"Compared to Vermont, this place is THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON"
"The acoustics in this place are funny, you'll see what I mean
for
The Shining by Stanley Kubrick
Selected and Compiled by Ignatz Ratskywatsky The simultaneity of the image
and sound is progressive throughout the movie. It's "on" during the
credits but isn't necessarily very convincing through the first
playing of the CD to the passive participant. It really begins to
take effect during the second playing, after which most viewers
are thrust into a state of auto-hypnosis. As the events in
the film become more savage, supernatural, and subjective
the sound and image become more complementary.
As with any good use of music in film, the music doesn't
necessarilly parallel or refer to the film space, but rather
provides a counterpuntal effect.
The music seems to organize the
film into distinct related sections and sub-sections, (Acts and scenes if you will)
bringing to light parallels. For example, each main section begins with a main character going into Ullman's office - the communication center.
If you'd prefer a more 2001-like experience, you can go directly to the
sequence where Jack enters room 237 by starting Echoes with the abrubt cut to the television in Hallorans hotel room.
Or, you can experience the end by going to the final intertitle "4 O'Clock" and
starting with the disolution of that intertitle.
I recommend re-synching at the end and at the beginning of each of the three acts,
for maximimun satisfaction.
There might end up being plus or minus two seconds lag if you don't
re-synch throughout, due to slight inconsistencies in the playing speeds of VCRs, of course.
You have several options in bringing on the self induced trance. You can keep the music on all of the time, but I
recommend tuning in to the longer dialogue scenes.
A good rule of thumb is to tune into the dialogue when the main characters
are sitting down and talking.
If you haven't
seen The Shining before I highly recommend watching the original version without synching to the music before trying something as demented as this.
There are a myriad of
random coincidences, patterns, and motifs to be gotten out of the telepathic state, but I'll spare you the details. (most importantly though, black and white bird, albatross (Chirst figure) Rime of the Ancient Mariner stuff)
"Some of the cut-ups seem to refer to future events" -W.S. Burroughs
*Act One - Jack is out of Touch *Act Two - The Loss of Control *Act Three - Showdown/Jack goes for the Kill/Escape
Back to The Kubrick-Floyd Site
The Technic of Acoustic Control
(Proper & Improper Uses of the Simultaneouscope)
-Watson, in Stephen Kings' film adaptation of The Shining
-Halloran in the Stephen King version (not worth seeing, really)
Music Cue Sheet
In order to try this synch for yourelf you will first need
the North American NTSC video version of The Shining.
The European
version is some twenty minutes shorter and will not work.
This makes sense because a PAL video wouldn't work anyway.
It would play slower than the NTSC version which is very close to the
length of a film version.
Then you'll need a copy of "Meddle" - CD probably works best.
The American video version of the film is almost exactly three times
the length of the CD from opening frame to the final
closing zoom shot.
One option in synchronizing is to simply put the CD on
repeat play after starting both simultaneously on the first frame.
Cues for a more precise synch are provided below.
Pause the video on the first frame of the film- the shot of the
lake. Start the CD and unpause the video simultaneously so that both start at
the same time.
On the intertitle "Saturday", start CD simultaneously as
this frame ends.
Wendy says "Wake up, right now", and then a faint ping is heard.
This is the cue.
