Canal+ brings MotoGP to a new immersive experience

Shot entirely with the new Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive camera and finished in DaVinci Resolve Studio (Blackmagic Design), Canal+ produces an immersive documentary for viewers to enjoy on Apple Vision Pro.

MotoGP has always tested the limits of what the public can see and hear on screen. For its latest project, Canal+ set out to capture not only the speed, but also the quieter moments that define a racing weekend.

Produced in collaboration with MotoGP and Apple, the documentary follows world champion Johann Zarco and his team during their dramatic home victory at the French Grand Prix at Le Mans. The documentary was recorded with the URSA Cine Immersive camera with two 8160 x 7200 (58.7 megapixel) sensors at 90 fps, delivering immersive 3D cinematic content in a single file mixed with Apple Spatial Audio. The MotoGP sporting experience puts spectators at the center of the action, from the pit lane and paddock to the podium.

Etienne Pidoux, from Canal+, states that "MotoGP is made for this format. You feel the pure speed and see details that would otherwise be lost on a flat screen. It brings you closer than ever to the machines and the team."

To place the viewer at the center of the action, Canal+ used several URSA Cine Immersive cameras. “We had two cameras on pedestals and one on a Steadicam,” he explains. Pierre Maillat, from Canal+. "The idea was to be able to quickly switch between the Steadicam and fixed settings depending on what was happening at the time. The Steadicam settings were very valuable," says Pidoux. “It allowed us to react more quickly in a rapidly changing environment and gave us more agility during filming.”

“Immersive video changes the way we record,” adds Pidoux. “You plan more, shoot less, and rethink composition because of the 180-degree view, especially in tight or crowded spaces like the pit lane.” The lightning It was also a factor to take into account within the team's garages. “We added a little more light to compensate for the 90 frames per second stereoscopic capture.”

Spatial audio

Each camera was paired with a ambisonic microphone to capture first-order spatial audio, and the ambisonic microphones were complemented by discrete microphones for interviews and other critical sound sources. “We recorded in ambisonic A format for immersive mixing and in channel-based format for other sources,” says Maillat. “Everything was wirelessly time-coded and synchronized across both the cameras and external recorders.”

"A portable production cart with a Mac Studio running DaVinci Resolve Studio, along with an Apple Vision Pro, was set up next to the track to monitor and test the shots in context. "This approach allowed us to check the content right after recording and helped us verify the framing while we were still on location," explains Maillat.

Canal+ had a second Mac Studio with DaVinci Resolve Studio and an Apple Vision Pro installed at the Le Mans hotel to manage media downloads and backups. With 8TB of internal storage and the ability to record directly to the media module, the team was able to film over two hours of immersive 8K stereoscopic 3D footage on the track without needing to change cards.

Post-production took place in Paris, where Canal+ used a Mac Studio with DaVinci Resolve Studio for editing, color grading and audio mixing. “We were even able to preview the stereoscopic timeline directly in Apple Vision Pro, which is crucial for immersive grading,” explains Maillat.

He spatial audio was mixed with Fairlight from DaVinci Resolve Studio. “Initially, we were planning to use another digital audio workstation (DAW), but DaVinci Resolve Studio and Fairlight was the platform that offered us both creative flexibility and high-quality results for Apple Vision Pro,” highlights Maillat.

"When filming with the URSA Cine Immersive camera and watching it on Apple Vision Pro, we found incredible moments that we would normally have considered as background. The cleanliness of the track, the close-ups of the helmets, the crowd... everything becomes part of the experience," concludes Pidoux.