The Synkie is a modular, open-source analog video processor, developed by Michael Egger, Flo Kaufmann and Max Egger.

Like a modular audio synthesizer, Synkie lets you work with the signal using patch cables, but producing images, not sound. It is described as “an instrument for video, a playground, a platform to explore new ways to transform a video signal.”

Synkie’s primary goal is playability, not image quality. Patching is done with 2mm laboratory cables – not shielded 75Ohm BNC cables, as one would normally use for video. The laboratory plugs can be stacked, so you can divide the signal into multiple paths, feeding multiple modules at once and change the configuration on the fly.

According to the developers, “The resulting image can get quite messy down the road, but that’s part of the fun, or maybe even the main goal.”

The video captures Synkie in use at the Electron Festival at the Usine de Genève.