Dezeen Magazine

Ben Jones' Dot Net video uses animation to recreate Battles' "technicolour sounds"

Music: director Ben Jones has collaborated with experimental rock band Battles on a riotous animation-heavy film that questions society's addiction to "screen time".

Dot Net music video by Battles produced by Ben Jones

Dot Net is the first in a series of moving-image collaborations between filmmakers and Warp Records artists, showcased through Channel 4's Random Acts strand of arts programming.

Dot Net music video by Battles produced by Ben Jones

"Ben Jones and I went to Massachusetts College of Art together in the 1990s and I've been a huge fan of his work as both a solo artist and a member of Paper Rad ever since," commented Dave Konopka, bassist and guitarist for Battles.

Dot Net music video by Battles produced by Ben Jones

"I have always thought that there would be a great synthesis of Ben's experimental animation and Battles' technicolour sounds – a joining of two forms that I have been wanting to make happen for years," he added.

Dot Net music video by Battles produced by Ben Jones

The film, which lacks an obvious narrative, is a riot of brightly coloured moving graphics and animation, intercut with footage of visitors admiring artwork in a gallery.

When Battles first approached Jones to collaborate, he had recently finished work on a solo show. Pieces from the exhibition feature throughout the Dot Net video.

Dot Net music video by Battles produced by Ben Jones

"Through his incorporation of a live-action gallery scene intercut with his authentically one-of-a-kind animation, Ben made a video for Dot Net that is one of my favourite Battles video collaborations and absolute joy to watch over and over again," commented Konopka.

Dot Net music video by Battles produced by Ben Jones

Alongside the imagery of digitally-generated three-dimensional shapes, the film focuses on individuals apparently absorbed in games on tablets or smartphones, appearing to transport the viewer into the moving world of the game itself.

Dot Net music video by Battles produced by Ben Jones

At one point the action cuts to footage of two people playing table tennis, later echoed in a graphic Pong-style representation of the game. The film even appears to break the fourth wall towards the end, as a man seems to peer out of the screen and at the viewer themselves.

Dot Net music video by Battles produced by Ben Jones

"The exploration of the digital territory between abstract graphic user interfaces, polyrhythms and human interaction was a paramount inspiration of this video," said Jones, who has also created shows for Adult Swim and Cartoon Network.

Dot Net music video by Battles produced by Ben Jones

"Prodding and proving the causality of passive engagement vs hyper-addiction concerning the influence of 'screen time' (using the video and audio of an iPad or iPhone or etc.)," he added. "In the end we kept returning to this jump off: is this a dope music vid to have on your Apple watch? Yes or No?"

Dot Net music video by Battles produced by Ben Jones

The film will be broadcast as part of a half-hour programme on Channel 4 in 2016, which will also feature further collaborations between Warp musicians and directors.

Dot Net music video by Battles produced by Ben Jones

Dot Net is taken from Battles' album La Di Da Di, which was released on Warp Records on September 18.