Snow Canon (1981)

Video by Synopsis
Music by Steve Roach
Graphics by Denise Gallant/Brian Samuels
from California Images:HiFi For The Eyes

[@summitwinetrail]

Also someone wanted to know how the snow patterns were done. These were done by Brian Samuels from his Arp Synth. He was great at making laser-like patterns, as he worked at Laserium in the past. The patterns were displayed on a medical oscilloscope and captured by my 1978 Black and White camera, fed into the video synth. This was the first video we ever did together. I edited it without a video editor - directly one tape to another, which makes it very difficult to 'sync' to the sound. All of the real video was shot by the B&W camera - Westlake Village near Thousand Oaks, and Santa Inez Valley near Santa Barbara.

[@greenbitz1998]

amazing job 🤍

[@BigJB21]

incredible

[@feywerfolevado6286]

i’ve loved this song for so many years, and never knew there was a “music video” for it - so cool to see!

[@calculatorwatch]

I want to live in this world forever

[@runitecastle]

wishing this would go on forever

[@CabrilloDM134a]

More response to comments below: Yes the 80s were the best, and I am sure anyone with After Effects can do a better job in 2016. Yes to the 'influences' suggested. No to George Winston - Steve Roach still proves the 'best' even in 2016, and yes again to the first comments "I want to live in this world forever". (I use that line now when I hear good music) This was shot with a black and white camera, colorized though our home-built Synopsis Video Colorizer (Rob Schafer/Denise Gallant 1974-81). The snow effects were shot from an oscilloscope with patterns by Brian Samuels (all in 1980). The concept came from a dream I had when I was about 3 years old, imagining what snow would look like at night around our local hills in San Fernando Valley and Malibu. I did not get to see snow until I was about 6 years old....so it was a dream of a 3 year old that provided the concept.

[@ceannederohan9692]

Thank you so much for describing how you made it! Often these things are so touching, but you never know who made it or why or how. It took a lot of creativity to figure out how to make this vision real with the technology you used, and it shows. It has touched me for years since I have seen it. I simply love it.

[@ShadowAspect_]

I purchased this track on iTunes because of this, thanks! Steve Roach "Snow Canon"

[@hrresonance]

Amazing! This is rare very rare as it was only available on VHS and maybe Laserdisc. From a very unique time the 1980s when synthesizer music was practically mainstream except for this style i.e. ambient which IMHO needed more exposure. This is from Roach's cd/album "Traveler". An early influence on my music making/listening! Thanks!!

[@summitwinetrail]

No, this was not available on either. It was originally recorded on a one inch tape deck that was not American standard, so basically free to us. Edited without an editing system - just button pushes. This version of the song was never published. The later version of the song and of the video was published on "Watercolors" but Tower Records on Beta an VHS. There were 16 songs and one of them won a Billboard Music Video award in 1986. The later version: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5m4hYyLp9Fsbq8

[@Chichilcitlalli]

@@summitwinetrail is there an album version that sounds like this?

[@Chichilcitlalli]

beautiful

[@FantasyNow]

Absolutely gorgeous.

[@Enigmaticland]

This is one of the most beautiful things I've seen in a while... Thanks for sharing it!

[@dantescanline]

Fantastic.

[@radioserenidadec]

what an amazing tune, we have an ageless TOP 5 on our station and this song is playing this week... simply mesmerizing...

[@ArgWoman]

Hermoso, MUY hermoso.

[@travishallenbeck]

love Steve Roach, thanks

[@NuGanjaTron]

Just goes to prove you don't need bloated high tech crap to produce genuine art. Sheer audiovisual bliss! Man, the 80s ruled!

[@prizmsun]

well done!

[@blacktapeforabluegirl]

The track is from Steve's 2nd album, Traveler (1983). projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/traveler

[@psydrab]

My favourite music video :)

[@EsmondCallier]

Roach is a genius

[@jihacid]

fantastico

[@Dtchmastrkilla7]

really cool

[@ShadowAspect_]

Love

[@HenryLowPass]

Cuan bueno que esta, tremendo

[@CabrilloDM134a]

Thanks for all the comments. Someday I should put this on my own channel. Denise Gallant Video4 - Synopsis Video

[@vacuuming]

i almost peed my pants watching this

[@kotep777]

wow

[@summitwinetrail]

The video was done even before it got to an album. Steve would just walk into our little studio and we would start doing video to it. Here is a later version with the real song, which also got not our Watercolor 16 song video compilation, which was published by Tower Records as one of their first New Age videos. The compilation one a Billboard Video Award in 1986 . Denis Gallant. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5m4hYyLp9Fsbq8

[@Boberlanez]

Goood!

[@Aloprado_oficial]

yeah

[@Zanek_power]

sounds like the beginning of morning news from year ~2200

[@baroughter]

best world

[@kuujjuaq58]

sound first, video next, and that's fine with me!

[@NuGanjaTron]

@video4biz Thanks for the info AND for this clip! What kind of equipment did you use (Umatic?) and how did you achieve the effects, particularly the snow patterns?

[@NuGanjaTron]

@beyondthesevoices Just cast your memory back dude -- they *were* great! :^)

[@farmitlong]

does anyone know the name of this track? was it made solely for this video? chube

[@bbcrumbs]

The final events foretold by this prophecy; pixelated flaming dogs rained down from the sky, consuming all who stood by, and when the flames have at last receded, only the charred husk of an Alsatian will remain•

[@kuujjuaq58]

they decided to merge, thus, Becoming portions of an Entity within. thanks!!

[@fuckingharpsichord]

allmost a r d james track

[@Archaeopteryx911]

psychedelic!

[@wurlg]

abyone how I to make videos like this?

[@relaxing]

1 user would rather be listening to George Winston.

[@SPARKLEDAZEY]

I need to know what album this is off of please!

[@mnfautch]

Traveler

[@SPARKLEDAZEY]

you fuckin sneaker!@@mnfautch

[@JoeWisniewski]

Fallout or melt down?

[@AlphaApexAffirmations]

@NuGanjaTron at the time it was made, this was bloated high tech crap. still brilliant though.

[@alana6502]

Panemorfo

[@ToysintheStatic]

Some people still do stuff like this while integrating it with modern technology, ahem...Just sick of hearing how great the 80s were.

[@Vingul]

The 80s were really great.

[@blankowvsingt]

wow