Scratch Video has its roots in 1960's and the 1970's, when a number of video synthesizers were developed often as home electronics projects by backyard inventors, with a few notable that were commercially developed and sold for use in the developing nightclub scene. In the 1980s the development of relatively cheap transistor and integrated circuit technology allowed for the creation of digital video effects hardware for individual VJ's and nightclub owners.

By the 1990s, advancements in computing had brought video processing to the desktop computer.The 90s also saw the development of a number of digital video mixers. Although these mixers were designed for home video editing and low budget TV production, they were quickly adopted by VJ's as the core component of their performance setups. Initially, video mixers were used to mix pre-prepared video material from VHS players and live camera sources, and later to add the new computer software outputs into their mix. Frequently using video mixers, VJ's select, blend, cross fade, scratch and cut video into a live, moving composition.Some of the VJ's concentrate only on visuals, while others also work with sound as well. For example, some VJ's use a sound source to create a visual, or use a visual source to create a sound.

In recent years, there has been increasing access to the art form and VJing's popularity with artists and the public at large has allowed for more VJ centered events to be organized in both art spaces and in clubs.Electronic musical instrument makers are producing specialty equipment for VJing.The increasing power and affordability of home computers has allowed for VJ programs to be produced. Today's VJ's have a wide choice of off the shelf hardware and software, covering every aspect of visual performance, including video sample playback, real-time video effects, scratchable DVD players and 3D visual generation, making the art form more accessible.Notable artists and collectives who have worked in different ways from the introduction of Scratch Video till present include Coldcut, EBN, GNN, Addictive TV, TV Sherriff, NomIg, Kid Koala, Piratetv and Mike Relm.

There has also been some interesting crossover between VJ culture and the open source movement.Some VJ's use and help develop open source software, and re-use each others files or samples, sometimes radically reshaping them through their process of production.When one adds the opening of the floodgates for mash-up videos all over the web from youtube to opensourcecinema.org, we are seeing a time when the editor is become key to this overall process.As scratch video styles and techniques are becoming more recognized within television, commercials and music videos; the avenues for which they are being mashed up online will only grow in the coming years.

Original Illustration by Ryan James Terry