Sunday 29 May 2016

INSIDE MASTERMIND - The preparation




Curiosity recently took me to one of the most challenging, surreal and extraordinary places of my life ... the Mastermind chair!! 

The curiosity part of this equation is a story in itself, as is the audition process which I somehow made my way through (see separate post INSIDE MASTERMIND - The Auditions). 

But let’s concentrate here on the experience itself.

First, a little background …

Mastermind was last on our screens in NZ in 1990 and has made its comeback within the same format and framework.  It makes for rather stark television, with the questions being as long, involved and obscure as ever.  The difference this time around is that in addition to specialist subject and general knowledge, there is an extra round of NZ general knowledge.  The NZ section is split into different categories and you have to pick one of those, thus turning it into a specialist subject of sorts.

I choose Science, Nature & Geography.  Other categories are Art & Literature, History, Sports, and Pop Culture.  I would have much preferred a general across-the-board range of questions from all these categories rather than a focus on one but, c’est la vie. 

Each round is 90 seconds, so a total of 4½ minutes of questions.  A mere few moments of life but, let me assure you, it feels like an eternity as you’re relentlessly bombarded by giant wordy questions and trying to get your head around them, time ticking, brain whirling.

I somehow get myself through the first audition.  The second audition is a similar, yet trickier process.  (See separate Audition post for that peek behind the scenes on that side of things).

Having navigated my way through both, I then find myself being offered a position as a contender.  Gulp, is this for real? Yes indeed.  Now what ...?  I have to firm up my specialist subjects, to be approved by the producer, that’s what.  And get studying.

You have to prepare two subjects - one for the heat and one for the semi finals (I think this is being rather optimistic as far as I'm concerned, but it’s part of the deal!)  I have loosely in mind to do something Europe-focused and then either Talking Heads (fave group) or David Bowie (love him).  But really, I have no idea.  How does one select one’s specialist subject?  For me this was no easy task.  I would call myself a Generalist rather than a Specialist on anything in particular.  But one thing is for sure, it must be something which you are passionate about, otherwise you are just torturing yourself.  Oh, I think I am already about to do just that, regardless.

I really wanted to do something based around European geography and culture (landmarks, cities, food etc) but it has to be something researchable.  You have to supply two books and two websites from which the questions will come.  Well, this is a rather large topic and my knowledge emanates from my own life experiences rather than from a book.  My chaotic mind, however, is not something that can be easily researched, even by me!

I scout for a suitable book but can find nothing that covers what I have in my chaotic mind.  Travel guides and books on one city or country are about it.  Tomes on history and various aspects of different countries, but no book that aligns with the knowledge I hold in my head in a researchable way.  I wonder about focussing on Venice.  I wonder about narrowing it down to Eastern Europe.  Or one country.  I wonder about writing my own book … (now there’s an idea!)

With minimal time to ponder and finalise my decision, I poke about online and scour library catalogues for books about Europe, Talking Heads and David Bowie.  When it seems too difficult to source something suitable for a Europe topic I turn my attention to the music side of things.

See separate posts – DAVID BOWIE and TALKING HEADS to find out why I love them!

Late one night, in early January, before I know I have made it through audition no.2, I am watching a David Bowie clip on YouTube, marvelling at his voice, his songs, his style, and as much in awe of him as ever.  I think to myself “I wonder what the world would do if he died.”  The thought rather horrifies me and is far too difficult to ponder.  I perish that thought and carry on watching the mesmerising Heroes video.  Or perhaps it was Station to Station, I can't quite recall, I was watching a lot of clips around that time.

A few days later, on his 69th birthday, 8th January 2016, Bowie releases Blackstar and two days after that he is dead.  When the news comes through I am absolutely shocked – by the cold hard reality of it, by the fact he had kept his illness quiet and because I had actually contemplated it, out of nowhere, just days earlier.  The world grieves for this unique man whose genius was at work right up until the bitter end. I can't quite comprehend it. 

Blackstar is an exceptional musical offering from a man who was dying.  Despite that, it is him at his very best.  I will listen to it forever.

But back to Mastermind (as I say, you can read more about me and DB in the separate post) ...

The production company, understandably, latches onto the Bowie idea and, despite having some angst around the enormity and suddenly ultra high profile of the topic, which is all a deterrent for me, they are really keen. Ultimately, it is my decision and, in the end, I think it is a fitting tribute.  The fact that, when Mastermind was last on our screens back in 1990, the winner had the same topic, is extra daunting.  But I know that, with his death, I want to delve deeper into the genius of Bowie anyway, so why not do so with Mastermind in mind?

So David Bowie it is to be, and Talking Heads, if I make it to the semi-final.  Brian Eno has played a significant role in the journey of both, and so it was especially intriguing to see another contender with the specialist subject of the “The Music of Brian Eno”.  (I worked with Brian’s daughter back in the 1980s in London, long after I was already a fan of both DB and TH - interesting insights there, that's for sure!)

And so the study begins.  I decide on the book Strange Fascination by David Buckley, who did his doctoral thesis on Bowie, and another publication put out by Time, plus a couple of websites.  (There are now many new books about his life, but these had not been published at the time of study!)

I download the book onto my Kindle and begin to read and make copious notes.  And be fascinated of course, as the book uncovers all sorts of interesting detail.  I am thinking that I need to get a hard copy of the book (Kindle is not the best way to study) – no copies at the library.  In fact, just about every Bowie resource is hard to come by anywhere, everyone is devouring every aspect.  This terrifies me as I envisage myself as the least-accomplished Bowie specialist out there, about to go on national television.  I shudder at the thought and try to shake it off.  There are a lot of sticky bits.

I am about to research getting a copy through Amazon but, at this point, the production company rings to say they can’t get a copy of the book at all, and they suggest another title.  This sounds more like a catalogue and stories of his music than a picture of his life, so I express my concerns, as his life was so much more than his music.  They say they will send me a copy of the book to have a look at. 

So I keep reading Strange Fascination, but don’t make such copious notes as it is apparently not going to be a researchable resource.  I wait for the new book to arrive.  It doesn’t.  I contact them and they apologise, they thought they had let me know that they had got a copy of Strange Fascination after all.  What?

Valuable time has been lost but I stumble over that block and switch back into power study mode.  I deem it too late to get a hard copy myself and keep on with the Kindle, a copy reserved through the library if it should become available (it didn’t).  In hindsight, I should have ordered through Amazon the day they said they'd got a copy and we were back on track.  

Lesson: don’t try to study with a Kindle.  A hard copy that you can flick through and highlight and refer back to is most definitely required.  (Whilst I like to learn new things every day, the last time I studied like this was well before computers and kindles, when books were the only way to go!)

Bowie’s life is so huge and diverse, it is hard to work out what to really concentrate on.  Whilst the latter part of his life wasn't as public, those years were pretty damned amazing and not that well known.  His innovation never waned.  Over the many years of his career, there have been so many hangers-on and people involved, it is hard to keep track of it all.  But it is the exceptional things HE did that really fascinate me.  (You can see what some of those things are in separate David Bowie post).  I’m lapping up David Bowie in every way I can.

Alongside this I’m honing up my NZ knowledge of science, nature and geography.  Rivers, highways, birds, trees, towns, mountains, scientists, natural wonders etc.  Where does it end ...?  At Slope Point, in the Catlins, perhaps – the most southern point of the South Island (no, it’s not Bluff).

General knowledge is the sort of stuff I just absorb along life’s journey, honing up here and there when it takes my interest.  I’m a member of a pub quiz team so gleaning and retaining all sorts of random knowledge is invaluable and ongoing – and can add up to be that valuable extra point.  

I do like to read atlases, maps and dictionaries (weird, I know!) and I do observe and absorb as much as I can, researching murky bits of information until I have a handle on them (or not!)  The Periodic Table, Dickens, Shakespeare, Bond, Olympics, Oscars, presidents and prime ministers, monarchs and battles, capitals and landmarks – all these topics are standard for a quizzer to get to grips with.   Or at least try!

At quiz, you have visual and audio clues, the brains of fellow teammates and scope for discussion (or could that be dissension!?)  With Mastermind, however, it’s just you and the long convoluted questions.   And spotlights and cameras. And your mind in a tangle as the nation tunes in.

What the hell am I doing?

I am cramming in as much as my poor addled brain can handle.
 
I am researching and delving into anything and everything that comes into my world or my dreams (nightmares?!)  Googling this and that, enlightening myself on obscurities, bamboozling myself with things one may never need to know – unless, perhaps, if asked the question on Mastermind!

I have David Bowie playing all day and all night.  Brett can’t bear to hear another song, I can’t get enough of it.  Every spare moment is spent studying and absorbing whatever I can.  I don’t seem to have enough spare moments, with other projects on the go, as always.  It’s a juggle and time is passing.  

I should add here that I start Bridge lessons through all this and so, at the same time, am trying to get my head around the incredible complexities of that, grappling with take-out bids and finesses and strong openers and learning about being vulnerable and a dummy (they're bridge words!)  How did someone ever invent this game? I know I will become addicted, like a number of my friends are already.  See separate post about PLAYING BRIDGE ...

The line from one of my favourite Bowie songs, “Love is Lost” (from The Next Day album) is going round and round in my head on repeat.  It goes “What have you done, Oh what have you done?”  Indeed.  I can’t answer the question.  I don’t really know yet, but I do know that one of the most daunting and nerve‑wracking days of my life is looming.

Filming day draws closer – Easter Sunday to be precise.  No Easter holiday for me this year. 

What the hell have I done?!

(See next post for INSIDE MASTERMIND – The Filming)

Oh, What have you done?

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