WHF Network - OOC Thread - Draft Thread
The thought of an orchestra, from the large philharmonic symphonies to the small group participating in an amateur performance, was one of the many beating hearts that codified and allowed to music thrive in our multiverse. It was a style that could evoke the classic beauty of an emotional work to enthralling an audience towards an epic rapture. Large symphonies can evoke the scale of a large battle across armies, while a set of strings can play audience to an intimate and emotional moment. In short, it's one of the ways in which music speaks to us, a way for us to connect and see music being played live and organically before our very eyes. It is through this is where the 46th World Hit Festival thrives in its declaration of an edition dedicated to an orchestra.
For Polumisec, this couldn't have been a more opportune second chance to host the contest once more. As the city with Izmedu's most prominent orchestras and performing theaters, the very spaces that marked the nascent but quickly growing Polumisec musical scene, WHF returning to Polumisec was a dream come true for those in the city. RTI felt that energy when both the home and international crowd seeped into the 15,000-strong Naida Arena. Those fans would see a live orchestra quickly preparing themselves to get ready, the lights flashing as music from yesterday and the present would pulse throughout the interior. The home conductor, Adam Katavic, smiled as he gazed fondly at the music sheets placed in front of him.
Then... the very advent of the show itself. The lights would darken, leaving the Naida Arena in darkness, and the camera feeds began to roll. The call-sign of the World Hit Festival, BVC, and RTI would begin to play, which would then cut to the logo/brand of the 46th World Hit Festival itself. Those little jingles paved way to an almost deafening silence and a fading of the logo.
Adam Katavic – A Prelude under a Night Sky
Tune: Epic Soul Factory - Everdream
For the viewers at home, the show would start with a video presentation. It was situated an empty theatre, finely decorated with red velvet curtains, a classy wooden finish, and gold trimmings around the architecture and fabric where necessary. However, the theatre looked derelict, being a mixture of grandness and loneliness. Said theatre also had an empty orchestra pit right in front of the wooden stage. With a small and dramatic 'bang,' a spotlight would eventually shine on the dark theatre stage. A person, revealed through a cinematic framing of their hand, would then be revealed to be holding a conductor's baton. The camera would focus on multiple views of him, concealing the conductor's identity before it was revealed to be... Adam Katavic himself, standing alone in that empty theatre staring into an empty orchestra.
The presentation was still caked in an intense silence. Adam would raise the baton up, visibly and audibly taking a deep breath as both hands of his were now raised. This time... the music that would make for the opening theme began to play...
0:00-1:32
The camera would focus on his hands as he gently swished and swayed the baton, coinciding with the rumblings of the opening theme's music. By doing so, a sort of mystic 'power' emanated from the baton, allowing the theatre he was playing in to look more glorious the more he would conduct the orchestra in his head. As he kept playing, what once looked so derelict began to slowly mold and transform into a fully repaired and classical looking theatre. The colors of reds and golds looked richer and more warmer on the TV screens. The instrumentation remained soft, as it was his conducting that would finally begin to compel people to appear. They would appear from whatever entrances that were there, growing in number as the song approached its first complete minute. An orchestra and an audience were beginning to develop, with Adam's determination and confidence growing as he now he had a live orchestra he can fully conduct. The song would hang in silence for one dramatic moment, Adam's eyes closing and the camera views fading as it did one singular revolution around him...
1:33-2:29
Once the camera made a complete revolution, a fuller audience and orchestra can now be see. Flags of the competing countries can be seen being draped behind Adam by the second. This coincided with his smile growing even more apparent as he led the orchestra with a greater vigor, with some flashes to the flags of the participating countries. The flags of nations such as Britonisea, Todlichebujoku, and New Juan Carlos Land can be seen being draped down as Adam would lead the orchestra through the song. There was now the addition of drums interspersed within the melody, mixed in with the plucks of an ethereal guitar. The song would pause once more, flashing a brilliant white to another scene.
2:30-4:18
The instrumentation sounded like it was literally floating on air, befitting the new scene at hand. We now played witness to a close-up shot of the orchestra, focusing on close-ups of the instruments as mystical and magical musical notes and instruments would float around them. They were basically CGI and ghostly wisps of orchestral instruments floating around each orchestra member. A guitar pluck would see a music note and chord manifest near the guitar player's hand, at first starting off simple and wisping into the air. These music notes, throughout this long section of the build-up, was synaesthesia bought to life. The notes and instruments would start off simple, before developing into a brilliant and maelstrom of lights colors that almost surrounded the orchestra as there was now a wide shot. The flags were revealed to have been changed, now showcasing nations such as Llalta, Izmedu, Normandy and Picardy. The music would begin to intensify and build towards a climax, slowly but surely... By the four minute mark, the camera view would return to Adam Katavic intently concentrating on his conducting, right when the music would begin to take an even further upwards swing.
4:19-5:17
This was where the music truly climaxed. The rest of the flags can be seen being draped over to show the the participants of the 46th World Hit Festival. Estogium, Fatiman Federation, Besen, Elam, and Axuva's flags can all be seen not just being draped on the background, but even their national colors began to swelter around the synaesthesia-esque energy being produced in the theatre. As the orchestra swelled to its highest heights, even the light configuration surrounding Adam would change according to the intensity of the note and the nation being presented. He and the orchestra members looked nothing but overjoyed as the felt the music climax to its greatest peak. The orchestra, the strings and the horns, had melded together to create the sublime moments that hit from the 5th minute and on. The theatre had pulsed with the orchestral music, before darkening and quieting at the end of the climax. Only one light had now lingered on Adam at the song's long outro...
5:18-8:33
The long outro of the song saw the rest of the flags being draped. We would now see Kalosia, Mercedini, and Antahbrantahstan finally get their due in representation as the theatre on the video presentation darkened. It was now an intimate moment between the conductor and the orchestra. A few instruments would close out the song, the theatre becoming so dark on the video presentation that it could subtly seen almost 'morphing' into the interior of the Naida Arena itself. A few, almost silent notes, would close out the song. However, the advent of the crowd cheer would drown out these parting notes as we were now fully into the interior of the Naida Arena itself.
The crowd had cheered hungrily once the introductory video was part. The Naida Arena would remain dark regardless, being only illuminated by the faint pulses of light that emanated from the orchestra pit. The very nature of Izmedu's entries for the last few editions (all being of an orchestral bent) had left the home crowd wondering what exactly had RTI prepared for the evening's proceedings before the host would be introduced. A spotlight would begin to shine on a familiar looking man on the stage, leading to a loud crowd cheer from the Izmeduan contingent...
Martin Zganec – Sublime
Tune: Sleeping At Last - Sun
It would be Martin Zganec that would sing the opening act for the 46th World Hit Festival, once having been the Izmeduan entrant for the 43rd World Hit Festival. The song he brought to the table started off with a simple piano, acting almost quite like a sequel to the opening theme in terms of sound. Behind him, those same music notes that appeared during the video presentation would begin to manifest on the screens. Those simple piano notes carried a tone of whimsy, befitting the light colors and music notes being shone on the screen behind Martin that would pulse in fairly light colors. A suitably bright spotlight would begin to shine on Martin, revealing him to be standing on the stage alone. He smiled slightly as the spotlight shone on him, a shy and demure look on his eyes as he immediately went began to sing the first verse of the song.
Gaze at the skies
The heavens looking so sublime
A scene so serene
Yet it brims with untold energy
And the air up there
Its calmness a display of mercy
He sang this first verse backed only by that piano. His eyes were almost dreamlike, as if he was floating through a cloud, especially for the first few lines. Martin's voice was in that trademark high register of his, yet this time, it was laced with a touch more positivity than the sorrow-laden entry he brought forth in Britonisea. Behind him, the music notes would pulse and convulse with each note he sang, remaining consistently with brighter-toned colors. The camera would occasionally cut to side and frontal view, sometimes emphasizing wider shots especially at the latter half of the verse. The lines would begin to gradually brighten as the instrumentation began to build. The orchestra would make its appearance, Adam Katavic faithfully leading the orchestra through its paces.
The skies may rumble
Storms raging through the vast expanse
To give us life
This is our renewal
This is the rebirth so yearned for
Under these heavens
We live in eternal awe, fear, and joy
Martin continued through this verse with that ease of delivery. The lights around him began to shine even brighter as the orchestra took a greater prominence. At the end of that third line, that was when the orchestra and Martin's voice truly began to meld together, with the music notes going from one isolated into the darkness and turning into an almost joyous maelstrom of color. The camera would begin to take wider views, in order to display both the scale of the stage and of course, the 15,000-strong audience that were hungrily cheering along to the song. Martin's joy only grew, him visibly breathing and looking almost giddy even as the song softened, with the lights suitably darkening alongside.
This is our one home
This is our one home, this is the sublime, our living world
This is our one home, this is the sublime, this is our one home, our living world
A monument, Our monument
This is our world
The camera would return to a close view of him once more, with Martin gingerly clasping the microphone with two hands. It would circle around him, alternating between dynamic views of him and the piano player on the orchestra pit. He would repeat these lines almost like a mantra, catching the camera with his earnest expression. The lights around him would sparkle a bright blue and white, creating the impression of a sky forming around the stage even without the explicit image on the screens. He sang the last two lines with as much conviction as possible, cupping his fists and stepping forward, staring up into the ceiling in the brief interim between this and the chorus. He would step back, as the song would quickly rise up in sound once more...
Our renewal
This is the rebirth so yearned for
Under these heavens
We live in eternal awe, fear, and joy
This is our renewal
This is the rebirth so yearned for
Under these heavens
We live in eternal awe, fear, and joy
The song and the stage wasted no time in roaring back to life for this chorus. Martin's vocals were passionate at each line. The first reprise of the chorus was mostly driven by a brief peppering of drums and Martin's strong vocals. The mood continued its celebratory fashion, with the screen behind him now fully forming into a full soundscape of colors and surreal images that began to vaguely resemble the clouds one would see in the sky. The camera overlay even joined in on the action, with a subtle dream-like lens effect being applied to the camera in close-up views of Martin through the first half of the chorus. At the second half of the chorus, this effect would slowly be removed, but the passion brimming within Martin was far from lessened. The instrumentation would intensify, his vocals would soar even further (especially when he sang the second iteration of 'under these heavens'). He would again look up as the chorus ended, clutching the microphone close to him as the focus would now turn towards the orchestra.
This time, it was Adam Katavic's moment to shine and truly bring the song home. He passionately conducted the orchestra, with them letting out a sweltering mix of drums and strings. The lights around them were a swirling mix of bright and light hues, accentuating the very nature of the song itself. The camera would alternate between close and wide views, emphasizing the collective nature of the orchestra producing the instrumentation entirely live for the audience. Before long however, the focus would return back to Martin.
A monument, Our monument
This is our world
He would sing out that dramatic interlude with these two lines. A drum line would be apparent once more, causing the lights to shimmer gloriously before returning back to a shimmering darkness. After a climactic bridge, the song would meet its end through a soft conclusion. Behind Martin was a screen slowly fading into a darkness except for those same music notes that appeared in the first minute of the song. The instrumentation, primarily played through a mixture of piano and strings, would bend, manifest, and contort those notes on the screens behind him.
Gaze at the skies
The heavens looking so sublime
And the air up there
Its calmness a display of mercy
Martin would look up into the ceiling the entire time he was singing this, the camera switching views accordingly. The camera would slowly zoom out, going higher as he would sing these lines with his fragile tone. The ending of the song itself was a book-end to its equally fragile beginning, with even the same set of lines of repeating. His eyes would close by the last two lines, looking as if he was on the verge of peacefully resting within the burgeoning darkness. At the last note of the song, the lights would completely darken, marking the end of the opening act and the beginning of the show proper. One could hear a brief “hvala” from him as the microphone feed had to be carefully managed to switch it over from him to the host.
Now... it was time for the show proper to start. The orchestra would begin to play a variation on the opening theme, evoking a dream-like atmosphere as the host of the World Hit Festival 46 was beginning to walk out on the stage. The very man chosen to host the Orchestra Special Edition was one that would be familiar to Izmeduan viewers. While the man himself wasn't much of a TV host, he was a renowned musician, an esteemed artistic director for the show that helped choose this edition's Izmeduan entry, and suitably enough, also a Polumisec native. His name was Dominik Gulin
The announcer dramatically shouted a “WORLD, THIS IS YOUR HOST. DOMINIK GULIN!” Almost awkwardly, he would walk out onto the stage on his lonesome, continuing the trend of Izmeduan hostings where there would only be one single host on the stage. He looked a little bit nervous being around the crowd. A podium was quickly raised as the lights flashed around him, his smile projecting a sense of ease even as he looked slightly overwhelmed. As soon as he reached the podium, the crowd finally began to quiet down.
Dominik: Dobro vecer Izmedu! Dobro vecer, dobro vecer!
He smiled to let the crowd cheer once more, soaking in that the show proper had truly begun in earnest.
Dominik: Welcome to the 46th World Hit Festival, everyone. Welcome to Polumisec and welcome to Izmedu. World, it's an honor to be your host and it's an honor to be hosting in quite the special edition. I'm pretty sure you all know what I'm about to say but... Let's explain to those who may be wondering why the orchestra is more apparent than usual.
Dominik: Tonight officially marks five editions since Britonisea, under the deft guidance of Fabio McAlpine, have become the overseers of the World Hit Festival. Round of applause?
The crowd did so suitably, very much in support for the Britonish production and the team now running the duties of administrating the festival.
Dominik: In celebration of Fabio's tenure, the team at BVC have proposed that this specific edition be termed as the 'Orchestra Special Edition.' What does that mean? As all of you have seen, the orchestra is the centerpiece of the whole show tonight.
The cameras would briefly turn to the orchestra pit on the stage as well as the home conductor, all of whom are currently waving both to the audience and the camera that was temporarily gazing at them.
Dominik: Of course, this also means that all nations participating tonight, 13 of them I might add, have to send a song that can accommodate an orchestra or uses a basic accompaniment. All of the nations here have certainly rose up to the challenge, and it is an honor for us to be the ones doing so for this edition.
Dominik: The rest of the World Hit Festival's aspects of course, remain the same. This is very much the celebration of music and culture that we all know in love.
Dominik: Let's get right to it. World, it's time to start! The first nation up is Normandy and Picardy. The song they will be signing is “La voix,” by Martin Jeanais, conducted by Jean-Jacques Marlan. Alright, take it away!
The camera would then cut to the Normand conductor now standing near the orchestra pit, waving to the cameras as the Normand postcard would begin.