Jan Krupp, VFX supervisor at Scanline VFX, tells TVBEurope how the company created a range of environments for the Netflix film
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: April 15, 2025
Jan Krupp, VFX supervisor at Scanline VFX, tells TVBEurope how the company created a range of environments for the Netflix film
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
What role did Scanline VFX play in the production of Back in Action? Our teams in Munich and London tackled a few high octane sequences, one of which was a boat and bike chase along the River Thames. Other contributions ranged from London environment creation to intricate CG work featuring water interaction, shattering glass, explosions, and more.
How many shots did you work on for the production? 235
How long did the process take? From April 2023 to June 2024.
How big was the team that was involved? During our 14-month time on the project, our crew fluctuated from a nimble group of 4 to around 30 at our peak.
Please describe the technology and techniques used on the project and what they did. Digidoubles of the main actors and a goon were used to replace stunts and crash dummies in live action plates that were either too dangerous or impossible to shoot. CG vehicles including boats, helicopters and a bike for the chase sequence along the Thames were used to add them to shots or augment real vehicles.
Environment work was done to bring different shooting locations together in the chase sequence; CG building for the Thames Barrier to add or augment it in shots; 3D and 2.5D environment setups for the London skyline for the boat chase; fire, smoke and explosion simulations for the collision of the boat with the Thames Barrier; water simulations for the Thames and interaction with it for the chase sequence; DMP and comp work for creating a London skyline with a controlled blackout and various 2D comp effects to enhance or alter stunts and practical fx bullet hits, muzzle flashes, wire and rig removals.
Some of the scenes you worked on involved recreating the Thames Barrier how do you do that? Was a trip to London involved? We used a photogrammetry model as a base, which we created with plates shot from drones and boats provided by the production, as well as publicly available measurement information. Due to strict security regulations the amount of footage and measurements was limited as it was not possible to do a lidar scan at the location. The photogrammetry was our base to refine the model to the level of detail needed for the shots in the sequence.
How hard is it to recreate water using visual effects and how has that changed in the past 5-10 years? Water is one of our specialties. The team has a lot of experience with water as well as fire, smoke and any kind of explosions and destruction simulations. For fluids and atmospherics we used Scanline's award-winning fluid simulation software Flowline. Since its initial development, it has been constantly improved and refined, workflows have evolved over time, and new approaches and tricks have been developed. The work itself has not fundamentally changed, but iterations can be done a lot faster and the complexity and quality of the simulations has improved quite significantly over time.
Did AI play any role? No generative AI was used.
What was the biggest challenge of working on the film? Bringing all the different elements for the chase sequence along the Thames together into one big invisible effect sequence.
What were your biggest achievements? Seamlessly bringing together and altering multiple locations and types of plates for the boat chase sequence. Doing this in a very efficient and cost effective way, using multiple techniques, dependent on the type of footage we received. Live action plates were shot in various locations with very different setups, i.e. actors and stunts in a water tank, or boats on gimbals in front of bluescreen, driving boats and stunts at the river docks and at various spots in London on the Thames. We had to fully or partially replace stunts, add CG boats or augment existing ones, add a cg Thames and water interaction for the boats and actors, create an environment for the chase that would combine different locations in London along the Thames including the Thames Barrier in a way that it works in the timing and the location changes of the movie. A mixture of 3D buildings, 2.5D setups with projections of plates, stitched plates and digital matte paintings were used to achieve an in the end invisible environment replacement.
All images used courtesy of Netflix.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
12/01/2026
Sports and Music Unite: A Look Back at the Operationally Ambitious FIFA Club Wor...
12/01/2026
Nielsen Panel Discussion Highlights World Cup Impact for FOX, Telemundo, MetLife...
12/01/2026
FIFA President Infantino Highlights How AI Will Impact 2026 FIFA World Cup and B...
12/01/2026
Baltimore Ravens' Jack Dana on Telling a Better Story With Media Management ...
12/01/2026
FOX Sports' Brad Cheney on Spectrum Debate's Impact on the Sports-Produc...
12/01/2026
Spotify's new co-CEOs, Alex Norstr m and Gustav S derstr m, start off the new year with a message of renewed leadership, creative responsibility, and what&#...
12/01/2026
At Spotify, we listen to a lot of music. And every year, our global editors and artist partnerships teams come together to spotlight the emerging voices we beli...
12/01/2026
Spotify's global editors and Songwriter & Publisher Partnerships team spend their days immersed in new music, tracking the writers behind the songs breaking...
12/01/2026
Nominations open for the fifth Australia for UNHCR - SBS Les Murray Award for Re...
12/01/2026
Australia and New Zealand VP Alan Clements shares L3Harris' leadership insig...
12/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
12/01/2026
Berklee International Folk Festival Celebrates 40 Years Featuring Grammy-winning alumna Arooj Aftab, the milestone concert and weeklong festival marks four de...
12/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
12/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
12/01/2026
X-Rite and Rhopoint Launch Rhopoint PANTORA Aesthetix to Streamline Creation of...
12/01/2026
12 Jan 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Launches 5G Pilot in Lviv Lviv, January 12, 2026 - VEON, a global digital operator (Nasdaq: VEON), today announces that Kyivsta...
12/01/2026
Monday 12 January 2026
The ultimate betrayal: Harry and Jamie Redknapp, Paul Me...
12/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz opens larger office in Japan to increase its support for the Jap...
12/01/2026
Back to All News
WWE By the Numbers: Celebrating One Year on Netflix
From left to right: Rey Mysterio, Intercontinental Champion John Cena and Sheamus celebr...
12/01/2026
Welcome to the AVECO team: introducing new members of management
At AVECO, we are continuing to implement our #newAVECO strategy, which aims to build an even s...
12/01/2026
For the first time in the nine-year history of Dancing with the Stars, the first...
10/01/2026
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
10/01/2026
This year, podcasts are making their Golden Globes debut with a new category honoring the medium's leading shows and creators. To mark the occasion, Spotify...
10/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
10/01/2026
Back to All News
Connection and Youth Defined: The Ramparts of Ice Brings a Hea...
09/01/2026
Rock-It Sports' Deron Brown & Laura Rowlands on Launching a New Brand, Suppl...
09/01/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery's Chris Brown on the Broadcaster's First French O...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: CBS Sports Travels to Jacksonville With Packed Arsenal of Pro...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: NBC Sports Is Set To Roll Out New Scorebar, Insert Graphics T...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: Prime Video Production Team Caps Historic Season With Iconic ...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: FOX Sports Kicks Off Postseason Slate With Two-Game Wild Card...
09/01/2026
NFL Playoffs 2026: ESPN's Run Brings Monday Night Football' Flagship Op...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, today introduced the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning...
09/01/2026
Globecast, the leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, today announced the appointment of Chris Pulis as Group Chief Technology...
09/01/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today announced several updates to its board of directors. As part of HPA s annual governance cycle, new leadership...
09/01/2026
SDVI, the leading platform provider for cloud-native media supply chains, today announced that Simon Eldridge has been appointed chief operating officer. In thi...
09/01/2026
Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufacturer of award-winning ST 2110 and SDI signal processing products, and a founding partner in the openGear initi...
09/01/2026
iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, announces that its market-proven ATSC 3.0 software stack is powering the broadcast functionality of ...
09/01/2026
Amino, a global leader in enterprise video and digital signage technology, today announced a strategic partnership with Xibo, a leading global digital signage s...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
09/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
Jan Krupp, VFX supervisor at Scanline VFX, tells TVBEurope how the company created a range of environments for the Netflix film
