Skip navigation.
Home
Synchronicity Arkive
Home

Synchronicity Primer

What is Synchronicity?

Submitted by arkiver on Fri, 2008-02-08 11:22. Synchronicity Primer

An Introduction to Synchronicities

    What is a synchronicity??

       
    synchronicity

    The match formed by a piece of visual imagery (video tape or film) with an unrelated piece of music, which forms a new and different experience from that originally intended by either work.

    Synchronicities are instances where a certain clip, or even a whole movie, are found to fit extraordinarily well with different music, specifically music that evokes a surreal, or psychedelic, feel, that is intensified by the pairing.

    This site takes its name from the Jungian term of "synchronicity," of a resonance formed between two events unrelated in time and space. This non-local, non-linear connection defies rational explanation. Although the majority of examples listed here cannot really be considered synchronicities in Jung's terminology, the term seems to describe the emotional state evoked better than anything else.

    Early in the history of film, it was discovered that the music a piece of visual imagery is displayed with has a powerful influence on how it is perceived and received by the human mind. Films with highly emotional, majestic scores were found to have a greater emotional impact on their audience than similar scenes with no music, or even silence. William S. Burroughs, always an experimenter with the art of montage, was one of the first pioneers to put random clips of film to different unrelated music, creating the art of the synchronicity. The concept was an integral part of the psychedelic scene of the 1960s.

    Part of the appeal of synchronicities is that it allows the viewer a more active degree of participation in the viewing experience. Instead of just sitting there passively, you get to take part in what you see, by setting things up, by trying new combinations yourself. It's kind of subversive that way, because what you see is not necessarily what was originally intended as the viewing experience. It allows fans to reclaim participation in what they're seeing and hearing. It's a true multimedia experience, interactive at its easiest.

    What do you need to venture into the world of Synchronicities??


    An Open Mind, a sense of humor,
    and, most importantly, WONDER!!  

      A Stereo.

    A programmable CD Player is the easiest way to do the Synchs.
    Records (Vinyl), tapes, or 8-Tracks have been used as well, although much more difficult.

    A Television, for your viewing enjoyment.
    The bigger, the better...

    A VCR, for the video portion of the Synch.

    I first became interested in synchronicities when a friend of mine showed me the Jupiter And Beyond The Infinite synch listed here. I think if you try this, you too will be hooked on the concept. Give it a try.... experimentation is the name of the game here. Ideas and thoughts can be discussed on the SynchBoard.





» 2 comments

A Different Historical Perspective

Submitted by Karl Tune on Wed, 2008-04-30 17:04. Community Stories | Synchronicity Primer

Simultaneity describes events existing or happening at the same time. This describes precisely what happens when we play separately packaged music and movie with an overlap of occurrence. A documented simultaneity (simo for short) can be reliably repeated by other experimenters of the simo craft.

Music seems to have always been played with other events like festivals, theater, or a romantic date. In June 1810, Ludwig van Beethoven produced the Tone Poem “Egmont”. A Tone Poem, also known as the Symphonic Poem, is an orchestra music movement where an extramusical event provides the narrative or illustrative element. This event may be a painting, a poem, a story, or something else. 1

This musical style was later championed by many composers like Richard Strauss who wrote the 1896 Tone Poem “Also sprach Zarathustra” to musically illustrate Nietzsche’s writings by the same name. “Also sprach Zarathustra” is known to us today as the theme music for Kubrick’s movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”. 2

Experimental and innovative politics, art, and culture came to be called Avant-garde (French for advace guard). Avant-garde culture challenges the static norm.

Continued after the break...

» add new comment | read more

The Ultimate Stoner Rock Movies

Submitted by The DeVille on Wed, 2008-04-23 00:39. Community Stories | Synchronicity Primer

Thought some of you folks might get a kick out of this story on RS.com

Meet the King of Stoner Rock Movies (Just in Time for 4/20!)

By now most everybody (stoned or otherwise) knows that watching The Wizard of Oz while listening to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon unspools a motherload of eerie synchronicities. But did you know that the same thing happens when you combine Led Zeppelin IV and The Fellowship of the Ring? Or The Matrix and Metallica’s “Black Album”?

Read the whole story at RollingStone.com!>>>

» 7 comments

Alice on the Wall - The First Extensive List

Submitted by MediaJunkie666 on Thu, 2007-05-10 07:20. Community Stories | Synchronicity Primer

I have compiled the first extensive list of "shtuff" for Alice on the Wall !!!

After initially experiencing it over two years ago (plus several subsequent screenings), I became convinced that it was a better sync than Dark Side of the Rainbow (my current count is approximately 161 syncs, which--according to how one does the math--is about 50-90% denser) ... indeed, it may be the most impressive sync discovered thusfar!

Bear in mind that not everything is listed ... there are so many subtle scene changes and mood fluctuations ... I only included what I deemed to be of the utmost significance ... I would love to hear from anyone that wishes to suggest additions or modifications to my findings ...

I'm not exactly sure where/how is the best way to get the word out ... I figured I'd start here ... I'll have it posted online and/or converted to PDF in the near future ... if anyone reading this does know how to efficiently disseminate this further, I'd love to hear your ideas ....

Raining Blood & Thunder,
MSL

» add new comment

Questions - 1st Draft?

Submitted by arkiver on Wed, 2005-07-27 17:53. Synchronicity Primer

NOTE: I think I've set this thread so that anyone can edit it... so have at it.

From an original board thread, way back):

Q: Who came up with the bright idea of matching music to movies?
Was it William S. Burroughs or were there more founders of music/movie synchronicity?

Q: I tried a synch but it did not match up for me.
There might be a number of possible reasons.
1. Different versions (time lengths) of same music and movies floating around.
2. Not all DVD, VCR, and CD players have the same speed of play.
3. Sometimes synchs have a deep personal meaning. The connections one person makes are not the connections another person makes. This is based on subjective memories.

» add new comment | read more

Primer #1

Submitted by arkiver on Sun, 2005-07-24 17:55. Synchronicity Primer

If you're new to this site, you're probably wondering what exactly synchronicity is. In the interests of helping new visitors understand this little community that they've stumbled into, this article is a walk-through on the basic concepts. It will hopefully be shifting, at some point in the future, into more of a guide type format, but for the moment, this is it. So, without further ado...

From Merriam-Webster's Dictionary:
1 : the quality or fact of being synchronous


2 : the coincidental occurrence of events and especially psychic events (as similar thoughts in widely separated persons or a mental image of an unexpected event before it happens) that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality.
Carl Jung
       This site takes its name from psychologist Carl Jung's concept of synchronicity, of a resonance formed between two events unrelated in time and space. This non-local, non-linear connection defies rational explanation.


» add new comment | read more
XML feed