When Film Noir Met Clash of Clans

As a long-standing creative partner across all Supercell titles, Waste was brought in early to collaborate on how to introduce the Dark Days season. Together, we developed the concept of a frame-by-frame animation—something distinctive to elevate the campaign’s cinematic ambitions.

The Challenge

The brief was clear: create a piece of content that would celebrate the season’s film noir aesthetic while building hype around the Dark Days season, the Medal Event, and its new character — the Debt Collector. The goal was to excite players about the in-game experience and introduce the Debt Collector in a way that felt cinematic, distinctive, and capable of cutting through on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter (X) — platforms where players actively engage with Clash of Clans content.

“It’s always an absolute pleasure to create frame by frame animations for Supercell and the Clash of Clans franchise, and this was no exception. Being able to play around with the Film Noir style and showcase Clash characters in a brand new way was particularly fun. Our teams gave well over 100% to ensure the final film came out fantastic — and it did.” – Jamie Wallace, Midweight Creative, Waste Creative

“Frame-by-frame animation like this is all about discipline and detail. Every subtle movement, every flicker of light had to earn its place on screen. Bringing the Clash world into a noir style meant rethinking timing, weight, and character performance. It’s the kind of challenge that pushes you as an animator; I’m very happy with the result.” — Jacob Reidy, Senior Animator, Waste Creative

The Solution

We designed a fully frame-by-frame animation that brought the noir world of ‘Dark Days’ to life.

The narrative followed the Debt Collector — a goblin with a treasure chest full of loot — voiced in a classic inner monologue style that echoed the tone of noir crime dramas. Rendered entirely in black and white, with meticulous attention to lighting and atmosphere, the animation showcased both the character and the season’s theme in a way that felt fresh and elevated.

Waste delivered end-to-end production, developing the concept and script, storyboarding and designing characters, animating every frame by hand, and crafting detailed background art. We cast and directed the voiceover talent, and collaborated with a music production partner to produce original sound design and music, ensuring every element amplified the film noir atmosphere.

The result was a cinematic spot that felt like Clash of Clans reimagined through the lens of 1940s Hollywood.

Results

The film racked up over 2 million views on YouTube within 24 hours, trended #1 in Gaming and #4 overall on the platform, and sparked highly positive feedback from fans across social channels. Players praised the cinematic animation and storytelling, with engagement spiking during the season’s launch window.

Mission accomplished.