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 ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
08/07/2026
Latest analogue-emulation plug-ins revealed
Universal Audio have just added two new analogue-emulation plug-ins to their DSP-powered UAD line-up. Developed ...
08/07/2026
Turn any audio loop into a playable kit
Pitch Innovations have recently introduced an interesting new tool that's capable of creating playable kits from...
08/07/2026
Adds new keyboard-split function
MonkeyC have recently launched an update that overhauls their powerful software sampler. Described as the sampler that mad...
08/07/2026
Four new delay algorithms & dual-engine functionality
Strymon have just announced that the much-anticipated MX version of their hugely popular delay pedal i...
08/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and China Mobile Research Institute jointly demonstrate generati...
08/07/2026
Film follows the courageous fight for justice by survivors of Ireland's Magdalene Laundries & Mother and Baby Homes
TESTIMONY airs Wednesday 22 July at 9...
07/07/2026
Applications are now open for the Validation Booster, a six-month acceleration programme supporting journalists, media organisations, content creators, media in...
07/07/2026
New mixer aimed squarely at instrument-level sources
Heritage Audio have clearly been busy recently, as alongside their all-new Tubestrip, they've also ...
07/07/2026
New channel strip combines popular hardware designs
The latest arrival to the Heritage Audio line-up brings together a selection of their praised hardware d...
07/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
07/07/2026
UKTV commission with BritBox and Sony Pictures Television and inspired by Deborah Cadbury's book, Chocolate Wars
The six-part series is produced by Fable P...
07/07/2026
Tuesday 7 July 2026
Record audiences tune into the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 on Sky Sports
The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 was the most watche...
07/07/2026
Tuesday 7 July 2026
Official trailer released for Fightland, a revenge drama fr...
07/07/2026
Wuppertal July 7, 2026
Riedel and ARRI Bring Cinematic Live Production to the Eurovision Song ContestRiedel Communications and ARRI played a key role in one o...
07/07/2026
To Whom It Concerns RT today confirmed that Patrick Kielty is to extend his contract as host of The Late Late Show.
Last season, the world's longest-runn...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky Kids unveils new slate for 2026 including Paris Hilton&#...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
BLEACH: THOUSAND-YEAR BLOOD WAR THE CALAMITY Continues I...
04/07/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
VIZ Media Unveils New Anime Slate at Anime Expo 2026 with ...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
VIZ Media Celebrates Anime Expo 2026 with BLACK TORCH Worl...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Thursday 2 July 2026
Tea with Judi Dench returns to Sky Arts with legendary guest, Sir Ian McKellen
Sky today confirms Tea with Judi Dench will return this su...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
Matt started engineering and mixing in studios. Twelve years later, a good friend, front of house engineer Shane Haase, took him out on tour as system engineer ...
01/07/2026
Our SD10T was an absolutely rock-solid, stable console and the Quantum 338T has been the perfect upgrade, Hurley says. Having multiple screens is a big advant...
01/07/2026
LEXINGTON, Kentucky - July 2026 -Tyler Childers' seventh and latest studio record, Snipe Hunter, is an adventurously sprawling collection of tunes that span...
01/07/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
BLEACH Comes to Life in Los Angeles with First-of-Its-Kind...
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
