House Of The Hanged

The brief:

HarperCollins Publishers asked us to create a book trailer for House of the Hanged that would evoke the dream-like yet sinister tone of the novel.

Set on the French Riviera in the 1930s, House of the Hanged is a naturally visual novel and HarperCollins wanted the trailer to reinforce the filmic cover and give potential readers an impression of the dreamy but dark nature of the novel itself.

The project:

The watercolour style of the book cover lent itself naturally to animation, so we blended the photographs with live footage of skies over the French Riviera. This cuts softly into starker footage of Nazi Germany as the mood darkens and builds to a tense climax and finally the reveal to the product shot.

Testimonial:

'Working with One Darnley Road has been an unalloyed joy. Their perfect mix of insight, creative thinking and faultless execution means I have no hesitation in recommending them as creative partners. The projects they have worked on with me have been some of my favourites of the last couple of years.'

Benedict North,
Creative Director HarperCollins UK