Post S1 thoughts, pre Semi 2 rehearsal musings

Well that was a fun packed evening last night in the arena, and I had a blast attending Semi 1. I shouldn't be surprised by now that what we experience in the arena is nothing like what you eventually see on TV, because in the arena it was all Netta, and also a lot of love for Eleni. But since Fuego is a late bloomer, the audience didn't really sing along to it like they did with Toy, which created a magical atmosphere.


But it seemed little of that made its way onto the screen and when I watched them afterwards on YT, both songs came across as messy and disjointed, especially Israel. It baffles me that much of the great camera work and staging that was accomplished during the dress rehearsal and jury show on Monday was nowhere to be seen on the screen last night for so many of the entries. Perhaps the production team didn't account for the fact that the fan zone and golden circle are almost level with the stage so every hoisting of every flag, banner, hammer & baby gets in the way of the main camera shots, and are a real distraction.
The biggest benefactor of this mess was probably Ieva who stayed on the floor most of the song and that forced the cameras to bypass the flags and nonsense, and when she got up to move it was on the bridge and that's elevated enough to avoid the distractions. I doubt anything can be done for tomorrow and Saturday other than banning all flags and props in the fan areas, but the people standing there create such colour and atmosphere that the producers will want to keep.
The circle crowd also deserve some compensation for having their hair singed during the bonfire that is Cyprus. Seriously, the flames are all over every part of that stage.

I was fascinated watching the preparations on stage while the postcards are on display and it's incredible to see how fast it all moves, and to see how some of the artists whip the crowd into a frenzy with their gestures just before they start. Most amusing was watching Elina getting off her platform after the performance (the dress surrounds it, so you don't see it) and being stripped of that tent, as she skips off stage barefoot wearing the top part of her outfit and a pair of shorts. Also, the commercial breaks aren't for assembling the technical acts, because the stage work begins only once the postcards are on, which makes sense given that Netta (for example) likely won't be on following a commercial break next time she's on stage so they have to know how to put it all together in the same amount of time as the other acts.

So I'll be blogging the S2 dress rehearsal and jury show, but take into account that, if last night is any indication, much of what we'll see today on screen won't necessarily be what you'll see tomorrow night.