Challenge #3: Attend a Secret Cinema event - Part One: Pre-mission Training

As soon as I found out about Secret Cinema (so secret that now I can't remember where I actually heard of it) I knew I wanted to participate in this fusion of film, undercover operatives, clues, costumes and acting.

For those of you who don't know, Secret Cinema really is exactly what it sounds like. You buy a ticket to see a film, but you don't know what film it is or where it will be held. And that's where the fun begins. The creators send you clues and you become part of the film. You spend your time trying to work out what film it is and why you're being asked to do these seemingly bizarre things. It's the ultimate film experience, where you are slowly sucked into the world of the film.

The Build-Up

After buying my tickets, I waited impatiently for my first instructions. At first I thought that Secret Cinema genuinely had joined forces with another company called Brave New Ventures. After watching their vague video I started to get suspicious: was this just a way of keeping the group going through sponsorship or was it all part of the intrigue?

Soon I had my answer - we were all asked to choose a job from a list including ore analyst, contamination officer and data analyst. Then we had to change our job status on Facebook and our profile picture, so that other employees could recognise us. (This is part of the brilliance of Secret Cinema, their use of social media to promote their cause and generate enthusiasm. However, it does immediately exclude anyone who doesn't have Facebook.)

I chose my job, Contamination Officer - I figured if there was an 'outbreak' I'd prefer to be on the outside, stopping it from spreading - and I was ready for my first mission: Physical Conditioning.

The uniform that Contamination Officers are expected to wear
(Image from Brave New Ventures website)

It wasn't really a massive surprise when Physical Condititioning involved, well, physical conditioning. We assembled at Southbank, were given t-shirts and then participated in what must have looked like mass-hysteria. We did strange movements, similar to those in that song 'Let's Do the TimeWarp Again'. And then, we ran.

Waiting patiently for instructions

Being part of a large, homogenous crowd is quite a strange feeling. You do feel pulled along with the group, I can see how people start to focus on being a team member, rather than an individual. I assume this is perfect for whatever 'mission' our new employer (BNV) has in store for us.
We dashed around Southbank, with people staring and laughing as we chanted 'Brave New Ventures'. There was a hilarious moment when a woman asked us, 'What is Brave New Ventures?' and we all replied, simultanteously 'We don't know!'

Exhausted after our intensive training, and still none the wiser about the film!

After completing my first mission, I was keen for another taste. I recieved word that I needed to choose a mission and email by 6pm. I chose Psychological and Emotional Training because it's just right up my alley, I cited my experience with teenagers as making me perfect for the job as I am now 'an expert in psychological warfare'.
 

Receiving our mission briefing outside the Planetarium.
(Photograph from Secret Cinema Facebook page)

Soon I found myself hiking to the Planetarium next to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Again we were given shirts and had our pictures taken with our special item we couldn't live without for the mission. The training involved two sections. The first was a live teleconference between the doctor in charge at the deployment location (clearly in space somewhere) and the head psychologist at BNV. He was handsome, persuasive and, above all, creepy. Completely focused on completing the mission, he would do anything, even if that involved putting employees on drugs to keep them in check. The doctor seemed to dislike him and asked to come home early. Her request was laughed off and she didn't look happy! The acting was so convincing that I kept forgetting that it wasn't real.

Listening to the teleconference so that we understand the importance of Psychological Training.
(Photograph from Secret Cinema Facebook Page)

The second section was a lecture about how to use body language to manipulate employees. It seemed pretty well researched (although nothing I haven't taught my own students about body language and how we communicate). What I again noticed was this drive to complete the mission at all costs, including manipulating those around you.

Watching demonstrations of non-verbal communication carefully so that we can use the techniques on our subordinates!
(Photography from Secret Cinema Facebook Page)

So, before my 'deployment', my theory was that it's a space film, about a corporation exploring space so that the human race can settle there.

 Full debriefing will be completed in the next blog entry... So for now... Tell no one...

Challenge #50: Hire a Barclays Bike

Hiring a Barclays Bike is an expected excursion for any tourist in London. I'm not really a tourist anymore, but hiring a bike still seemed like a good idea one sunny Sunday. 

Locals in the know call these 'Boris Bikes', in honour of the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who supposedly came up with the idea. Or, at least, he bankrolled it. In reality, Ken Livingstone proposed the idea back in 2008. 

Bike at the ready!

Not that any of that matters in the slightest for my purposes. 

Always one for helping the environment, I am all for these bikes. They're all around the city in convenient places and they're really cheap to hire. It's all pretty foolproof. Well, until you try to ride through crowds or through Jubilee preparations outside Buckingham Palace...

We found our bikes near Westminster using the App my friend, Ash, had downloaded on his phone. Useful! After watching Sarah figure out the hiring process, we put in our credit cards, received our codes and chose our bikes. 

Cruising around London on a bike is somewhat daunting. There are all those crazy London taxis and insane central traffic. Not to mention road works. All of this does not make for a safe journey when coupled with the fact that I have absolutely no sense of balance or coordination. 

In fact, by the end of the ride my new nickname was 'Wobbles', due to the fact that whenever I would slow down I would wobble from side to side and nearly fall off. And I used to be such a good rider when I was little!

We ran into strife around Buckingham Palace where they were setting up for the Jubilee. Told off by guards, we wheeled our bikes to Green Park, only to find that there was 'No Cycling' in this part of the park. Ever the group of rebels, we rode on anyway. 

No Cycling

The verdict? Boris, Barclays... Whatever you call them, these bikes rock! The only snag is waiting for a sunny day to make the most of them...