OOC Thread - Draft Thread
20:00 IZMEDUAN TIME
The World Hit Festival now returns to Izmedu for the fourth time, with many at RTI surprised that the contest would be heading back to the country so soon. While the nature of the country's return had reminded many of how the 29th Festival was passed down, enthusiasm for the contest remained at its peak as it was go-time for the contest. The day of the festival saw fans from all walks of life pore into the newly designed La Cianta Arena for the 34th World Hit Festival. Contest organizers found it a pinch me moment as the 25,000 capacity arena filled up to the brim. Now, as the contest loomed closer to starting time, the arena doors were closed, and the lights darkened... No matter what happened tonight, this festival was going to be one wild ride. The channel may have hosted multiple times before, but nothing makes that rush of excitement fade.
With a bigger arena and the prospect of being the host and the overseeing body of the World Hit Festival at the same time for the first time, the pressure was on RTI to deliver...
The first seconds of the broadcast were laced in a musical silence, with the only sound being the heavy air of darkness. Then, the broadcast started with the words in white. (OOC: the GIF you are seeing is the first 15 seconds of the WHF34 broadcast).
As the logo of the 34th World Hit Festival faded, an image of Harrikes Olympic Stadium appeared on the screen, before a CGI filter was applied to it...
Opening Theme & Sequence: The Journey So Far
Marija Tanackovic - Arrival
Tune: Two Steps From Hell - Release Me
0:00-0:40
At the start of the music, marked with a brief orchestral flourish that transitioned into a soft opening, the camera went 'inside' the Harrikes Olympic Stadium. From there, we see a painstakingly detailed re-creation of the stage in Harrikes in CGI detail. The 'camera' made swirling pans over some of the unique details of the stage, ranging from the Forests of Lights to the specially installed light nets. However, what was emphasized was the scale of the arena itself. Then, near the 40 second mark, the camera would then settle near the front of the stage, before transitioning cleanly into the 'real life' broadcast of the 32nd World Hit Festival, albeit applied with an orange filter matching the logo.
0:41-1:10
The music increased in intensity as this acted as the hook to the chorus. In here, images of two opening acts played. From the first 15 seconds, we saw images of the first opening act, Aspaldiko. Particularly, it was Mikel Laboa singing into the camera for the first verse, and ghostly shades of the opening act can be heard piercing through the orchestral flourishes of Tanackovic's instrumental. As the instrumentation then presented a lighter heft of violins providing the harmony, we then saw the second part of the Euskal opening act, with images of Nadija appearing for roughly 7 seconds. Then, from 1:03-1:10, images of WHF32 proper itself appeared until Samira's winning moment was shown.
1:10-1:50
The 'camera' filter turned from orange to a sea blue at the advent of the song's 'chorus,' playing the melody of the festival's 'leitmotif.' The sea blue filter was a marker of the 33rd World Hit Festival that was staged in Avranches, Normandy and Picardy. At the triumphant melody, scenes of the first part of the opening act, Samira Kareli's winning song from WHF32, were played for the first 20 seconds of this section. At the last 20 seconds, flashes of Marie and Andre's opening act as well as Magnus Richard's interval act were played, with the last frame of the 50 seconds being the generator emitting white confetti to the crowd, which caused quite the whiplash to the solemn ending of the song's 'chorus.' With that brief moment of levity on the broadcast package, the soft softened...
1:50-2:45
For this part, we then transitioned over to the results part of the WHF33, during Phase II but before Cosneolta's received votes. The scoreboard, showing Izmedu leading the scoreboard. The ghostly voice of Andre Millian then announced the points going to Cosneolta, putting them in the lead and with Rachel Nollov's victory moment flashing at the 2:05 mark. From 2:15 on, at the advent of drums, one could see the waves of the WHF33 logo transition into the straight lines that marked the logo of the current World Hit Festival. We were then treated to a dark vista of an Izmeduan mountain, with the camera 'filter' off. At the orchestral flourish at 2:33, the camera switched to a view of a flag laying in the dark, and a person picked up that flag. Then, an entire cadre of World Hit Festival could be seen marching towards Vodiznad from the dark valley they were in.
2:45-3:16
With an orange-hue now being applied to the camera filter, the view focused on the stream of World Hit Festival fans going towards Vodiznad, waving various flags of participating nations in slow motioned timed to the ever-developing orchestral instrumentation. At 3:00, we then got a view of Vodiznad being overtaken with a stream of red, streaming light that made their way to the venue, the La Cianta Arena. The camera slowly followed these paths' trails, catching views of important landmarks in Vodiznad in the process.
3:16-3:58
The camera stopped at a CGI rendering of the La Cianta, with its doors closed. As the song roared to its climactic leitmotif, the doors to the La Cianta opened as the song's powerful payoff played host to images of excited fans going into the arena itself. The leitmotif was at its most apparent. After all of the fans were inside, the camera then zoomed outwards into a wider view of the La Cianta itself, the streaks of light reaching towards each entrance and making the arena shine brighter. At the end of the song, the camera faded into a view of the real life interior of the La Cianta itself, a red broadcast effect then parlaying into a view of the La Cianta Arena itself.
The camera maintained an overhead view of the La Cianta Arena itself, the lights and the sheer scale of the show being almost overwhelming in Izmeduan standards. While 25,000 people was indeed keeping up with the statistical standards of the larger audiences than WHF32 and WHF33 had put in, this was already pushing Izmedu's limits in terms of how much it could support financially. Regardless, the increased amount of people bought an electricity to the proceedings that was far more intense than Izmedu's virgin hosting of the World Hit Festival.
A spotlight shone on a familiar silhouette on the stage, causing a massive crowd cheer... For many familiar with the proceedings of any Izmeduan WHF hosting, this was the proper beginning of the show.
Opening Act: A World To Believe In
Gordan Glavas - Faidim u ovaj svitu
Translation: A World To Believe In
Tune: Ermal Meta - Ragazza Paradiso
The camera transifixed its gaze onto the lone silhouette standing alone on the stage. The crowd cheer was artificially quieted on broadcast, but the man remained stone-still on the La Cianta's stage. After a beat, a 'whistle'-like sound went through the arena, which immediately heralded the spotlight on the man shining brighter. He was instantly revealed to be Gordan Glavas, the runner-up of the 33rd World Hit Festival. After that whistle, a piano melody began to play through the stage before added instrumentals were layered into the song, causing the La Cianta to burst into a menage of lights, primarily of a red and warm orange mixture. Gordan was standing on the second level of the stage, a peaceful smile upon his face as the music played. Then, at a cue from backstage, Gordan put the microphone near his mouth, and thus began the opening act...
Pogledati na
I cili ultra
Tamo je biala raja od ufanje
Priča čeka biti otkrivena i nađen
Sjaji s la boundanza virojatnost
Nakon maja tuga
Nakon mnogo gojana
Od suočim ova faina sčora
Fenalmiant, utjeha
U kojem mogu naći alegr
Gordan sang this verse in a manner befitting the tones of relief, his voice far more smooth versus the more emotional register he used in the competitive World Hit Festival entry that he sent. During this verse, the camera maintained a close view of Gordan, catching him walking down to the lower level during this verse. He approached his body language as if he was conversing to the viewer at home, maintaining a close physical distance to the camera. Behind Gordan, the screens were showing images of the participating countries, utilzing the various images that RTI requested from nations as part of their postcards. These images would go in sequential order, starting with Goluta's postcard then continuing on in timed intervals.
Ultra le oblacima, ima miesto vridi bitki za
Zajedno, ćemo mjascati do-u la zvizdu.
Ćemo stvorio el destinur
Ćemo pisati el destinur
For the chorus, the camera switched to a view far from the stage, with the La Cianta bathed in white light that befit the triumph of the song. Gordan had his arm held out as he belted it out, as well as constantly looking up towards the ceiling and the metaphorical sky, befitting the very message of the words. Additionally, Gordan encouraged to audience to follow along, with a moving set of waving arms through the 25,000 strong audience by the end of the chorus. The camera then faded to a view of the back screens, with the Todlichebujoki pictures from the postcard being shown fading into the screens.
Ah, sentireti
La neizmjerana
Vasiona da rezonira duboko
El saul diže do nuf visine
Da me rasaun vidjeti el novi dai opet...
Faidim u ovaj svitu
For the second verse, the camera returned to a closer view of Gordan as he ascended up again to the second level. The lights themselves turned back into a warm orange. The stage floor was lit up with a constellation of stars that befit the symbol of the 34th World Hit Festival, with constantly moving lines amidsst a space background that seemed to almost wrap aroumd Gordan he sang. Some of these lines would appear as holograms that would dot parts of the stage. Around these parts, the postcard pictures of the second half of the performing countries were being shown, with this verse ending on Polkopia's pictures.
Ultra le oblacima, ima miesto vridi bitki za
Zajedno, ćemo mjascati do-u la zvizdu.
Ćemo stvorio el destinur
Ćemo pisati el destinur
At this chorus, streaks of yellow and orange light were then shone throughout the stage as Gordan encouraged the audience to wave along. He had his arms held out all throughout, with wide audience shots to show the sea of waving flags in celebration of the festival. The stage floors themselves were etched with handwritings of each nation's translation of 'this is my story,' moving from left to right like a new ticker. At the end of this chorus, it was Fromulya's pictures being shown on the screen.
Kada sentireš nemoćan
Zapamtiš svoju pragu snagu
To je svoju volju i viru
La faid u ustrajnostu
Kada padaš u la sčori
Pronaći la loica sjaji
Obećavam te tamo je faidim u ovaj svitu
Da, faidim u ovaj svitu
Faidim u ovaj svitu
Da, faidam u ovaj svitu
For the long bridge, Gordan turned sideways as he hunched over slightly, engaging with a nearby audience member as well as pointed towards the various cameras that were catching views of home. He held a fist to his chest as he sang this bridge, its message of encouragement even etched in his face. The fatherly tendencies in him were in full force, even if he was singing these lines to an audience of 25,000, the caring in his voice was undeniable. At the seventh line, coinciding with the appearence of the Hesskin Empire's pictures and the key change, the La Cianta were now bathed in gold. As Gordan sang the title of the song itselg, the camera switched to wider shots from the audience's perspective.
Ultra le oblacima, ima miesto vridi bitki za
Zajedno, ćemo mjascati do-u la zvizdu.
Ćemo stvorio el destinur
Ćemo pisati el destinur
At the final refrain, Gordan unleashed his most powerful belt yet for the song, hitting a high belt that caused him to stagger back slightly. Throughout this, he did all he could to get the crowd to sing or move along with him, even reaching down towards an audience member at one point. The methods had worked, with huge cheers abound as shower sparks were released from the conduit at the moment Gordan hit that high note. As he sang the rest of the chorus, the images were now down to the last nation performing, which was Manaime. At the final lines of the song, the camera returned back to a close view of the stage as he sang 'cemo pisati el destinur' to the camera, with the lyric itself being 'written' on broadcast transposed against Gordan's face before fading away a few seconds later.
Gordan was met with a large crowd cheer, causing him to have to step back.
"Izmedu!!! Hvala! Enjoy the show! Faidim u ovaj svitu!" Gordan shouted to the crowd, before walking backstage.
As Gordan left the stage, the camera shifted to a bird's eye view of the audience as the La Cianta began to glow a deep red, similar to the theme's colors. The leitmotif of the festival began to course through the arena, with images of pulsing logo appearing on the screens as a podium was raised on the second level of the stage. That podium itself was decorated with the crest of the 34th World Hit Festival on its center. The camera then began to zoom in towards the stage, stopping midway from the stage itself and freezing for a few seconds. The music still swirled to its epic melody as it was time to formally introduce the host... A female voiceover began to speak over the broadcast.
Welcome to the 34th World Hit Festival! Please, welcome your hosts, Duje Feretic and Gabrijel Vincek!
It was a slight shake-up from usual Izmeduan procedure, two hosts instead one? Regardless, the audience didn't relent in their cheering as the hosts waved to the audience. Both of them were fairly young, dressed in suits and carrying the printed cues with them. They were newcomers to Izmeduan show-business, but their charm in hosting local television shows made RTI sought to hire them for the job of hosting the festival itself. They came from the main screen entrance at the stage's highest level, behind them a yellow halo of light that faded once the voiceover introduced them. They walked to the podium together, smiles on their faces.
Duje & Gabrijel: Welcome to Izmedu!!!
As the hosts spoke in tandem, the leitmotif of the 34th World Hit Festival ceased as the camera pointed towards the audience again, with shots of excited fans waving their flags proudly.
Duje: Welcome to the 34th World Hit Festival. I am one of your hosts tonight, I am Duje Feretic.
Gabrijel: And beside him, is me. Gabrijel Vincek!
There was a short pause here as the crowd cheer quieted down.
Gabrijel: Amazing... We are now at 34 editions, and going as strong as ever. 34 editions of the World Hit Festival! It's truly extraordinary seeing the passion in the arena.
Duje: Indeed! Folks, this is a contest celebrating first and foremost, the music of various nations that have come here tonight to perform for all of you. Each nation shall be showcasing a part of their culture through music in some form.
Gabrijel: We've had a long history of that music and that celebration. Additionally, it wasn't that long ago that we were back here either. Remember Mousiki?
Duje: Fourth time's the charm?
Gabrijel: Definitely.
This caught a bit of a rise out of audience members, mostly Izmeduans who were amazed at the amount of hostings that the new overseer has accumulated in such a short space of time.
Gabrijel: Anyway, let's get to describing what the World Hit Festival is, right?
Duje: Absolutely. The World Hit Festival, as we mentioned, is now on its 34th birthday. Founded by Saintrabina and hosted in Necrobrachlesh in its first edition. The festival's purpose is most fundamentally being an outlet for nations to show their culture. Gabrijel, mind continuing?
Gabrijel: Of course! Each nation in this contest submits one entry to be performed. Those entries can take in many forms. We've had solo singers, bands, entire groups come on stage. It is up to the nation as to how they use the entry to express themselves, and the story they bring.
At this, though part of the script, Duje winked at Gabrijel at the sudden drop of the theme.
Duje: You know we get raises the more we mention our theme! Yes indeed, story and narrative are large aspects of not just the World Hit Festival we are hosting, but perhaps the contest itself. We are continuing the long narrative of this festival, but each song itself is a story.
Gabrijel: And going strong we shall. We have 20 nations participating tonight, isn't that amazing? 20 nations! That's the largest amount we've had since the venerable 19th World Hit Festival in Kasin, Kalosia! And the first time to breach 20 since... the 13th World Hit Festival in Sirushostan, Kingsley Bedford!
There was a round of applause for Gabrijel as he stated those little factoids. This caused quite the massive fan cheer.
Duje: Alright, we've spent quite a while talking, and it's time for the entrants to take center stage. First up on the stage is...
Duje & Gabrijel: GOLUTA!!!
Gabrijel: Miss! It's your turn to the stage!
There was a crowd cheer as the the crest of the 34th World Hit Festival appeared before transitioning over to the first frame of the postcard.