Over The Top COVID19 Pandemic Hobbies & Achievements
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2021 7:51 am
by Luke
Model train plays record-breaking melody with 2,840 water glasses
By Amanda Tang Published 06 April 2021
Miniatur Wunderland, the Hamburg-based attraction that is home to the largest model train set and the largest model train set (scale length) has broken yet another record. The attraction has been closed for almost a year due to the Coronavirus lockdown, but the time has given the Miniatur Wunderland team the opportunity to create a new world record for the longest melody played by a model train.
On 17th March 2021, the model train performed a compilation of 20 classical pieces over a 211-metre track - making the full melody 2,840 notes long! A total of 2,840 glasses were placed strategically along the model railway and filled with water to create a ringing tone when hit. The team at Miniatur Wunderland used iconic classical melodies ranging from Mozart to Vivaldi. All these songs are well known around the world, so you’re bound to sing along to a few tunes.
The idea was inspired from a video they created last Christmas where an A380 takes off in their miniature Knuffingen Airport with a Santa Claus on the wing with a clapper in his hand. Santa then strikes the bottles filled with water at various measurements to play the tune of Jingle Bells. This short video went viral and has been viewed over 100 million times.
This sparked the idea of driving a train through the entire wonderland to play a medley of the world's most famous classical pieces. The lockdown had given the team an opportunity to make this dream a reality. "Had there not been a lockdown, we would have thought about the project for a minute and then buried it as impossible," explains Frederik Braun, Founder of Miniatur Wunderland.
Re: Over The Top COVID19 Pandemic Hobbies & Achievements
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2021 8:43 am
by bill_g
I wanna know how they got the flying cam shots of the train as it progressed without having the rotor noise in the recording.
Re: Over The Top COVID19 Pandemic Hobbies & Achievements
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2021 9:02 am
by bill_g
PS - I'm also predicting there were a lot of broken glasses involved in this project along with a lot of mop time and some stings from the hot rail during the cleanup. Nobody walked around there in their tenny bops.
Re: Over The Top COVID19 Pandemic Hobbies & Achievements
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:24 am
by northland10
bill_g wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 8:43 am
I wanna know how they got the flying cam shots of the train as it progressed without having the rotor noise in the recording.
I would assume first of all that they have the quietest drone possible. In addition, I assume the microphones (possibly multiple ones) are mounted on the train itself to get as close to the glasses as possible since they are not all that loud, especially without a resonator. Since you can hear the noise from the train (traction motor and the wheels) I assume the mics are close and the train noise tends to drown out the drone rotors. The drown may not be quite as close as it would appear.
However, that setup, and getting all the glasses tuned and in the right place is amazing. I do wonder how many times they took out glasses with the drone.
Another possibility with the sound is that they recorded the sound on a separate run and then did a second one with the drone. As long as timing of the train (I assume computerized) was the same and the video engineer lined it up correctly, it would seem like they were both recorded at the same time.
Re: Over The Top COVID19 Pandemic Hobbies & Achievements
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:48 am
by northland10
It would appear that this was the train for the sound take without the drone (and probably the official one for Guinness). For the video the included the train that plays the glasses but dropped the microphone and GoPro support cars.
Yes, the musician and sometimes sound engineer gets excited about how they do things.
Re: Over The Top COVID19 Pandemic Hobbies & Achievements
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2021 7:18 pm
by keith
I think that the record should be denied due to the number of glasses that were hopelessly out of tune.
Re: Over The Top COVID19 Pandemic Hobbies & Achievements
Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2021 10:17 pm
by sterngard friegen
So many flat notes.
Pro tip: If you want to break the record make sure the people "tuning" the glasses aren't hopelessly tone deaf.
Re: Over The Top COVID19 Pandemic Hobbies & Achievements
Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 5:20 am
by p0rtia
Geez. Tough crowd.
Re: Over The Top COVID19 Pandemic Hobbies & Achievements
