synnack init.system is a video anthology exploring themes of creation, revelation, demise and catharsis. Set to tracks from synnack’s “v2″ release, init.system is split into 3 acts; each focused on a different phase of an unknown protagonist’s journey. Adolescent trauma, abnormal curiosity with familiar objects, and pseudo-spiritual revelation are highlighted in Act I “init.being”. Act I features videos for “Ants in the Water”, “L3D”, and “Nauvoo” and introduces the 3 main characters and the rising tensions between them. In Act II, “init.descent”, these tensions escalate to a violent and destructive outcome in videos for “Her Room” and “Underneath Outside”. The anthology concludes in Act III “init.restart” which is set to “Rize (5mg)” and provides a hallucinatory abstraction meant to represent a moment of twilight just after the protagonist’s ultimate end.

How did this project use Max?

The footage used in init.sytsem was shot in HD and edited in 2008-2009 by Jennifer McClain of 0xf8 Studios with final edits in early 2010. Jitter was used to apply custom video effects to the HD footage before editing. The videos clearly would not have been the same without the application of Jitter. The video collaboration between McClain and synnack began in 2007 to create installation-like environments using Cycling 74's Max/MSP/Jitter to be used for the synnack live performances. This early work focuses on abstract narrative, an evolving cinematography that exposes and examines the boundary between eye-candy and film. Init.system leverages these techniques to combine classical mythological themes with chance methodologies in much the same way the synnack performances contain generated custom and narrative footage.