Thomas Hellum: The world's most boring television ... and why it's hilariously addictive
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- Опубликовано: 9 дек 2014
- You've heard about slow food. Now here's slow ... TV? In this funny talk, Norwegian television producer Thomas Hellum shares how he and his team began to broadcast long, boring events, often live - and found a rapt audience. Shows include a 7 hour train journey, an 18 hour fishing expedition and a 5.5 day ferry voyage along the coast of Norway. The results are both beautiful and fascinating. Really.
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Развлечения
One thing I think this guy missed, is that another reason for the success might be because we live in such a fast society nowadays, and having something that really forces us to slow down gives people a chance to relax. An action movie is not relaxing, but a seven hour train ride is, as well as an aquarium screensaver, a looping cut of a fire or for that matter a lava lamp (damn hypnotizing that!). So yeah, part of the success is of course that people get a chance to participate, but another is probably because of the opportunity to relax.
Norway's capital city is "oh slow", what did you expect?
Genius m8 =)
It's called Oslo after the Viking ohslow who was known for walking slow all over Norway. My grandpa told me..he was an alcoholic from Bergen
I love Norge so much. It's mine and my husband's 'spirit country'. We spent a lovely time touring some of it in February and did that Oslo to Bergen rail journey (and back). We also cruised the coast. Beautiful. Jeg elsker Norge!
It's like Tour de France, you watch it for the crazy fans, and the scenic shots.
i had a cable tv channel called _myzen_ that showed hours of natural landscapes from all over the world, it even had gps coordinates. i loved that channel.
Last summer I travelled in Norway, and from the first moment I saw this strange and friendly boat journey along the coast I found it captivating and relaxing. Watching on and off became a feature of the holiday, it was compulsive and comforting, and I didn't understand the nature of the show at the time but it always seemed to be on. People depicted on the shore looked so happy to be taking part, it did feel like an event. I think that the occasional inclusion of people in the film made it quite different to burning fire in the hearth stuff - I related differently and more completely.
watching it on 'mute' with chillstep or some other ambient music playing in the background. I've used it numerous times for various therapeutic strategies use to cope with stress. So many uses, from hypnotic to educational.
Now I need to know where this cow went...
Where did it go?
tubego It met a chicken and they crossed the road.
Why did the cow cross the road? Oo
Because the chicken crossed the road
I think I smell a sitcom... The Life and Times of That Cow!
Imagine this, combined with something like the Occulus Rift for 3D.. I think it would be amazing! Especially for elderly who may not be able to make such a trip themselves anymore!
Is there a way to suggest this to the guys producing this?
***** You can send them a message right here: (translated norwegian-website)
translate.google.com/translate?hl=sv&sl=no&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nrk.no%2Fkontakt%2F
LeonidasSthlm Thank you. I (think I) sent them the suggestion! I got no feedback from the message box so I hope they get it :p.
They would start to throw up after 5mins
Sorak311 Depends on the actual visual implementation, but true, it would be better with a normal 3D TV untill such issues have a more widespread solution :).
Still though, I think it's awesome.
Went to a TEDx Talk recently and got to enjoy this video with a large lecture hall full of people. It was surprisngly one of the more memorable talks (due to the fact I was laughing along with hundreds of other people at the same time) and shows how people are willing to patiently put effort into making their own narratives.
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".
I am a big fan of this. Not necessarily watching a boat trip for hours and hours but letting a viewer actually have some breathing room when watching an event. People need time to think. If you record some event and than just edit everything boring out and just leave the highlights you end up with a video that is not as exiting as the original.
I rock climb a lot and have a lot of people that do that while filming. I would really like to produce a film of climbing that lasts for days. To see all the struggle and the views and the boring parts of rock climbing.
This gives me hope that maybe it can become a reality. At least in norway. haha
I would love to watch that!
15:26 "Exactly. So..."
Couldn't stop laughing haha
Hahaha....laughed at that too. Nihilism is big here in Norway lol
Absolutely loved the talk. I would so watch the programs while knitting, which is my favorite hobby. Made me want to visit Norway.
I remember seeing that train ride and the coastal ship journey on Finnish TV as well. I did watch them for a while when I didn't have anything else to do and found them kind of interesting but now that I know the story behind those documentaries I'm sure I'll view them from a different perspective if I ever end up seeing them again.
I'm Brazilian and I like watching train journeys to empty my mind... it's lovely.
Good story about a brilliant idea delivered by a great speaker - a model presentation.
Omg we need that in the US. Hot air balloon across the United States on TV! What?!
Absolutely incredible idea, I'd love to watch that.
I would watch all of that.
Well,,,maybe just once every few hours haha
That actyally sounds amazing.... chillax to the max... with the seldom sound of warm air bursts
Programing that brings calm to your mind and smile to your face is real TV in most cases if you are not genre watching. I just loved this. Brilliant.
its great actually - i feel wonderful about it.. its innovative and deep..
people like journeys.. people like doing things.. forming things.. going from A to B..
i think its creative.. very creative..
Part of me thinks an idea like the boat or train ride would be massive in Canada.
Put cameras on a ship sailing from St. John's and film the coast lines to, say, Halifax. Maybe do the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence shorelines, or the BC coast or circumnavigate Vancouver Island.
Better yet, put a camera on a train journey from Halifax straight though to Vancouver. That would be a weeks worth of programming with the added bonus of the locals along the route showing up to wave flags.
Hell yeah, I'm Norwegian and I watched several hours of Hurtigruten minutt for minutt. It was very moving and it made your thoughts flow as you watched the waves and mountain sides slowly drift by.
Liking this idea a lot. I'd have this station on with the volume low while I write. I usually have music playing, but sometimes that is boring. Well done to Thomas Hellum and his team.
I like the idea of Slow TV partly because it's not super-engaging. (It can be at times, but it doesn't have to be.) You can always do something else. With programs that aren't necessarily eventful, you can be watching it and doing other things. Sometimes it even makes you feel even more productive. Plus if you come in late at a lot of the time and you won't feel like you missed out on much.
We rode this train about 10 years ago. It was a beautiful journey.
Thomas's comments are the best.... like "Waving TV for 5 1/2 days " hahahaha
love that presentation a lot!!!
I have ADD, I use 2 different devices to get online while watching TV or doing anything, and I found this hypnotizing. I got goosebumps when the video of the ship was playing. I have no idea why.
''I've only got 18 minutes to explain''... finished just in time well done!!
Kudos to this great idea and its excellent execution. That's some kind of interactive TV, and foremost: it's a show for an audience which can be part of it, in real time! It's more than just a show too, it's an event, a gathering for a great countries' population and its marvellous countryside. I would not wonder if they reach 70% of the population in one day.
We're very interested in 'slow TV', no presenters, muzak or opinion, just an immersive tour with natural sounds and sights. Thanks for adding this. I hope between us we can spread these kind of videos around a little. It's a great way to learn more about our world.
Home, sick in bed. Just stumbled across this. Absolutely brilliant! Laughed myyself silly. 🤣
Just got bsck from a Hurtigruten trip on the MS Polarlys from Kirkenes to Bergen. Unforgettable scenery!
Norway is a very pretty place. I can see why people would want to just sit back and watch the scenery for that long. It reminds me of the nature shows on PBS here in the US. When I was a kid I would watch Wild America before bedtime every night it was on.
Thank you for bringing the Unknown to life on the screens. God bless bro !
I LOVE Slow TV!!! Discovered this by accident months ago! I'm hooked!
I've watched most of this. Kept me company on many slow night shifts.
I remember when they broadcast the Oslo-Bergen train journey (I am on that train at least every two months now) and I thought that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen on TV. Five hours later I was still watching it....
What a *_cool_* talk. Really put a smile on my face. My mom's ancestral family is from Sweden, so I've always had a real interest/love for all things Nordic. This is right up my alley. Though, I do wonder how this would go down in the US. We're not exactly known as a nation with a patient attention span, especially when it comes to television. But......we also crave novelty, so...I think something like this could do quite well in the US. A great idea would be....a cross-country road trip from NYC to San Francisco. What could be more American than _that?_ :)
Today's media has to be fast paced to keep specially the younger audience's attention, so I think this is an awesome change. Makes you really reflect and just chill.. Very good I say
fantastic, this is exactly what we need. this is real. most of us will never see these things, but we will see our tv. I will never make it to a cruise. I will never take a cross country train. I want to, but in reality I wont, time, money, motivation, dog,cat, plants,money.lol
lol get rid of the dog, the cat, the plants, hoard your money, and take a year. you only live once.
That Norwegian English accent ><
Loved the show though, and go Norge!
At least we know more than one language 😅
I'd say Norway is strange, but this isn't a new concept. I don't know if it's still a thing, but back when I used to have satellite TV, I'd spend sometimes hours with the NASA channel on, watching various views from various satellites of the earth as it spins bellow. And how many people watch the "fireplace TV" that various TV channels in America air around Christmas?
Its somewhat different from the NASA channel in that the NASA channel is more of a live feed webcam. take a look when you want, but most of the time its just there, with some nice shots of earth ofcourse.
But with these consepts you take a journey or event that takes a long time and show it in real time. Maybe if you made live tv from a launch to the crew was back on earth it would be more alike :)
Descorath
This is a live trip on a train, or a boat. That is a live orbit of a NASA satellite. The only difference is that there aren't any people standing on the satellite.
Drackar
The difference is that they add small films/clips when the train goes through tunnels etc. As well as music and details of music etc etc. It's not completely live webcam.
Cassandra Fín
Nasa footage has music playing behind it, usually. And yes, they had the historical videos, (which you can also get randomly watching the nasa channel, admittedly not built into the streaming sections, however).
Clearly we're not going to agree on this. You're painting the concept in a very narrow category, which amuses me.
Drackar
Nothing to agree on when it's not the same. I'm not 'painting the concept', I'm saying how it is and what is shown in this very video. The concept isn't new, but nobody said that. However, sending these types of programmes as a show on TV is unique.
I love the Bergen to AI train ride footage :) Watched it for 6 hours lol
I want to watch the full version of that "birds in a tiny bar" thing!!!! D:
Amazingly cool concept. I love that!!
You should make a slow tv show of some folks walking from one end of Norway to the other! That would seriously be slow :)
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SUCH PROGRAMS HERE IN BRAZIL :)
This reminds me of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race which is televised each Boxing Day.
I am not Norwegian yet I am addicted to slow TV.
John Rafael yet??
One of my favorite Ted talks.
This explains why I sat for hours watching Berry College's eagle cam for hours. It was just 2 bald eagles raising their young, but I was glued to the computer... nothing better to do????
It was certainly the better thing to do when you did it! :)
Beautiful!
This is wonderful!
We have ridiculous entertainment, scripted conflict driven reality shows, and overlly violent programs...so, why not?
Wonderful!!! Don't pay any attention to our, USA, late night "enertainers". (And I use that term LOOSLY) because they mostly embarrass us . This is such an innovative idea. It's brilliant and you are amazingly hilarious.
The irony of it all: "Hurtigruten" (Hurtig-ruten) literally translates as "the fast route" - which it is REALLY not in these modern times where there is fast air travel available. The charm of Slow TV, however, is undeniable in our rushed modern times. The Norwegians have found a perfect antidote to our rushed lifestyle.
PS. If there ever was a nation just as hooked on National-flag-waving as the 'Muricans, it HAS to be Norway!
I wish the CBC would do the Via Rail trip through the Rockies! It would be spectacular!
747 round the world is a fantastic idea....lufthansa cargo has the perfect route for this...they send one of their md-11's around the world, stopping in various cool places along the way...I would absolutely find a way to watch that
I was under the impression that this is a pretty common thing to show on TV. Germany has a Railway TV show since the early 90s; albeit only from 11pm-3am on sundays.
As a Norwegian i can just say that some times it is ok to put on the TV and not see propaganda and lies.
So you but on bullshit like this, you dont actually look at it, you just have it as a relaxing background without all the usual propaganda and hundreds of entertaining shows and movies that all have the same recipe. ;)
I'd much rather watch a train journey, knitting, grass growing, etc than typical American television, i.e., "reality tv show', shows about zombies, etc
That sounds....comically relaxing.
Fantastic that this goes against the way too fast mainstream TV programs
They should send this guy up to norther midwest, minneosota and north and south dakota would love this.
I love when people think differently. Only then we can develop further.
I was laughing until I realised I would watch it. Now I'm trying to figure out where I can go to see it.
What is the song they play during the video he shows?
Amazing and somehow it moved me
May I suggest a slow journey on Readeu Canal filmed with an overlapping images thru the show.
hahaha I'm Norwegian, and i totally didn't watch it. My grandparents loved it tho, and i think that these types of shows are a different form for people with a lot of time on their hands to look out the window, or read the newspaper. And apparently there is a lot of those in Noway, lol.
Jeg må virkelig oppdatere meg på virkeligheten, når og hvor ble det sagt at det skulle være TEDx i Arendal?? skulle ikke ha gått glipp av det.
Var det TEDx der? D:
I was not informed T_T
I wish we could get this kind of TV in america.
Nice med TED bidrag fra Norge! Skulle ønske det var litt mer promo/add/reklame når slikt skjer her til lille lands.
MusFuzZ: I understand you don't want to watch such a program. You're young. :) When you will have lived your life very fast during 40 years, you will appreciate slow things... ;)
Get a camera, fix it outside the house, watch the CCTV footage 24*7, Life is set for Norwegian!
Try watching some of the Norwegian journeys mentioned... It beats looking at your filthy country.
I think it`s great. Imagine a worldwide network of "slow tv", or a "slow food tv " network. Pig to table kinda thing, would take 9 months, and re-examine our thoughts about eating oink. Huge scope for slow everything in my opinion.
Noen andre som som ser i kommentarfeltet for å se hva folk sier om Norge?
jada 2 år etter deg =)
Not Sure og jeg fem måneder etter deg😉😂
I remember watching the cruise online on Norwegian Day... Watching the traditional dancing and other celebrations was strangely addictive.
Jeg ser på skipet på Norge Dag. Veldig gal god.
Norwegian do have a lot of national pride. :-)
Nordmenn elsker Norge
What a BEAUTIFUL country we live in!
just beautiful :')
This is freaking brilliant.
wow, I wouldn't say boring at all. IT IS AWESOME, thanks for showing me the most awesome show while you say its boring. Haven't watched television for like 10 years, gonna watch now :D
Instead to have turned off TV, I will have the best replacement for artistic picture with enchanting video, just have in mind not to ruin the show by making it "interesting" just like all other shows
I can recomend SVTs program of the great moose migration. About a month 24/7. It happens in Junsele, Sollefteå kommun.
what's that song at the end called?
hahaha, I love it! I wonder how well this would work here in the US. It sure would beat a lot of the crap that is on TV now.
And here I thought watching 20 minute British Narrow boat videos or Danish fishing boats powered by 50+ year old hot bulb engines (Sefel, Hundsten?) with thumping exhaust sounds was a guilty pleasure haha. Cool.
There was a Japanese commercial for the Kyushu rail line a while ago. Now, Kyushu is an island, it's big, but not gigantic... probably similar to Norway. Before filing along the track they announced when they would do it, so people got in position in advance.
The thing was 4 minutes long before the editors couldn't bare to cut anymore... and they ran it. Watch it on youtube, and you can FEEL the energy. I don't even live there and it gets me kind of emotional.
Everyone misses the main point here. TV has always tried to foster its own artificial world. When a channel goes and ventures out into the real world, people react.
+Dgfrmxon Similar? Nope. You seriously underestimated the size of Norway (10x). Our coast line is a lot longer, longer than the US', but smaller than Canada and Australia.
Thomas Hellum a genuinely good guy
after reading the 76-year-old's post (5:10), I kind of have to wonder if this will catch on as a VR experience some day. After all, if people are immersing themselves in the experience like that, will be able to do it even better with VR! XD
The best TV-show of the last 10 years!!!??
awesome idea!
May I make a suggestion: people solving all kinds of rubik's cubes.
anyone know where to find full 5 day video of the trip ?
+kamil latocha
Yes.
tv.nrk.no/serie/hurtigruten-minutt-for-minutt/DVFJ67000111/23-12-2011
They also put out the raw footage for editing if you'd like that.
Most torrent sites have it, and it's legal to grab it. :)
This might work for people in a similar way to how ASMR videos are so relaxing for many people without ASMR.
Train program is SO awesome!!!
Hi, anybody know the name of the song starting at 8:00 in the video? So beautiful.
Sorry for the late answer: it is KARI BREMNES Coastal Ship
This is very much like the "eaglecam" here in Decorah, Iowa. Where the camera is on a bald eagle nest as the eggs are laid, hatched, babies are fed and grow, then finally leave the nest.
how do tv channels get those graphs of the amount of people that tuned in? can they tell how many ppl are receiving the signal somehow? eh?
I've been on a good stretch of the coastal run on the Hurtigruten, but had to sleep now and then. I think it might be nice to see the entire thing this way. Where's the link to do so?
tv.nrk.no/serie/hurtigruten-minutt-for-minutt/DVFJ67000111/23-12-2011
Alltho i think it's locked to Norway, but i guess you can just VPN in.
MusFuzZ
Much appreciated, thanks.
been living in this beautiful country for about 7 years and still discovering the eccentricities of this culture, the latest was the movie "Mot naturen" www.imdb.com/title/tt3596492/
This is amazing TV program concept. I have to admit that I don't watch TV at all, but I followed that slow TV program from Bergen railway. It was interesting because I visited Bergen mountains few years ago - Rallarvägen - with bicycle and tent. Nice two week trip up there over the mountains in the middle of July.
Now I have to find that Hurtigruten-program!
nrk.no/hurtigruten/ :)
I'd like it if we had some stuff like this in America. I've basically given up on TV these past 6-7 years, with only a few exceptions.
heey! my town was showing!
Things like, twitch, minecraft and other live streams also fall under this category and its been around for a quite a while. :P
Why this presentation is so fast?