Since the early years of video art, works have been made which do not actually produce a standard TV signal waveform and therefore cannot be directly recorded. Some are based primarily upon magnetic distortion of the normal TV scan pattern, others utilise a Cathode Ray Tube as if it were an oscilloscope screen.
SYNCHRONATOR is a video and audio research project by Gert-Jan Prins and Bas van Koolwijk in an attempt to use a combination of current digital and analogue means in order to make more use of the characteristic visual qualities of such techniques.

In 2005 both artists presented their individual AV performances for the techno² event at the Dutch Media Art Institute in Amsterdam. Although Van Koolwijk was working with digital equipment and Prins with analogue electronics, there were striking similarities between their contributions.
Both seemed to mock the technical limitations of the video signal and were using an audio-visual vocabulary 'natural' only to the machines with which it was produced.

During their work period within the framework of a residency at Impakt in April/May 2006, a laboratory was arranged in the Impakt building, for Van Koolwijk and Prins to conduct their collaborative experiments. By sharing their technical knowledge they set out to tackle the problems concerning the recording of complicated, merged and distorted video and audio signals with the aim of having those signals accepted by current video equipment.
As part of the residence, a publicly accessible workshop was organised, in which the use of interfaces, videotronics, video/audio software and improvisation in electronic music in the context of AV improvisational performance were examined.
Beginning of June 2006 a first audio-visual SYNCHRONATOR performance was presented as an Impakt event, together with screenings and presentations of works by related artists.

A first SYNCHRONATOR video was released in august 2006 and is currently distributed by the Netherlands Media Art Institute. For screenings please contact: info@montevideo.nl

Gert-Jan Prins  www.gjp.info
Prins has created an electronic system with circuits from radio, TV and transmitter techniques, which produces feedback sounds and TV signals. He regularly co-operates with E-RAX, The Flirts with Cor Fuhler, and MIMEO.

Bas van Koolwijk  www.basvankoolwijk.com
The video of Van Koolwijk can be seen as an aggressive attack on the illusion of video itself. Through a rigourous and formalistic approach, Van Koolwijk exposes the face of the machine which lives behind the often-placating veil of the televised image.

Impakt  www.impakt.nl
Impakt is an independent organisation for contemporary sound and image.