OOC Thread - Draft Thread
20:00 IZMEDUAN TIME
To host the show for the fifth time running... It was a decision that some of the RTI board and the Izmeduan fan community thought was born out of some insanity that the WHF steering committee that was tasked to oversee the World Hit Festival concocted shortly after Anja Krajacic's win in Britonisea. Many of the non-WHF employees of the channel thought Izmedu would break their time-old pledge to host the World Hit Festival if the opportunity to present itself, especially given just how much the 34th contest profoundly dented the channel's finances. No one expected a swift decision of 'yes' from RTI nor a new city to take the reigns.
Yet here it was now, 52,000 strong in La liberija polja, waiting for the show start. Despite the fraught anxiety surrounding this World Hit Festival, one thing was made clear. No matter how many times Izmedu hosts this contest, the energy of the crowd was always that one constant. With the crowd being larger than any Izmeduan-hosted contest thus far, this was the moment it came down to.
RTI, in position. It's showtime, folks.
Opening Act: Triumph
Tanackovic Productions – The Redeemers
Tune: Two Steps From Hell - Enchantress
0:00-1:43
A booming whoosh was the first part of the broadcast, with 'RADIO-TELEVIZIJA IZMEDU PRESENTS' flashing on the screen for a few seconds as a muffled crowd could be heard cheering with black and white images of Anja Krajacic's win in Britonisea just an edition earlier. Wordless vocals of a choir then came through about 30 seconds in, playing to images of not just Izmedu's winning moment, but of other entries and nations that participated in Junterapten, such as Kalosia's Alia M or Mercedini's Alicia Mocha. At the first minute mark, black and white scenes from Junterapten transitioned to a colorful CGI rendering of the mountains near Gralicna, with sounds of wildlife and nature being complemented with the swelling of Tanackovic's instrumental to greater heights. The more the song swelled, the grander the view, and the section would consist of an exploration of Izmedu's sublime nature.
1:44-3:18
As the music transitioned from peaking to a valley to a hurried section of violin strings, we found ourselves situated in the city of Gralicna itself, 'entering' La liberija polja and the WHF36 stage in progress. The CGI stage workers and the set-up were all in CGI at night, the stars being lit up. At the 2:20 mark, we saw an Izmeduan woman construction worker look up to the sky after a long night of working, which coincided with the music going from an arc upwards to downwards. There was a close-up to her eyes, a reflection in her iris that eerily looked like the constellation of stars in the WHF36 logo. On the 2:35 mark on, the camera went 'inside' her eyes, turning into a montage of the World Hit Festival's most famous entries being played in color. We saw entries from Euskirribakondara being played, to Todlichebujoku's, Kalosia's, etc. At least one entry from each decade was played during the montage, and the montage ended with Mercedini's Daniel Alishkaerni.
3:19-5:22
This middle section would be calmer, establishing a focal point in the form of a young boy watching the World Hit Festival through a TV store within Gralicna itself. The boy was young, no older than 8 years old, and watching Daniel Alishkaerni's performance through the window, with Daniel's intense performance providing a contrast to the aspirational lightness of Tanackovic's song. The boy then touched the mirror at 3:45, before having to be pulled away by the 4 minute mark. In here, we faded to a view of a school gym with two Izmeduan WHF artists (Gordan Glavas and Josipa Milas) talking to a cadre of elementary school students, of which that boy was in the audience. Josipa could be seen making a muted, but motivational speech with the way she was moving about. At the end of this section, the camera focused on the boy's rapt attention on both of the WHF entrants, an unspoken desire of wanting to be just like them too.
5:23-7:04
It was here that the song took a turn from focusing on the young boy to the formation of the festival itself, with images of the 'stage' being built in real time as the young boy played witness to the whole scene. Throughout this section, more scenes of WHF's past 'legends,' consisting not just of winners, but of noteworthy entries and moments that defined their festivals played throughout as well. There was a brief montage of the tiebreakers in the 26th World Hit Festival, to Chameliya's 3-win streak, and many other moments that had a similar impact. By 6:30, the music swelled once again, this time, with a definite 'end' point in play as the music built up to an even greater heights, heralding an unimaginable peak. The song kept building further as now, we were faced with pre-recorded images of the WHF36 entrants, all looking ready to make their mark on the stage.
7:05-8:17
Starting from 7:05, the music quickly set up its most triumphant moment, as flashes of each WHF36 entrant flashed through the screen for one second, coinciding with the sweltering or the strings. By 7:20, we landed on that same boy, looking up on that stage at the same time as the instrumental was about to enter its most cathartic moment. By 7:24, there was a swoop throughout the generated CGI crowd, with triumphant horns blaring as the views celebrated the massive scope of the present contest. Then, by 7:40, that blur through the CGI venue ended with a presentation of the logo, going through each letter of the contest slogan that would make-up 'BECOME A LEGEND' in italics, before fading into a glowing version of the logo.
At the end of the long opening theme, the camera treats the audience back at home with a wide view of the outdoor venue, with a camera crane present as the audience was as wide as the eyes could see, a congregation of WHF fans from many different countries. The stage was darkened as the camera faded to a view close to it... This was the official start of the contest, and the crowd braced themselves...
Opening Act: The Manifesto
O-BRAD & Andraz Adamic – Your Destiny
Tune: Hardwell, KAAZE, Johnathan Mendelsohn - We Are Legends
The identity of the opening act remained unknown, until the name 'O-BRAD' flashed onto the background screens, and immediately after, the outdoor venue shone a hot pink color on the crowd as the two faces revealed themselves. As notes from O-BRAD's machine began to play, Andraz Adamic was present right in front of him, a microphone under him as he prepared to start the show proper. His eyes were closed, with the camera view close to him, and he began to sing...
This is the moment of truth
Many years of work and blood
All for this fleeting moment
It's your destiny
Andraz's voice rang loud and true, coming out even stronger and more forceful than his previous appearance in an international song contest. He had one hand raised up as he sang the song's first half of the chorus, walking forward to get the crowd pumped for the show. Behind him, the lights pulsed a dizzying array of red and pink, with the background showcasing the lyrics.
This is our last chance for impact
One last hurrah before the end
Make these last minutes your best ones
It's your destiny
It was a fast transition to the second half of the chorus, as Andraz maintained the same intensity as earlier, having one hand up as the camera criss-crossed between him and the crowd waving their flags. He ended the chorus with a strong 'it's your destiny,' with O-BRAD then shepherding the song into its almost iconic instrumental, a set of electronic notes that got the crowd excited for the inevitable dance break. The build-up saw the lights flash to the increasing pace of the drums, with the camera occasionally showing O-BRAD interacting with the DJ equipment. Then, at the moment of the break...
It's your destiny
As soon as Andraz finished the line, it was a dance break of massive proportions as Andraz was jumping up and down in the crowd for a few moments, but the camera view was all on the crowd and the flurry of lighting effects that matched the chaotic nature of the song. The dance break was somewhat brief, as the camera view returned to Andraz, who was now next to O-BRAD's DJ set-up.
It's hard to grapple with the end
Knowing there's more
There's no stopping this farewell
Make this count
Andraz's tone was more contemplative for the bridge, the lights turning into a more blue-ish color to reflect the mood. He gazed directly at the camera during these lines, singing them with a gravitas befitting an apocalyptic moment.
Cause this is the moment of truth
Many years of work and blood
All for this fleeting moment
It's your destiny
The transition to this chorus was quick, with Andraz returning to the center of the stage to again pump up the crowd. There was more resonance to his voice, with his mic turned just slightly up to give his voice more volume as O-BRAD added more flourishes to the song's outro. The camera itself was more focused on the crowd, with some of them being seen to try and sing along to the song being played in front of them.
This is our last chance for impact
One last hurrah before the end
Make these last minutes your best ones
It's your destiny
For the last set of vocal lines, Andraz did a bit of choreography and moved to each line, putting a hand to his chest before motioning his free arm upwards in a fist. The instrumentation itself was just as intense, a drum beat added in anticipation with the second dance break. At the conclusion of the vocals, O-BRAD can then be seen pumping the crowd up, putting both of his hands up and beckoning the crowd to begin their rave.
It's your destiny
After this line, it was pure pandemonium in La liberija polja, with the dance break playing as normal with the camera focusing exclusively on the crowd until the end of the song. The ending of the song was abrupt, sounding like an alarm as the WHF36 stage went dark once more.
The crowd cheered in response, as stage hands quickly deconstructed the DJ equipment that O-BRAD was using and a podium began to rise on the stage's platform.
LADIES AND GENTLEMAN. WELCOME TO THE 36TH WORLD HIT FESTIVAL.
PLEASE WELCOME YOUR HOSTESS, IRENA RATKOVIC!
Irena walked onto the stage from one of pits, waving to the crowd with an easy smile. She was a renowned Izmeduan actress, almost on the precipice on being a young legend. She waved to the crowd as she was holding a cue card and walked onto the podium. Irena waited until the crowd calmed down before making the introductory remarks.
Irena: My, oh my. The fifth time running. Dobra vecer Izmedu! Dobra vecer world! This is Gralicna calling, and welcome to the 36th World Hit Festival!
Irena paused here for a bit to allow the crowd to cheer once again, with her looking down a bit sheepishly as she grabbed the podium with both hands.
Irena: Once again, welcome. I'm Irena Ratkovic, just an actress, and I'll be your hostess tonight. So, what is the World Hit Festival about? I'll give you a couple of pointers.
Irena: The World Hit Festival is a multiversal song contest entering its 36th contest. For 35 editions, the contest has been at the forefront of showcasing the best of the multivere's best music. First hosted in Saintrabina, the contest has established a long history of many nations uniting under one banner to show you the best of their music.
Irena: Each nation sends one entry that has gone through their own particular road to peform here in Gralicna tonight Tonight, we have 9 entries for us to showcase to you tonight. Give them a round of applause!
The camera cut to the cheering crowd, with choice shots to fans waving flags of their home/favorite country.
Irena: Looks like you're all excited! Of course, no Izmeduan hosted WHF can't go without the running joke of us hosting this for what feels like the millionth time. This is our fifth time, can you believe that? And we've only started hosting these things since the 29th edition!
Somewhere in a special structure built near the venue meant for RTI officials, the RTI figureheads balked at this part of the script.
Irena: Just a joke! It's time to turn to what truly matters, the entries themselves.
Irena: The first nation up tonight is Natanya. Savnic, are you ready?
The broadcast feed cut to a view of the wider stage and quickly faded into the first frame of the Natanyan postcard.