Series III of the Tribe finished production in December 2000, and was shown on Channel 5 in the UK soon after. After its huge success in the UK it was announced in April 2001 that Series IV of the Tribe would be going ahead. At this time, filming was nearing completion for Cloud 9’s most recent show – Atlantis High.
And so, Series IV of The Tribe was scheduled to start filming on August 13th 2001.
Prior to the commencement of filming there is a huge amount of organisation and planning to be done in order for the smooth running of production once it is underway.
There are many processes to consider. This week we will specifically look at casting of main cast members and extra’s for The Tribe Series IV.
THE PROCESS
PHOTO 1 – Here is Caleb preparing for a scene in the Mall.
CASTING
It is always necessary to have fresh new faces and ‘looks’ join as cast members for a new series. This keeps the series from going stale and predictable and enables new heroes and villains to be born! And so there are several new characters being introduced and included in the unpredictable and fantastic new storylines for Series IV.
Main Cast
Cast are ultimately selected through agents. However, the Executive in charge of production is essentially casting all year round at various shows and entertainment gigs.
A Casting Director is responsible for selecting a range of possible people for a role.
A part will become available. The Casting Director then invites the various agents who will put forward the best suitable candidates from their client list. Portfolios (description/photos/history of a client) are viewed by the Producers to find the most appropriate ‘looks’ and then these lucky people are invited to send in casting tapes as an audition.
The auditions consist of reading out a planned scene whilst being video taped according to given guidelines and in a way they think the character should be. The Executive Producer (Raymond Thompson), Executive in Charge of Production (Geoff Husson) and Producer (Debra Kelleher Smith) view these tapes and discuss who would best fit the role.
A select few will then come for interviews to meet the executives. This time may also be utilised to test the make-up and hair process on them.
PHOTO 2 – The Director and Assistant Director discussing scenes
Extras
The 2nd Assistant Directors are in charge of arranging any extra characters and cast members for certain scenes. These people are either on the books of agents or for large crowd scenes, Cloud 9 arranges for school groups or school drama teams to form them. This is always exciting as they can see first hand what is involved in filming and production.
PHOTO 3 – The extras having lunch by the pool at Cloud 9.
WHO is confirmed?
Cloud 9 has confirmed so far the return of Meryl Cassie (EBONY), Beth Allen (AMBER), Jaimee Kaire-Gataulu (CLOE), Caleb Ross (LEX), Antonia Prebble (TRUDY), Michael Wesley-Smith (JACK) and Nick Miller (PRIDE). Additionally, it has been released that Meryl’s sisters Megan and Monique Cassie will feature in Series IV as 2 new fantastic cast members! Quite how, where and why we cannot disclose but Tribe IV is definitely set to rock your worlds!
Special NEW cast member
There is a special new cast member starting for Series IV, all the way from the UK. This young lady is a huge Tribe fan and was lucky enough to be flown all the way from the UK for an audition and singing recording. As a result she landed the part of a brand new main character – details of which cannot be disclosed as yet.
She arrives in New Zealand early August ready to start costume fitting/makeup designs, learning lines and setting up her life for the next 6 months of filming.
Do you think she will be a ‘baddy’ or a ‘goody’? You’ll have to wait and see what exciting and new storylines are planned for her.
There will be more updates on this whirlwind dream for this special young Tribe fan/new main cast member.
PHOTO 4 – Extras for the day playing the parts of The Chosen.