SENNA ACCELERATES BRAZIL’S PRESENCE IN THE GLOBAL VFX INDUSTRY

The mini-series  Senna is not just a tribute to Brazil’s legendary Formula 1 driver, Ayrton Senna; it’s also a game-changer for Brazil’s visual effects (VFX) industry. For Marcelo Siqueira, the Overall VFX Supervisor, the project was an opportunity to highlight Brazil’s growing influence on the global VFX scene. The series, produced by Netflix in collaboration with Brazil’s Gullane Entretenimento, stands as the most expensive in Brazil’s history, with a staggering production budget of $170 million. With a total of 2,089 visual effects shots across six episodes and six different VFX vendors, Senna is a remarkable milestone in both the storytelling and technological aspects of Brazilian cinema.

Paying Tribute to an Icon

Ayrton Senna, a three-time Formula 1 World Champion, is a beloved figure not only in Brazil but around the world. His untimely death in a tragic 1994 race crash left a lasting void in the sport. The Senna mini-series, starring Gabriel Leone as the racing legend, brings Senna’s unparalleled achievements and tragic end to life, offering a glimpse into the history of Formula 1 through the lens of his races. Directed by Vicente Amorim and Julia Rezende, the series captures the tension, glory, and heartbreak of Senna’s career, and recreating his iconic races presented a dream opportunity for the VFX professionals involved.

Siqueira reflects on the immense pressure and excitement surrounding the project: “The industry had been buzzing about this project for years. After all, we’re talking about Brazil’s greatest icon, recognized worldwide, and one of Netflix’s biggest bets in Latin America.” The series’s global appeal demanded a VFX approach that could match the intensity and scale of the real-life events.

Brazil’s Rising VFX Talent

While the project involved international VFX heavyweights like Scanline VFX and NetFX, it also featured a significant contribution from Brazilian studios. Siqueira is especially proud of the collaboration, noting that three of the six VFX vendors involved were Brazilian. This inclusion highlighted the growth of Brazil’s VFX capabilities, positioning the nation firmly on the global map.

“We were delighted to see that three of the six companies that contributed to the project were Brazilian, delivering work on a par with international vendors,” Siqueira said. The collaboration involved Miagui, Quanta, and Picma Post — three of Brazil’s leading creative production studios. The partnership with international VFX companies such as Scanline VFX helped elevate Brazil’s presence in the global VFX arena.

A Global Collaborative Effort

The work for Senna was spread across several VFX vendors, each specializing in different aspects of the series. Scanline VFX, a prominent global player, handled significant portions of the racing sequences, focusing on locations such as Suzuka, Japan, and Senna’s home track of Interlagos in Brazil. Scanline VFX Supervisor Craig Wentworth described the scope of their work: “We completed 390 shots, most of which involved racing sequences, where the challenge was to recreate the intensity of the Formula 1 environment, including cars in motion and the energy of the crowd.”

In total, NetFX, a global network of talent working under the Netflix umbrella, was the largest contributor to the project, delivering 725 shots, primarily focused on set extensions, burn-ins, clean-ups, and makeup fixes.

Brazilian Studios Make Their Mark

Brazilian studios also played a key role in making Senna feel authentically Brazilian while maintaining high standards of international VFX work. Miagui, for example, was primarily responsible for recreating the famous Monaco Grand Prix races of 1984 and 1988 using cutting-edge CGI. This required an incredible level of detail to capture both the fast-paced action and the intricate details of the Formula 1 circuit.

Quanta, another Brazilian VFX vendor, contributed a staggering 488 shots to the series. Their work spanned virtual production, online and color services, and FIA footage restoration. Quanta also played a crucial role in integrating high-level burn-ins to ensure that the racing footage looked seamless, preserving the authenticity of the footage used in the show.

Picma Post, who worked on scenes involving the tragic 1994 Imola race, added significant set extensions that brought the historic moment to life. In this particularly somber episode, Picma’s work included adding extra cars and digital audiences to the Imola set, which helped recreate the emotional impact of Senna’s final race. “Picma Post was tasked with the iconic 1994 Imola race,” Siqueira says, emphasizing the sensitivity and care required in capturing such a pivotal moment in Senna’s legacy.

Pushing the Boundaries of Virtual Production

In addition to CGI and traditional VFX techniques, Senna also embraced cutting-edge virtual production. Eyeline Studios, another key partner in the project, provided crucial consultation for the creation of 3D scans of production vehicles. They also ventured into all-CG racing shots created in Unreal Engine, marking a first for both Scanline and Eyeline. This technical innovation brought a new layer of realism to the racing sequences, allowing the production to push the boundaries of what is possible in visual storytelling.

Wentworth explains the significance of this virtual production effort: “Eyeline Studios was responsible for scanning our production vehicles for 3D recreation and creating several all-CG racing shots in Unreal Engine for us, a first in Scanline and Eyeline’s long history.”

Looking Toward the Future

The Senna mini-series stands as a testament to the rapidly evolving capabilities of Brazil’s VFX industry. By partnering with some of the world’s top VFX vendors and leveraging local talent, the series has placed Brazil on the global VFX map. The immense scale and emotional resonance of Senna have showcased Brazil’s ability to produce world-class visual effects, further solidifying the country’s place in the international entertainment landscape.

As Siqueira and the VFX teams celebrate the success of this project, the future of Brazil’s VFX industry looks brighter than ever. With the global success of Senna, Brazil is poised to be a major player in the world of visual effects, and this series may well be the catalyst for further groundbreaking projects to come.