the next question is, 'How close can I get?' The camera's design is a critical factor here because there are cer- tain physical limitations working in 3D," Celia explained. "We put the camera in the back seat of a car and drove around, and it delivered comfortable stereoscopic images at very close range. The camera's dynamic range was also tested here, as outside the car was very bright compared to inside. I was amazed at the camera's ability to hold detail in the shadows and the highlights with a beautiful falloff. It delivers a very cinematic looking image, especially when graded in HDR for Apple Vision Pro." "Another test involved capturing footage on an outdoor trail. The camera's built in ND filters are fantastic for controlling exposure. SHOWCASE PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF STORYTELLING LIGHT SAIL VR WEIGHS IN ON IMMERSIVE CAPTURE TO POST.