The Netherlands THE NETHERLANDS 2019 - Duncan Laurence - Arcade

[SwedishFailurez]

Ouch!

 

[Galandar]

I think the Netherlands will distribute some lights to the audience and that was the reason there is so much of camera work showing the arena

 

[darkap]

Netherlands experimenting the usual pressure of the fan favorite when everyone has very high (sci-fi) expectations... and when things get real they are disappointed.
The song is there, he has voice, the lights and backdrop are good.
Ditch that cheap-looking keyboard, it just gives bad luck after that gem of Black Bird getting rejected in 2017 with the same stage performance structure (intimate song, blue lights, the piano).
Fix the camera shots: just delete the big pan shots with the arena. We do not need to see the public (also a terrible mistake of Italy 2017).
All in all, I think the game is more open now but Netherlands can still take the trophy with adjustments.

 

[esc87fan]

I'm not worried in the least. He might have been using this rehearsal to get a feel for the stage, but nobody can make snap judgements from a 40-second clip on the official site. I trust his team, and there's still Saturday's second rehearsal to keep building on the base they put down today - he doesn't need robots, colorful backdrops or a "house of mirrors" to make the song stand out

I'm not interested in press polls and what the bookies say right now, what matters to me at this moment is the final product we're going to see on TV

 

[lavieenrose]

Ouch!

[MENTION=14505]Lupus[/MENTION] I'm leaving you and marrying this image

 

[Lupus]

[MENTION=14505]Lupus[/MENTION] I'm leaving you and marrying this image

I hope you'll be very happy together

 

[RainyWoods]

I think having Duncan lumped in front of a piano is a wrong move. I get why they did it. Here’s a musician playing his song live, except he’s not. It’s a prop. You can get away with it if you’re tongue in cheek about things, or by having a song we’re not supposed to be taking deathly serious, but that’s not the case with Arcade. It would have worked just to have Duncan standing there singing it. Eurovision isn’t a live music event anymore, so it’s nothing more than theatre when you try and present your song to suggest otherwise. The choice of staging here feels a very counterproductive move.

 

[crashworld]

I think having Duncan lumped in front of a piano is a wrong move. I get why they did it. Here’s a musician playing his song live, except he’s not. It’s a prop. You can get away with it if you’re tongue in cheek about things, or by having a song we’re not supposed to be taking deathly serious, but that’s not the case with Arcade. It would have worked just to have Duncan standing there singing it. Eurovision isn’t a live music event anymore, so it’s nothing more than theatre when you try and present your song to suggest otherwise. The choice of staging here feels a very counterproductive move.

At the bold part. YES! I agree. Just have him sing standing up and just focusing singing his hearts out. I feel that with him trying to play the piano while sitting will distract him from putting his best in emoting, which the song needs. The viewers need to see him emoting well just to get into the song and the message. Just give him the close-up shots and make it look intimate, that would have made it simple yet effective.

 

[Noekie]

I it!

 

[Sammy]

Reminds me of Amir. Big fav before the contest --> blue, slightly underwhelming staging (though still a good one) --> ...

 

[Fluke]

Sitting down is a losing game!

 

[Ezio]

lol, Swedes playing offense now

 

[esc87fan]

First rehearsal from Duncan's perspective:

 

[John1]

The staging could've been way better, but well..

 

[randajad]

Don’t like much the piano thingy mostly because we all know he’s not playing it live. Othervise, it is great, no idea what did you all expected.

 

[esc87fan]

Don’t like much the piano thingy mostly because we all know he’s not playing it live. Othervise, it is great, no idea what did you all expected.

According to Wiwibloggs, the piano he was using is actually a stand-in, the real one wasn't made available yet. Someone mentioned the use of the instrument during his meet and greet today, and he said it brought him back to when he first started writing the song. I think he wants to transfer that feeling and that experience to the big stage

Other than that, he looked good and he sounded good. A few adjustments here and there in the Saturday rehearsal including better camera angles and he should be good to go

 

[ZoboCamel]

Fix the camera shots: just delete the big pan shots with the arena. We do not need to see the public (also a terrible mistake of Italy 2017).

Obviously I haven't seen the specific camera angles being used here, but I don't think the audience shots are necessarily a bad idea.

Yes, I hated the audience shots in Italy 2017 - my issue there being that they were close-ups on random attendees. But a slow, distant panning shot of the audience can be quite effective for ballads if, say, everyone's got their phone lights out. I think Israel did a really good job of this in 2016, for example.

 

[lavieenrose]

I think he should have leaned into the arcade thing and turned the stage into a pinball machine. Have him dressed like a pinball running around bouncing on various whimsical objects all suited for a given theme (The Simpsons, maybe? Outer space? Idk).

(panting out of breath and running around frantically) loving you is a losing game...

An instant spot at the top of the board would have been Duncan's to lose even more so than hordes of angry YouTube comments are telling me it is now.

 

[crashworld]

I think he should have leaned into the arcade thing and turned the stage into a pinball machine..

Actually I wouldn't have mind if they actually took the literal meaning of the song title and turn the stage into an arcade. Like him being lost/alone in a busy world. It would have created a whimsical or magical setting for the song, which frankly speaking do sort of match with the vibe the song is sending. The song is chilling and heart-wrenching but at the same time, there is something magical about it.

But then, I can get behind simple staging, but I think having him to sit down while playing the piano does not give him the opportunity to emote fully, which should be the key essence of the performance.

 

[lavieenrose]

I think having him to sit down while playing the piano does not give him the opportunity to emote fully

I am a walking repository of artists who can sit at a piano and fully emote,[1] but Duncan with this song isn't on the list. The production of the song overwhelms the piano so god damn much that it's a really weird choice to make it such a big part of the presentation. Surely there are ways to celebrate the song and the story it tells more fittingly without having him bounce around dressed as a pinball (which I hope I made clear that I would never earnestly recommend ).

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5A_TTjbOIQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDiCr7BNVY4
Warning for this one: incredibly difficult subject matter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEYXZueNugM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B54CDWZhcwQ