Thursday 7 January 2016

Slow TV returns to Germany - more Mora!

Good news! Later this January, Germany once more brings us some new Slow TV. Last Easter, the educational channel ARD Alpha screened three one hour prerecorded activity based Slow TV episodes - Dry Stone Walling, Cello Making and Match Making. 

From the end of January, five brand new activities will be shown, at weekly intervals. No commentary, no music, no in your face usual documentary interpretation.

See further down for Mora - watchmaking Slow TV

Assuming consistency with the former episodes, Mora will have two or more cameras focused on the single activity, each angle embedded in one screen so each view maintains an uninterrupted visual flow. This allows the viewer to search each camera view for small details of the ongoing story of the activity, it's their choice as to which selected angle they watch at any one point.

Called 'Mora' from the Latin noun meaning 'delay', it's named in contrast to the usual narratively edited and therefore sped up TV formats. 'Echtzeit' - 'real time' is the German portmanteau to describe the temporal quality of the offerings in the same way that Slow TV doesn't actually literally mean slow in itself, but slow by virtue of being real time.

There are five new episodes, Sundays, from 20:15 local time, 31st January onwards. The subjects are tentative and will be confirmed as I get clearer details.

31st January Pencil Drawing on a Train Ride (Der Zeichner)
7th February Ice Sculpting in front of Mountains (Der Eisbildhauer)
14th February Watch Making (Der Uhrmacher)
21st February Synchronised Swimming (Die Synchronschwimmerinnen)
28th February Jewelry Making (Der Schmuckdesigner)
6th March Mosaic Making (Die Mosaiklegerin)
13th March Drystone Walling (Der Trockenmauerer)
20th March Cello Making (Die Cellobauerin)

Previously, Mora covered -
Die Cellobauerin (Cello Making)
Der Trockenmauerer (Dry Stone Walling)
Der Uhrmacher (Watch Making)

Where can I watch Mora? Wo kann mann Mora sehen?

These will be available on ARD Alpha's TV broadcast and online; at the time of transmission it will be available here - but only in Germany due to geoblocking. The new episodes will eventually be available online, I suspected on YouTube, like the the first three.
Get a taste for Mora - here's my personal favourite of the German Slow TV so far... the swinging pendulum and multiple ticking and chiming add a very oxymoronic but ambient quality for a format where time is less important, but states the literal passing of time very emphatically.

Stay tuned to the Slow TV Blog, lots happening!

Slow Television - The Slow TV Blog




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