Sunrise Earth


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. High-definition video 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 were 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.
Sunrise Earth aired weekdays at 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. Eastern time on Discovery HD Theater. However, as of mid-March 2011, the show no longer airs on any channel, except on Amazon Prime, and is rumored to have been cancelled, though no official word from Discovery or Compass Light has confirmed this.
All three seasons were made available on

Episode list


  1. Moose in the Morning
  2. Yellowstone Geysers
  3. Gator Hole
  4. Bison Before Breakfast
  5. Sea of Terns
  6. Vermont Balloons
  7. Alewife Eternal Return
  8. Tropical Palms
  9. Swallow Sea Cave
  10. Yosemite Dawn
  11. Cribworks Kayak
  12. Sequoia Light
  13. Sunrise Seal Colony
  14. Lobster Village
  15. Western Ranch
  16. Everglades River of Grass
  17. Wildflower Elk
  18. Edge of Atlantic
  19. Milk Cows in the Morning
  20. San Francisco Tai Chi
  21. Teton Beaver
  22. Manatee Spring
  23. Island First Light
  24. Sunrise East
  25. Sunrise West

  1. Katmai Bears
  2. Volcano Lagoon
  3. Homer Takeoff
  4. Ninagiak Island
  5. Glacier of Kenai Fjords

  1. Mayan Pyramid
  2. Birds of Palo Verde
  3. Cloudforest Waterfall
  4. Playa Grande Moonset
  5. Dawn of Cerro de La Muerte
  6. Angkor Temples of Khmer Kings
  7. Li River Cormorants
  8. Ping An Rice Paddies
  9. Buddhists of Wat Svay
  10. Elephant Trunk Park
  11. Scandinavian Waterfall
  12. Foothills of Turkey
  13. Stonehenge Dawn
  14. Mediterranean Port
  15. Icelandic Geysir
  16. Argentinean Seal Pups
  17. Peruvian Rainforest Canopy
  18. Andean Dawn at Machu Picchu
  19. Amazon Parakeets
  20. Patagonian Penguins
  21. Christmas Lights
  22. Total Eclipse
  23. Polar Bears
  24. Secrets of the Sun

  1. The Skelligs of Ireland
  2. Great Barrier Reef
  3. Haleakala Crater
  4. Society Island Sunrise
  5. New Zealand Frost

  1. Japanese Garden
  2. High Desert Arches
  3. Midnight Sun of Svalbard
  4. Vancouver Inside Passage
  5. Venetian Canals