Slow television
Slow television, or slow TV, is a genre of "marathon" television coverage of an ordinary event in its complete length. Its name is derived both from the long endurance of the broadcast as well as from the natural slow pace of the television programme's progress. It was popularised in the 2000s by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, beginning with the broadcast of a seven-hour train journey in 2009.
Background
An early example of extended length cinematography was artist Andy Warhol's 1964 film Sleep, which showed poet John Giorno sleeping for five hours and twenty minutes. Warhol's production process involved splicing and looping of film that he had originally shot in 3-4 minute lengths. The concept was adapted to slow television on local TV broadcast in 1966 by WPIX, to VHS video tape in 1984 by the British company Video125, to satellite TV in 2003 by Bahn TV, and to live TV in 2011 by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.The latest evolution of the concept started with the NRK's coverage of the longest driver's eye view at that time, showing the complete 7-hour train ride along the Bergen Line on 27 November 2009. It was followed by the live coverage of the Hurtigruten ship during its 134-hour voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes starting on 16 June 2011.
Both events received extensive attention in both Norwegian and foreign media, and were considered a great success with coverage numbers exceeding all expectations and record ratings for the NRK2 channel.
Earlier examples
Several artists have created films or videos which paved the way for slow television. Among them are Andy Warhol, with films such as Sleep, a 320-minute looped film showing a person sleeping, and Brian Eno, who created the video Mistaken Memories of Medieval Manhattan, which displayed views of the Manhattan skyline and drifting clouds.Fishcam
United States: ''Sunrise Earth''
Main article: Sunrise EarthCut and adapted from the referenced article:
Sunrise Earth is a nature documentary television series that last aired in the United States in 2008 on HD Theater, which has since been reformatted and rebranded as Velocity. The series focused on presenting the viewer with sunrises in various geographical locations throughout the world. It is also notable for its complete lack of human narration, concentrating instead on the natural sounds of each episodes' specific location. The technique has been described by TV critic Tom Shales as 'crazily uneventful and thoroughly wonderful.'...64 one-hour shows were created in the first four years of production.The series moved between 30-second shots of various scenes of nature around the world at early dawn, progressing in real time until finally culminating with the sunrise at one location. In later seasons, these locations were selected by viewers.
NRK (Norway)
Starting in 2009 NRK, Norway's public service broadcaster, has produced several slow television programs that have gained high ratings. was named Word of the Year in Norway in 2013.2009: ''Bergensbanen – minutt for minutt''
NRK's first foray into slow television was Bergensbanen minute by minute – train journey across Southern Norway, which depicted the 7-hour train journey from Bergen to Oslo along the Bergen Line. It was aired on NRK2 on 27 November 2009 and came to be described as "the iconic slow-TV program". The event was planned as part of the 100-year anniversary of the existence of the Bergen Line. Four cameras were used to produce the documentary, showing both exterior and interior views, along with interviews with crew, train conductors, historians, past workers and passengers. The train went through 182 tunnels. Archival clips from the Bergen Railway's 100-year history were shown when the train passed through tunnels, to make the final show last exactly as long as the train trip. The show was first broadcast on 27 November 2009, while the recording had been done earlier during summer.The program was followed by an average of 176,000 viewers, and 1,246,000 Norwegian viewers were watching the event at least once during its screening time. The event received attention in both Norwegian and foreign media, and has received renewed attention and appreciation, mainly among its Norwegian followers.
2010: ''Bybanen i Bergen – minutt for minutt''
The 28-minute presentation Bybanen i Bergen – minutt for minutt showed a trip on the Bergen Light Rail from Nesttun to Bergen, shortly after the opening of the line in June 2010.2010: ''Flåmsbana – minutt for minutt''
Following the success from the Bergen Line, NRK also filmed the Flåm Line in May 2010.Flåmsbana minute by minute – scenic tourist route, train journey depicted the trip along the Flåm Line, a railway that descends from Myrdal to Flåm on the Sognefjord. It was broadcast on NRK1 on 5 September at 08.05, lasting 58 minutes, and around 500,000 viewers watched the entire programme, for a market share of 40%.
2011: ''Hurtigruten – minutt for minutt''
Hurtigruten minute by minute – a coastal voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes depicted the Norwegian Coastal Express ship on a 134-hour voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes. The programme started on 16 June 2011 at 19:45 CET on NRK and transmitted the entire journey live and non-stop. A total of 11 cameras—three fixed, a bow camera and a gyro-stabilised Cineflex camera—recorded the journey.The broadcast was shown live on NRK2 in Norway, and on the internet for international viewers and Norwegians abroad, available in Norwegian and English. The broadcast received greater attention and popularity than the previous Bergensbanen minutt for minutt show, both in media and by viewers.
During the weekend of 17–19 June 2011, 2,542,000 people, or approximately half the Norwegian population, visited the live broadcast. At its peak, 692,000 people followed the broadcast at 23:45 Sunday night, as the boat was heading into the Trollfjord in Lofoten. The broadcast has set a world record as being the world's longest live television documentary and is in the Guinness Book of Records. The previous record was 13 hours against their 134 hours.
In 2012, Hurtigruten – minutt for minutt was included in Norsk Dokumentarv which is the Norwegian part of the Memory of the World Programme.