Craig Wentworth, overall VFX supervisor at Scanline VFX, tells TVBEurope how the spectacular sights and sounds of Formula 1 in the 80s and 90s were recreated for the Netflix miniseries, SENNA
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: January 13, 2025 Updated: January 14, 2025
Craig Wentworth, overall VFX supervisor at Scanline VFX, tells TVBEurope how the spectacular sights and sounds of Formula 1 in the '80s and '90s were recreated for the Netflix miniseries, SENNA
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
Scanline VFX took on a dual role in the production of Netflix drama, SENNA. Explaining the approach taken by the company, Craig Wentworth, overall VFX supervisor, describes the two hats it was necessary to wear,
On the one hand, we provided quite typical visual effects services in the form of the creation of high-end VFX environments and shots in several key episodes. On the other, we functioned for the first time as a project management entity and consultant.
We call it Hub and Spoke,' , he tells TVBEurope, a service that allows us to bring our extensive expertise in complex VFX production to creative partners all over the world. In the case of SENNA, we provided technical guidance to the Brazilian team, and then oversaw the production, schedule, and finance of all aspects of final VFX in post.
This dictated the size of the team involved, says Wentworth, explaining the division of labour for the project. Our Hub and Spoke team consisted of 20 people, including myself, my production partner Vero Lauzon, our production manager Karina Zambelli, several co-ordinators, VFX editors, and a small in-house VFX team.
Working with us were a total of six vendors: Picma Post, Quanta Studios and Miagui were our three key Brazilian partners on the project. They combined for nearly 900 of our shots. NetFX, which is a global network of VFX talent connected via Netflix's infrastructure, produced close to 800 shots for the show.
And the team at ScanlineVFX, which numbered around 300 people, provided 390 VFX shots for several key races. Our in-house team and friends from Eyeline Studios filled out the balance of VFX work.
A total of 2089 VFX shots were created for the series' six episodes in a process that took almost a year, Wentworth explains, Scanline first began meaningful conversations with our client in early February 2023. That is when I came onboard. Main unit wrapped in mid-December that year. The last VFX shot was delivered at the end of September 2024. So we are looking at a 20-month partnership with our Brazilian friends.
For racing fans worldwide, Ayrton Senna was (and remains) an icon of the sport. Formula 1 itself was perhaps more visceral during the period, a feeling which SENNA manages to effectively convey.
I was most certainly a fan of Senna, and of Formula 1 of his era, says Wentworth. That said, his passing somewhat ended my love of the sport. I feel very lucky to have been able to bring Senna's era of racing back to life some 30 years later, and having done so has really re-ignited my passion for the sport at least the late 80s and 90s version.
Recreating racing cars which are now historic was a complex process, with every aspect requiring extensive research. An incredibly talented group of coach builders from Argentina, Crespi Formula 1, spent years reconstructing our cars, based on blueprints and scans of the original vehicles. It was very important to the production to be able to film race action practically, and so many of Senna's most famous cars were built for real, and constructed in a way that would allow us to mount cameras safely, but also drive at pretty high speeds.
We also had to create them digitally for many of our shots, and to fill out the rest of the field. So we scanned the production cars and built 1-to-1 twins of those in CG. These would then be re-dressed to look like other competitors as needed for the story. We also had what we called naked cars' driving around - basically just a chassis and wheels - to which we could add any body we wanted in CG.
Constantly striving for authenticity, the team referred to a large historical archive of footage provided by the FIA (Federation Internationale de l'automobile, the sport's governing body). With real events and people being depicted, ensuring authenticity was essential in this production.
One of the most inspired choices of our director and showrunner, Vicente Amorim, was to intercut our version of events with the actual FIA [footage] from the day, says Wentworth. In many respects, then, VFX had nowhere to hide in terms of portraying accuracy. So unlike, for example, a more fantasy-based' production, we really had to sweat the details. Our digital environments needed to look just like they did in the FIA footage. Our crowds and signage had to match. Ultimately, we paid much more attention to historical accuracy overall.
Virtual production was used extensively on the show, he continues, it was utilised for all close-up footage of our actors driving during racing sequences. We built virtual versions of all of our tracks in Unreal Engine, essentially building the ultimate racing simulator. We surrounded our production cars with screens, and synchronised their movements with a motion base, also driven by Unreal Engine.
Wentworth evidently enjoyed working on SENNA, and is quick to praise the team behind the production. I never really looked at the work as a challenge, to be honest. We had very typical VFX problems to solve: we had set extensions, digital environments, digital vehicles, crowds All of this has been done before. What sets this type of work apart is the quality of the work, its authenticity and how it serves the story.
Our real overall challenge, if I am to be frank, was to produce something
Europe Stories
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...
29/01/2026
RT has today announced that Annette Malone has been appointed to the role of Chief People Officer, RT following a public competition.
As Chief People Officer...
28/01/2026
Music discovery should feel intuitive and personal. That's why we're continuing to give you more control, so you can ask for what you want, shape what y...
28/01/2026
Today, Charlie Hellman, Spotify's Head of Music, shared the following note on the Spotify for Artists blog that the company paid out more than $11 billion t...
28/01/2026
As demand for more complex live sports coverage grows, Balkan broadcast specialist MVP has upgraded its flagship HD1 progressive OB truck with the installation ...
28/01/2026
Luxembourg, January 26, 2026 - SES S.A. ( SES or the Company ), a leading space solutions company, acknowledges the credit rating action announced by Fitch to...
28/01/2026
28 Jan 2026
VEON Notes Kyivstar Group Publication of Selected Full Year 2025 Fi...
28/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host 2026 edition of its online event Demystifying EMC Rohde & Schwarz invites the global EMC community to join a crucial discussion on pre...
28/01/2026
Stadtwerke Wolfhagen Modernize Customer Management with AEP.energysuite from Arv...
27/01/2026
Click for Japanese version
Tokyo, Japan - January 27, 2026 - Akamai Technolo...
27/01/2026
Today, Spotify is proud to support our partner Backline, an industry-leading men...
27/01/2026
With nearly 29 million monthly listeners and clear momentum on Spotify, Net n Ve...
27/01/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
27/01/2026
New agreement for uninterrupted UHF connectivity for Australian Defence Force through 2033, With Options Extending to 2041
Luxembourg, January 13, 2026 - Satel...
27/01/2026
Tuesday 27 January 2026
SNL UK creative team expands as Pauli Lovejoy, Annie Ha...
27/01/2026
RT Supporting the Arts is delighted to support a dynamic programme of cultural events taking place across Ireland this February. From visual art, film, music, ...
26/01/2026
Music videos play a huge part in how fans connect with their favorite songs, but...
26/01/2026
Wuppertal January 26, 2026
Riedel and Media Tailor Deliver Unified Broadcast a...
26/01/2026
26 Jan 2026
VEON Unveils the New Beeline Uzbekistan Network Operations Center, ...
26/01/2026
Bookish is created by and stars Mark Gatiss
Images available HERE
Following th...
26/01/2026
Monday 26 January 2026
New Sky Original Series explores Entertainment Juggernaut, The X Factor
Sky today confirmed it has greenlit a premium, definitive docum...
26/01/2026
Monday 26 January 2026
Sky confirms major investment to transform Livingston ca...
26/01/2026
Software for Stable Data Management and Lasting Business Success in Uncertain Ti...
26/01/2026
RT is today publishing a statistical summary of the Register of External Activities for the third quarter of 2025.
The RT Register of External Activities com...
24/01/2026
RT and Virgin Media Television kick off comprehensive free-to-air coverage of t...
23/01/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 29 July, 2025 - Yospace, the global leader in Dynamic A...
23/01/2026
Spotify's annual Best New Artist celebration honors the rising stars whose talent, creativity, and dedication have propelled them to the music industry'...
23/01/2026
Paramount is transforming its operations by unifying the media supply chains of their top brands into a scalable global pipeline.
This transformation enhances ...
23/01/2026
Every delay costs. When a subtitle fails QC, even the smallest issue can mean missed deadlines, extra vendor costs, or frustrated teams. The new Accurate.Video ...
23/01/2026
Find out where Sare and Suze are now on RT One and RT Player Thursday 29 January at 10.15pm
Hit drama SisterS, created by, written by and starring real-life ...
23/01/2026
Friday 23 January 2026
Sky appoints Lisa Clark as Commissioning Executive for SNL UK
Lisa Clark headshot
PNG (468KB)
Lisa Clark joins Sky as Commissioning E...
23/01/2026
RT is delighted to announce that the RT and F s ireann / Screen Ireland supported short film Retirement Plan has been nominated for Best Animated Short at th...
22/01/2026
Last November, Ed Sheeran returned to his musical roots for an intimate, one-nig...
22/01/2026
Every delay costs. When a subtitle fails QC, even the smallest issue can mean missed deadlines, extra vendor costs, or frustrated teams. The new Accurate.Video ...
22/01/2026
Thursday 29 January 9:35pm on RT 2 and RT Player
The dating show returns with something old, something new and a dater you may already know
Thursday evenings...
22/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz, Qualcomm, and Motorola demonstrate successful 5G Broadcast comp...
22/01/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
21/01/2026
Wednesday 21 January 2026
Backing Britain on the global stage: Sky becomes an o...
21/01/2026
Fox Corporation Executives to Discuss Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Resul...
21/01/2026
Baselight v7 brings colourists and post-houses smarter mattes, faster workflows and deeper control
FilmLight, known for its detailed colour toolset and longsta...
21/01/2026
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Jackie Fox as its new Washington Correspondent. Jackie is a multimedia journalist with RT News and has repor...
19/01/2026
Monday 19 January 2026
Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap
Sky News today announces The Wrap, a bold evolution of its 10pm ou...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones is striking a new chord in piano miking with the debut of its DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit, an out-of-the-box, plug-and-play miking solution that ta...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones will present its 4099 CORE Instrument Microphone and redesigned...
19/01/2026
Trianel relies on Arvato Systems for future-proof data center operations
Moving to the cloud: Arvato Systems implements extensive IT migration project
Migrat...
19/01/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Irish Album of the Year 2025 - Shortlist Announce...
Craig Wentworth, overall VFX supervisor at Scanline VFX, tells TVBEurope how the spectacular sights and sounds of Formula 1 in the 80s and 90s were recreated for the Netflix miniseries, SENNA
