Were you there? Couldn’t make it due to other plans? Well whether you want to relive the experience of the Tribal Gathering again – or catch up for the first time on what happened – here’s a look back at the 2011 online Gathering for The Tribe…
This is the place
On 26th June Sunday at 7.00 am New Zealand time (which was 8.00 pm on the 25th June Saturday in London), the Tribal Gathering began!
Taking part on The Tribe’s Official Facebook page, fans from all around the world sat at their computers, or attended via Iphones and Androids, Ipads and other devices.
For many, it was a case of getting up super early to be there (it began at 3.00 am in Western Australia time). For others it was a case of staying up very late (it was 11 pm at night parts of Europe when it began).
So with many fans munching on toast or cereal for an early breakfast – and others snacking on chocolate and late night snacks – this was truly a globally attended event, with fans from 40 countries joining in, answering the call of The Tribe!
13 hours – Summary of the Gathering by Timeline
To kick-start things off, there was a surprise Gathering Overture video released on Cloud 9’s YouTube Channel, heralding the online event.
At 7.00 am NZ time, Dwayne Cameron (BRAY) went online through the TTO team to appear live on Facebook and answer questions posed by fans. You can read the transcript here on Tribeworld.
At 8.00 am NZ time, a video went online at Cloud 9’s YouTube Channel of Raymond Thompson (co-creator, Executive Producer of The Tribe) officially starting the Gathering.
At 8.15 am NZ time, John Williams (composer of many songs and producer of The Tribe’s Abe Messiah album, and icon in the music industry) went online to answer questions live from fans (again, the transcript is available to read here).
At 9.15 am NZ time, a special version of the Tribe song ‘You Belong To Me’ was released on the Cloud 9 YouTube Channel featuring never before seen footage from a previous Tribal Gathering, held 11 years ago at the Cloud 9 Studios to the very day of the 2011 event.
For the next half-hour, it was a chance for fans to stretch their legs, have a break, and chat about Tribe music following John Williams’ live chat. The TTO team were playing the Abe Messiah album in the background and many fans reported they were doing the same (or listening to The Tribe Vol 1 soundtrack).
At 9.45 am NZ time, the first Quiz of the event started – a music quiz. The music editors of The Tribe (who put the music to the episodes) had compiled some questions and were both amazed and impressed by the knowledge shown by fans who answered.
At 10.45 am NZ time, Raymond Thompson went online via The Tribe’s official Facebook page to answer questions posed by fans (you can read the answers here). It was a fascinating insight into The Tribe past, and some information was given about plans for The Tribe in the future on the movie front, as well as Tribe books, which will continue the story of The Tribe.
At 11.45 am NZ time, a video went live which was a compilation of some wonderful clips sent in by fans of The Tribe with messages and greetings for the Gathering. Some terrific stuff – and a surprise appearance by Tribemaster at the end, who hijacked the video.
At 11.45 am NZ time, it was time for fans to answer questions posted to them! Matt Robinson (SLADE) had come up with 20 questions to ask fans during the Gathering and you can still check out Matt’s video (and put your own answers down). Thanks to Matt for taking part.
At 12.45 pm NZ time, the originally scheduled Caption Competition was put back by half an hour or so to enable two surprise guests to take part in the event. Lucas Hayward (SAMMY) posed six questions to fans in a video message, and Joseph Crawford (DARRYL) had five Tribal Questions to ask in a video.
Fans filled out their answers to Matt, Lucas and Joseph’s questions on The Tribe’s official Facebook page in the Discussions thread, and it was fascinating to read the answers to the questions – thanks to everyone who took the time to answer!
At 1.15 pm NZ time, the Caption Competition began! 10 photos were released on the Tribe’s Facebook page and fans were given a chance to come up with captions and ‘like’ their favourite captions.
At 1.45 pm NZ time, the second Quiz began – the story and character quiz. There were 20 questions asked and once again, the TTO team was genuinely impressed by the accuracy of the fan answers given, as well as the speed of the answers. The fans really do know their stuff about The Tribe! 🙂
At 2.45 pm NZ time, a behind the scenes video was released on the Cloud 9 YouTube Channel featuring a commentary from Raymond Thompson giving some secrets and insights into making The Tribe. The video also includes some never before seen footage of The Tribe being recorded, as well as a look at the classroom where some of the cast continued their lessons. This clip will be one of the clips on the behind the scenes DVD being released.
At 3.15 pm NZ time, the TTO team sat at their computers with an air of unease and uncertainty in the air as Tribemaster went online for a live chat with fans. Whoever he/she/it was (or is), Tribemaster answered many questions – as well as asking its own – in a very different live chat. Thanks to Tribemaster for being there (wherever that is). What this means for the future, we will just have to wait and see…
At about 3.45 pm NZ time, Tribemaster brought ‘Zoot’ into the Gathering and a lucky winner (Boom Washington is the name) received a phone call from none other than ZOOT himself (Danny James in character as ZOOT). Thanks again to Danny for appearing – and ZOOT! 🙂
At 16.00 pm NZ time, the live roleplay session began on the Discussions forums of The Tribe’s official Facebook page. Quite a few fans took part and it was a fun experience with some great characters and a live evolving storyline emerging, set in the very early days of The Tribe (before season 1 would have taken place). One of the TTO team took part (as a character ‘Wedge’) and in the story, the kids and teens in the city had to work out where they go now, how they should work together – nor not – in the face of virus mystery, rival Tribes, and the difficulties of surviving in this world without adults. The RP still continues.
And a video message from James Napier-Robertson (JAY) went live on Cloud 9’s YouTube Channel, thanks to James for being a part of the Gathering!
At 17.00 pm NZ time, a video went live on the Cloud 9 Channel featuring music from Dimbleby & Capper (D&C). D&C is a young British musician who was a huge fan of The Tribe and she is working with John Williams (Abe Messiah Tribe album) to bring some new music inspired by The Tribe to the world.
At 17.15 pm NZ time, the fan Costume, Hair and Make Up parade began! There were hundreds of images sent in for the Gathering featuring fans dressed up, as well as drawings of costumes and more. Thanks to all the fans who took the time to send in the images – and who made some great costumes and Tribe style! Wonderful stuff! 🙂
At 18.30 pm NZ time, Tom Hern (RAM) went online for a live question and answer session with fans. Thanks again to Tom for taking part and discussing The Tribe on and off-screen as well as what Tom’s been up to lately, including some fantastic music! You can read a transcript of Tom’s Q&A here on Tribeworld.com
At 19.45 pm NZ time, some details and information was released about the much anticipated Tribe book novels! What happens next in the story of The Tribe? Where does the story go after series 5? We will find out this year.
At 20.00 pm NZ time, the Gathering was official closed – until the next time.
The dream must stay alive
Some fans popped in to the 13 hour marathon event at certain times (due to work or other commitments) and many fans stayed the entire course from start to finish.
Thanks to you all for being there – and to our guests.
Oh, nearly forgot to mention that during the event, some new Tribe related limited edition collectables were made available on the Shop section of Tribeworld and there was an influx of orders, with some items quickly selling out. If you were able to get some of the limited stock, hold onto it, because it is truly limited and not available elsewhere!
Pre-orders were also taken for Ray’s behind the scenes book about The Tribe, and orders taken for a new behind the scenes DVD to do with The Tribe.
Look into the future
So what a year 2011 has been – with the Facebook page, relaunch of Tribeworld.com, release of music like The Tribe Vol 1 soundtrack, the Gathering mid-way through the year – and a behind the scenes book, a behind the scenes DVD, and the Tribe novels still to come in 2011!
All the TTO team very much enjoyed being a part of the Gathering and interacting with fans.
So…. what are your plans next year? What do you think? Should we do it again? ^^
Watch this space for news of more online Tribal Gatherings in the future…