Synchromy
Encyclopedia
Synchromy is a 1971 National Film Board of Canada
visual music
film by Norman McLaren
utilizing graphical sound
. To produce the film's musical soundtrack
, McLaren photographed rectangular cards with lines on them. He arranged these shapes in sequences on the analog optical sound track to produce notes and chords. He then reproduced the sequence of shapes, colorized, in the image portion of the film
, so that audiences see the shapes that they are also hearing, as sound.
McLaren had experimented with this technique for creating notes through patterns of stripes on the soundtrack area of the film in the 1950s, working with Evelyn Lambart
. Their technique was based on earlier work in graphical sound by German pioneer Rudolf Pfenninger and Russian Nikolai Voinov.
The creation of Synchromy was documented by Gavin Millar
in 1970 in a film called The Eye Hears, The Ear Sees. In McLaren's production notes, he stated that "Apart from planning and executing the music, the only creative aspect of the film was the “choreographing” of the striations in the columns and deciding on the sequence and combinations of colours."
The film received eight awards, including a Special Jury Mention at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival
.
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
visual music
Visual music
Visual music, sometimes called "colour music," refers to the use of musical structures in visual imagery, which can also include silent films or silent Lumia work. It also refers to methods or devices which can translate sounds or music into a related visual presentation...
film by Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren, CC, CQ was a Scottish-born Canadian animator and film director known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada...
utilizing graphical sound
Graphical sound
Graphical sound or drawn sound techniques are a consequence of the sound-on-film technology and based on the creation of artificial optical polyphonic sound tracks on transparent film. The first practical sound-on-film systems were created almost simultaneously in the USSR, USA and Germany...
. To produce the film's musical soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
, McLaren photographed rectangular cards with lines on them. He arranged these shapes in sequences on the analog optical sound track to produce notes and chords. He then reproduced the sequence of shapes, colorized, in the image portion of the film
Film stock
Film stock is photographic film on which filmmaking of motion pictures are shot and reproduced. The equivalent in television production is video tape.-1889–1899:...
, so that audiences see the shapes that they are also hearing, as sound.
McLaren had experimented with this technique for creating notes through patterns of stripes on the soundtrack area of the film in the 1950s, working with Evelyn Lambart
Evelyn Lambart
Evelyn Lambart was a Canadian animator and technical director with the National Film Board of Canada, known for her early collaborations with Norman McLaren as well as her later films, as sole director....
. Their technique was based on earlier work in graphical sound by German pioneer Rudolf Pfenninger and Russian Nikolai Voinov.
The creation of Synchromy was documented by Gavin Millar
Gavin Millar
Gavin Millar is a Scottish film director, critic and television presenter.Millar's early career was as a film critic, most notably for The Listener from 1970 to 1984. He also contributed to Sight and Sound and The London Review of Books. With the film director Karel Reisz, he co-authored The...
in 1970 in a film called The Eye Hears, The Ear Sees. In McLaren's production notes, he stated that "Apart from planning and executing the music, the only creative aspect of the film was the “choreographing” of the striations in the columns and deciding on the sequence and combinations of colours."
The film received eight awards, including a Special Jury Mention at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival
Annecy International Animated Film Festival
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became annual in 1998...
.