Velocity

Sunrise Earth is a nature documentary television series featuring hour-long episodes that aired in the United States on Discovery HD Theater, now renamed HD Theater. The series focuses 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. High-definition video images and Dolby 5.1 stereo surround sound are used to present each natural environment in a clear and detailed manner. The show is an example of the genre known as “Experiential TV”, developed by series creator David Conover. The technique has been described by TV critic Tom Shales as “crazily uneventful and thoroughly wonderful.”

Compass Light, Conover’s small production company in Camden, Maine, started producing the series in 2004. 64 one-hour Sunrise Earth shows have been created in the first four years of production. The crew shoots with High Definition video cameras and the editors cut between multiple perspectives at a leisurely pace. The show is presented in real-time, with each shot lasting an average of 30 seconds. Each episode captures one sunrise from a certain location, such as Machu Picchu, Turkey or Scandinavia. Captions in the lower portion of the frame occasionally give information as to the location, time, and events on screen.