E1 Documentary Goes Behind the Scenes of the World Electric Powerboat Race Series

New documentary, ‘E1: Learning to Fly’, goes behind the scenes of the E1 Series - World Electric Powerboat Races - and features iconic race-team owners such as Tom Brady, Rafa Nadal, Marc Anthony and Didier Drogba. 

Made by creative content agency Curveball and premiered on YouTube on 12th May, the film features colour grading by global post-production outfit POD LDN. 

‘E1: Learning to Fly’ was three years in the making. Years of footage from Curveball’s behind-the-scenes docu-series ‘Inside E1’ were condensed into this powerful 46 minute-long-form documentary, telling the story from the initial concept in 2020, through to the first successful race in Jeddah in early 2024. 

During production, Curveball and E1 Studios used different cameras throughout the shoot, so the challenge for POD LDN was to make all the footage consistent. While the film was shot over years, the post-production needed to be delivered in rapid time, so POD’s two colourists worked in tandem to deliver the outputs in just a few days, ensuring consistency across every shot. 

In 2020, E1 announced to the world that they would be creating the world’s first electric powerboat championship - E1, where all team owners would be big names from the world of sport and entertainment.

The Inside E1 series gives fans a unique insight into the challenges that come with launching a new motorsport championship, and used a mix of interviews, events and fly-on-the-wall footage to create themed episodes as they happened. The just-launched ‘E1: Learning to Fly’ documentary tells of the story of how E1 went from a 3D concept to a full fleet of foiling electric powerboats, racing head-to-head on the Red Sea, it was produced for TVC and online.

Silas Craig Hall, creative video and production lead at Curveball Digital, said, “This documentary is a very open and honest account of what went into building a concept that seemed impossible from the outset. A story of defiance, dreams and of where fighting for a better future can lead. Special thanks on this to Laurence Boyd at E1 and those who helped me stitch it together - Sam McMulkin BFE, Lucy D'Cruz, Ian Grech BFE, Rob Monk on graphics and animation, Paul Lane on sound design and POD LDN for the grade.”

Adrienn Major, founder, POD LDN, added, “It was an incredible experience to be part of bringing this moving documentary to life in a rapid time frame. Post production is an essential part of the final look and feel of any film, and we were delighted to bring our skills to this standout project. Thanks to Curveball for bringing us on board.”