After 14 months, the Marble Machine is built, and its creator, Martin Molin, played a musical theme using the strange instrument and… 2000 marbles! The video, filmed and edited by Hannes Knutsson, is just the tip of the iceberg. There are multiple videos showing the development of the unique music machine.
The video premiere of the Marble Machine shows Martin Molon playing a musical piece using the instrument, which may well be used in future performances by his band, the Swedish Wintergatan, formed in 2013 and known for their exploration of different instruments and sounds.
Swedish filmmaker Hannes Knutsson, from Lefvande Bilder studio (Living Pictures), filmed and edited the music video, which is a 4-minute piece that will keep you glued to the screen both because of the music and the perspectives chosen to show the action. But Hannes was more than the man behind the camera. According to Martin, “Hannes has gone down as deep with the Machine as I have and I cannot enough express my gratitude over not only the results but also for all the fantastic days we spent together in a windowless industrial building in Gothenburg finishing this. The building of the machine went on so long and was so difficult that I was very close to giving up, but having Hannes onboard made me forget about the giving up option.”
Another participant on the project is Marcus Dimbodius, which Martin Molin refers on the information available as the person who “came up with crucial design suggestions and it is thanks to him that the cymbal is built into the box and that we don’t have to ever see that cymbal solution that you can see in the video again.” Marcus, who is a musician and filmmaker, is also “responsible for the fact that the marbles run on a conveyer belt which add greatly to the visual output of the Machine”.
The video that created so much enthusiasm is not alone, as there are multiple videos showing the evolution of the project throughout the 14 months it took from the drawing board to the final… Marble Machine. With 2000 marbles and 3000 parts, the machine is a curious music instrument, but the videos are also a lesson in terms of building a narrative.
On the second video, which shows various moments of the project, Hannes Knutsson explains how the background for the final video was chosen. But there is a whole collection of videos available on Wintergatan’s YouTube page that show different moments of the adventure.
Filmmaker and director Hannes Knutsson and his film studio Lefvande Bilder are, according to the description on the company website, “a bunch of movie lovers who have decided never to grow up. We still retain our childlike creativity when we meet and when we work. It is something we consider to be in our favor, the film should be fun! But do not think that we do not take it seriously just that. We are very keen to constantly evolve and get better at our craft as professionalism, we always have, but it is the journey to the finished product which is our strength, we have fun and are not afraid to take risks or try something new, something that our portfolio gossip about. We simply take the game to a professional level. We have fun, you will be satisfied! “
Visit their website for more info.