Audible
The Downloaded S2 Key Art
Ghosts in
the Machine
Identify, Trailers, Key Art, Print, OOH, Social Toolkit
THE DOWNLOADED 2
Audible invited us to visualize Season 2 of Robert J. Sawyer’s sci-fi world in a 30-second trailer, keyart, and campaign seen through the eyes of the Quantum computer itself. We partnered from the first storyboard to the final delivery, using a visual language where glitches flow rather than fracture.
Our challenges were clear: How do we tell Roscoe Koudoulian’s complex story with clarity? How do we keep futuristic glitch from feeling low-fi? And how do we deliver English and French versions that hit with equal punch?
CONDENSING A COMPLEX STORY
Roscoe Koudoulian’s journey spans 500 years, is both digital and interstellar, and explores themes of consciousness, identity, and digital rebirth. To introduce it all in half a minute, we stripped the story down to its essential beats and told it all through Brendan Fraser’s succinct narration.
“The Quantum computer” frames the world. “It can be your virtual paradise or your own personal hell” sets the stakes. “When we uploaded…” everything changed and we lost everything.
“If we uploaded again, what will we find?” …find out in The Downloaded 2.
A QUANTUM POV
We decided that the ‘eye’ of the Quantum computer would move rather than cut, so, using controlled distortions and optical effects, we created a sense of continuous camera movement through the trailer. The grid floor returns as a grounding element, helping the audience track their sense of space as Roscoe’s story unfolds.
LIQUID GLITCHES
Glitch effects often look analog or vintage, but we felt the Quantum computer was anything but. Our “pixel-stretching” technique gave the degradation a smoother, liquid motion that fluidly connects shots instead of breaking them into displaced bits. A more futuristic visual language that felt true to the series.
DESIGNING FOR TWO LANGUAGES
To make sure our partners at Audible are equipped with everything they need for a successful campaign, we usually deliver 300+ renders across multiple sizes and aspect ratios, but this campaign also included a French language version (with Roscoe played by Pierre-Yves Cardinal) — which grew our deliverable list to over 700 assets.
Key art, titles, captions, and actor cards were built in modular layers for quick language swaps, and we planned our English edit timing with enough breathing room to accommodate the French voiceover. The result: two versions that deliver the same impact without re-editing from scratch.
LENTICULAR POSTER
One final treat for this campaign was the opportunity to design a “Lenticular Poster” that presented a different view of Roscoe when viewed from different angles. Our designers resized and repurposed the approved key art to create another storytelling device for inviting audiences to look twice at The Downloaded 2.
