NTR presents the WORLDVISION SONG CONTEST 94
Live from Marina Point, Nekoni
OOC Thread | Host Bid | Official Playlist
...did you miss us? After a very successful running of the contest back in WV80, it's been a long while since Nekoni attempted to push for a third chance to run the contest (or, technically third-and-a-halfth after helping out with MCG in WV85, but shut up). The big comeback in 90 led to a win in 92, with Cidade de Deus' win out in Darkmania spurring a desire for the contest more than ever before. Fourteen contests have been a long, long time, but now...we're back. Get ready, it's going to be a good night.
The lighting rig inside the packed arena fades off to a dull black, as the crowd begin cheering in the excitement of what's about to come. The NEXPRO Arena tonight welcomes 21,000 from all over the world, in addition to the potentially billions watching at home. The giant screen flickers the NTR logo, to the station's majestic theme, before displaying the full logo of the IBA, with a brief snippet of Holst's Jupiter to accentuate. The logo fades...and the night comes...
OPENING FILM: "We Are The Night"
Based on Force Majeure by Gaspard Augé
The film starts, inauspiciously enough, in a dull, grey office. It appears to be a slightly dated one from the mid-2000s; although the desks have computers, they're of the old-school CRT monitor variety. It appears the office is financial, as there's tons of charts that mean effectively nothing, and, in true middle-management fashion, one of them has the word 'SYNERGY' written on it and circled with ugly black whiteboard marker. At the back of the wall, we see one of those properly old-school Solari flip wall clocks, the time stuck agonisingly at 19:59, one minute away from freedom (they're working late; Nekoni office hours are typically 9-5). The office's occupants, all in standard work dress, are all bored out of their minds, with some drumming their fingers, staring up at the sky, some even resting their heads on the table, mind-numbingly pressing the same keyboard key over and over again. One of them, a man, leans back on his office chair, and casually flicks a scrunched up ball of paper at the waste paper basket on the other side of the room. He misses, and given the several other paper balls around the bin, his aim's been off all day.
However, the action slows, as all of a sudden, the camera zooms closely to the '00' panel of the wall clock steadily drop, its mechanical movement echoed for emphasis as the final second of the work day dies as slowly as it possibly can. The click of the numerical panel alerts everyone to its presence...and the song hits.
All of the office drones immediately stand up, give each other a nod, and all turn towards the door exiting the office. Immediately, all eight of them make a beeline for the door, and the poor thing slams open as they run through the next few offices. As they run, loose papers fly around them, the manager (seen in an overly arsehole-y pinstripe suit with his hair arranged in a frankly desperate manner to hide the fact he's balding) looking outraged with them causing a scene. The office staff give exactly zero of a toss, though. They reach the stairwell, a long, straight one leading down to the main floor of what we now know is a bank, and all make their way down it: some sliding down the banisters, with one of them somehow using a photocopier's extension cable as a Tarzan rope swing. Don't try that one at home, kids. As the drums finally kick into the main groove at 0:32, the leader of the pack, a woman in a black suit jacket with a white blouse underneath, kicks the door open, as the camera zooms through the door and upwards to view the city of Marina Point in all its splendour as the night hits. It's stylised almost cartoon-like (think a SIAMÉS music video and you're there), with the lights of the city's beachfront stylised as thick, orange and pink lines amongst the dark blues and purples of the night and surrounding sea.
The camera pans up, until the entire image is the dark purple of the sky, and we then pan down to see the silhouette of a young woman on a bridge, staring out to the sea, with what appears to be a chequered flag in her hand, and is drinking a non-branded glass bottle of soda with the other. She appears to be dressed in an outlandishly, Tank Girl-like outfit, with a baggy parka, a steampunk-esque black mask on her forehead, cut leggings, and suchlike. From the lights behind her brightening, we see that she's not alone, as a group of people appear, which she acknowledges with a smirk. The camera rapidly cuts to her cheek, which she applies two streaks of black makeup to crudely with her fingers, her eyes, which she pulls the mask down over, then her raised hand, which raises, then drops the flag. Immediately we see behind her a group of eight or so young men and women, dressed fairly similarly like a light cosplay attempt at Mad Max, all of whom are equipped with different modes of transport: mopeds, skateboards, bikes, scooters and the like. They set off into the night, along the bridge, with some of them setting off trails of brightly coloured smoke as they go, and the race is on.
As they set off down the bridge and towards a dirt road (0:56), they pass a floodlit park, with a massive green playing surface whilst a football match is in full swing. It's a friendly 11-a-side game, with the two teams in normal sportswear distinguished by one team wearing green bibs, the other neon yellow. One of the yellow team, the guy who used a photocopier as a Tarzan swing, is given the ball in his own half. As the music drops (1:04), he begins his charge through the defence, dribbling at high-speed, and as the opposing players attempt to tackle him, he's able to skilfully dance round them, kicking up the ball to avoid a slide, catching players unaware with a solid nutmeg, and when he's at one-on-one with the goalkeeper, he curls the ball in slow-motion into the top left, sending the keeper diving, just missing. The ball goes in exactly at 1:20, the scene continues at its regular speed, as the player gets swamped by the other players on his team in celebration.
The action cuts to the inside of a nightclub. The neon lights of the room dance along the sky, with the bodies of the revellers in the packed out venus dancing in slow motion to the DJ along the back wall. As the scene has time to settle, we see a man in the crowd, dressed in a casual white shirt/jeans combo, who momentarily realises that his phone's buzzing in his pocket. As he checks his messages, the most recent one says 'Turn around! x'. Before he has a chance to do it, we see another man's hand on his shoulder. It's his partner, and he's dressed in a grey tanktop over a black T-shirt. The first man puts his phone back in his pocket, the two share a kiss on the dance floor, and the new arrival grabs him by the hand, and, before the guy knows what he's doing, he's away!
At 1:52, we're at the side alley of the club, the lighting changed to a cool blue, and the couple are making their way down the flight of stairs, one clearly eager to show the other what's in the basement. They reach the bottom of the flight, open the door, and find a group of five young men, roughly early 20s, all perched on a metal frame dressed roughly the same, but all five have UV paint daubed on their clothes, bodies and face. They greet the two, and from the padding on the floor, we see that this is a breakdance crew. We cut to all seven of them, the two new arrivals painted up, all taking turns busting moves on the protective floor, the others clearly into the vibe, surrounding the padding.
As the drums hit at 2:25, we cut to each of the groups of people seen in the night, all standing in almost a V-formation, in their gear, as text appears beneath each of the groups explaining who they are and where they're at in the city. All of them have the same UV paint as the breakdancers did, which contrast against the night sky:
- Marina Misfits Roller Derby, Canera Bridge
- Mariners Amateur Football League players, MP Memorial Park Ground
- Human Sequencer B-Boy Crew, Club HS
After this, we cut to a live helicopter cam of the NEXPRO stadium, and we hear from Nekoni's favourite double act for the first time in a LONG while as the logo fades into view...
Alice Florien & Miki Lazaretti: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and WELCOME TO THE 94TH WORLDVISION SONG CONTEST LIVE FROM MARINA POINT, NEKONI!!
As the camera focuses on the action in the arena, we see the stage lit up, bathing the audience with light in a triangular tunnel of blues and purples. We see Alice and Miki walk on stage through the giant triangular background, waving to the audience. Both of them are dress in stylish long knee-length black dresses, with floral patterns in neon lines accenting the front area; Alice's in pink, Miki's in green.
Alice: "World, good evening! Bonsoir, mes amis, and welcome once again, for the third time, to Nekoni!"
Miki: "Last time, all those years ago, we hosted here in Marina Point, and we were waiting all those years to have another shot of hosting it again! And look where we are! Isn't it so pretty!?"
Alice: "And this time we were able to do it without hijacking another broadcast! And we won't get covered in powder paint like last time!"
Miki: "Last time, all those years ago, we hosted here in Marina Point, and we were waiting all those years to have another shot of hosting it again! And look where we are! Isn't it so pretty!?"
Alice: "And this time we were able to do it without hijacking another broadcast! And we won't get covered in powder paint like last time!"
At this point, a jet blast of coloured powder fires on the stage. Unfortunately, it was on the completely opposite side of the stage, and the powder paint completely misses the two. Alice still screams from the shock of the jet going off, and is hiding behind Miki as a human shield, Miki looking completely done with her. After a couple of seconds, with Alice still holding on to her, Miki turns with a curt "Are you quite done, dear?" Alice places her hands up and slowly backs away, apologising.
Miki: "Thanks for that, Malta. Your one's coming in the post. Anyway, tonight's the ninety-fourth running of the WorldVision Song Contest, and the twenty-eighth that Nekoni are showing up to the party for!"
Alice has calmed down now.
Alice: "That's right, and like the other 27, we're not alone! Who's going to be fighting for the crown tonight?"
Both: "LET'S MEET OUR COMPETITORS!"
Both: "LET'S MEET OUR COMPETITORS!"
PARADE OF NATIONS
Dance All Night by Sota Fujimori
As the EDM *banger* hits, each entry appears in the order they will be performing tonight, from #1 through to the end. Each entrant is led by a female flag-bearer, dressed in a black dress adorned with three diagonal stripes across the chest in the colour of the nation's flag. They appear through the left entrance, down the stairwell, out to the front of the triangular stage, pose after being announced by Alice and Miki alternating naming the country, and exit out through the right stairwell. As expected, Nekoni's audience pop is huge for when Les Dahlias Noires appear down the stairs.
). Pænda steps forward out of her previous dress now lying then on the ground. Reborn as her own woman as she sings the final chorus and Zim and Stan make their way off stage.
