Cats flying out of speakers and our technology addiction: highlights from Channel 4 Random Acts

Tonight is the fourth episode of Channel 4 Random Acts and the show continues to showcase the work of established artists as well as nurture emerging talent. It’s Nice That’s partnership with the platform celebrates this eclectic mix and as part of this collaboration we’ve commissioned five films created by some of the most exciting filmmakers in the industry today – you can see the first four here.

To further honour the programme’s diversity, we’re also featuring some of the other commissioned shorts in the TV show. Here we spotlight director duo Terri Timely’s alternative portrayal of the senses and Ben Jones’ music video, which explores our relationship with technology.

Terri Timely: Synesthesia

Director duo Terri Timely, AKA Corey Creasey and Ian Kibbey from California, has created Synesthesia, a depiction of extraordinary happenings in the context of a very ordinary family home. Synesthesia is a condition where simulation of one sense evokes a reaction of another, and in this film Terri Timely visualises this sensation in spectacular fashion by making fruits blast out music, cats fly out of speakers and records that you taste rather than listen to.

“To us it’s not really important that the viewer has any prior knowledge of synesthesia,” says the duo. “We looked at it as a way to create a sort of internal logical to some of our visual ideas and we thought this strange condition could be an interesting starting point.” The freedom this allows means Terri Timely’s film had no restrictions as it was creating its own reality. Art directed with a “Vietnamese retro-future” aesthetic, the muted colours provide a modest backdrop for plethora of madness to ensue in.

Ben Jones: Dot Net

Commissioned by Warp Records for Battles’ song Dot Net, director Ben Jones’ has created this music video for the experimental rock band. Described as an “idealised vision of the interaction between man and technology,” the film mixes live action footage with animation.

The video was shot on location during Ben’s exhibition at Ace Gallery in LA last year, and the blank, grey space shows off the bright technicolour of the illustrated components even more. Pieced together in hypnotic formations, these ambiguous and nonsensical visual stimulants mesmerise passers-by and a strong parallel with everyday life is created. As a viewer it makes you question your own screen addiction habits as we watch these strangers stare blankly at monitors missing out on the real world around them.

Channel 4 Random Acts showcases three-minute films created by established artists and up-and-coming amateurs, chosen for their bold and original expressions of creativity. The fourth TV episode of Random Acts aired last night on Channel 4, which you can catch up with here. To watch weekly Random Acts selections or explore the entire archive, head to the Random Acts website.