That Damned Cow - Just what is Norwegian Slow TV?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 พ.ค. 2021
- My 2015 documentary with a short introduction about Norwegian Slow TV.
I get requests from media and media students for insights into Slow TV from around the world, any usage or referral to my work here, please give a citation and leave a link to where it has been quoted or used. Feel free to message me for further conversation and join the Slow TV Fans, Thinkers and Filmmakers group.
"I think your film deserves the widest audience possible... I think BBC Four should be screening your film, too."
- Carl Honoré, Author, 'In Praise of Slow'
Slow TV’s profile has grown since it emerged in Norway in 2009. NRK2, the second channel of the state broadcaster has been the pioneer in developing this real time marathon event broadcast format, taking surprise ratings at home and gaining global attention. Train journeys, a ferry voyage, knitting and singing a hymn book over sixty hours are some of the Slow TV subjects which NRK has shown.
“That Damned Cow”, subtitled “Just what is Norwegian Slow TV?” is a documentary which asks exactly that. It sets out NRK’s narrative through interviews with key NRK staff in Bergen and Oslo, from inception to international distribution.
It explores the relaxing experience many Slow TV viewers cite, from interviews at the Norwegian Hymn Book Slow TV event, with a Doctor of Media Psychology and with British Airways which has begun using the Bergensbanen train journey on some long haul in-flight entertainment.
“That Damned Cow” considers the future of Slow TV inside and outside of Norway. It offers ways of understanding the depth and potential of what at first seems a simple formula but evokes a spectrum of participation in real life and social media, engages national pride, heritage, community and identity.
NARRATOR
Mark Brisbourne
INTERVIEWS
British Airways
Richard D’Cruze
DRG
Andrea Jackson
NRK
Fredrik Færden
Ole Hedemann
Thomas Hellum
Rune Møklebust
Anniken Næss
Spafax
Henry Gummer
Academics
Dr Arve Hjelseth
The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim
Dr Espen Ytreberg
The University of Oslo
Dr Adam Galpin
The University of Salford
Choir Members, Salmeboka Minutt for Minutt
Randi Gunhildstad
Linda Haukås
Grateful Acknowledgement
Principal NRK Slow TV Liaison - Thomas Hellum
The University of Salford:
Laurence Murphy
Store and Technical Support Staff
Petter Ingholm Gustavsen, NRK
Stein Lillebo, Hurtigruten
Liz Southall - RedShift Radio, Crewe
NRK footage and graphics used with permission, copyright NRK
British Airways images courtesy British Airways Video Library
MUSIC
Principal Music: Tony Longworth - tonylongworth.com
Ambient Music: Mark Sheeky - marksheeky.co.uk
Additional Music: Purple Planet Music - purple-planet.com
Filmed in
Bergen, Oslo and Trondheim, Norway
Osmington Mills and London, England
Betws y Coed and Dyffryn Ogwen, Wales
Original Photography by
Tim Prevett
Produced and Directed by
Tim Prevett
Copyright MMXV
Slow Television - The Slow TV Blog
slowtelevision.blogspot.com
"Can I just say, for us in NRK it's been a real pleasure having Tim's eyes on our mainly practical view - making TV for the viewers, and Tim's research and questioning our work has been making ourselves more conscious about our work, and it's a real pleasure, so thankyou, thankyou Tim."
- Thomas Hellum, one of the innovators and producers of Norwegian Slow TV, Slow Media Symposium, Bath Spa University, 26th March 2015.
From 1986 to 1993, a local television station in Toronto, Canada broadcast nightly shows called Night Walk, Night Ride and Night Moves. They played from 1AM until dawn, showing real-time images of wandering through the city at night, at a leisurely pace, accompanied by a pretty good jazz trio. In the dead of night, in the middle of winter, this could actually be quite intriguing, with a certain "frisson" of horror. An astonishing number of people regularly watched these show, and not all of them were "stoners".
So glad someone out there remembers this on City Tv in Toronto! I often watched this late at night as found it thoroughly relaxing and atmospheric. City night scenes from a driver's viewpoint set to jazz was so crazy an idea on paper but it worked and was clearly ahead of its time 🇨🇦
@@Cc-lp2xi There's actually a solid fandom for the show, after all these years. There are websites dedicated to it. Michael Spivak, who directed the show, composed the original music, which was performed by some of Toronto's top jazz musicians. Among them was Guido Basso, whose trumpet and flugelhorn performances for the show are unquestionable genius.
In a world that races forward with no concern of long term consequences, something like Slow TV is needed now more than ever! I wish we had a full channel dedicated to that kind of thing in Canada.
We have it in sweden as well.
Three weeks 24/7 with nature around a river where moose swims over. Huge audience and lots of wildlife.
Yes I’ve had the please of tuning into Den stora älgvandringen on the web a few times - it is a very nicely curated Slow TV
It is ironic that the second installment of NRK Slow TV was the coastal journey with "HURTIGRUTEN", lit. hurtig-ruten or the FAST ROUTE!
Nothing hurried or fast about this leisurely journey but, then again, that was probably coined when it was the only alternative to traveling INLAND from, say, Bergen to Ålesund. There are massive fjords in the way, Sognefjord being the largest. The sea route must have been the quickest way until we could fly...
Hand it to the Norwegians to come up with the exact opposite of 'Murican Fast TV - and make it a hit, of sorts. As one of the narrators said, this can be a meditation, a way to calm down and just enjoy simple things. Where is the harm in that?
Thank you for creating and sharing your documentary in such an accessible way
This American will do whatever he can to spread slow TV in the states! Cheers
Glad to hear it - there was nearly a major Slow TV production in the States a few years ago, but sadly it fell through!
Best ever.. people flaging and meet up ;) Hurra for oss! :)
3:56 HØrtigrUten? Both Us are pronounced the same way. You got it right in "ruten". :)
We have been thought early 😂… have anyone seen film from nature program 50 years ago by Sverre M Fjellstad or skiing competition on NRK tv 😂🤣…. very very very slooooow
I’m not familiar with them but will bear them in mind; hopefully other viewers will respond too. God jul!
Now don't forget the pause image of an aquarium.
The basic idea was ruined whith Hurtigruten - when it became an event - with people showing up just bec it was filmed. It could been 100 times better to film it without anybody knowing - and showed it on TV later - more authentic.
I find that really interesting - the Hurtigruten show was a turning point and a very different slow tv experience. It became a live TV event, and the “performance “ was mainly on the docks, and when in / out of ports.
From a production angle there is the issue of filming where people may be without them knowing it for national TV. A difficult one.
Thanks for commenting - the Hurtigruten slow TV definitely brought new dynamics to NRKs Slow TV.
The reindeer migration had many long stretches of icy wilderness and reindeer moving. Some of the “slowest” contemplative parts of the NRK shows for me.
Maybe more authentic, but beyond boring.
People were having fun and wanted to be on tv and to do that they had to go outside instead of being inside watching slow tv :)
And if you're from Norway i'm pretty sure you know what the coast look like...
So 100 times better? Consider me unconvinced.
Nah, it was an event that everyone could join in on, it brought people together in a massive shared experience. I think the vast majority of norwegians would agree