Neil Travis
Editor
About This Interview
In his Archive interview, Neil Travis (1936-2012) talks about his work as an editor on such television projects as Roots (for which he won the Emmy Award), and feature films as Dances with Wolves (for which he won the Oscar). Travis notes his early work on Please Don't Eat the Daisies, where he supervised the sound mix and had the opportunity to write an episode. He speaks about working on the feature film The Cowboys, and how in awe he was meeting legendary screen star John Wayne. He describes the emotions he felt while working on location during the filming of Roots and how the experience informed his editing of several parts of the landmark miniseries.
Other TV and film projects he talks about include: The Atlanta Child Murders, Cocktail, and Patriot Games. Throughout the interview, Travis discusses his method of editing: the importance of rhythm and clarity in editing, how he presents a first cut, and how he approaches each project differently. Neil Travis was interviewed in a joint venture with American Cinema Editors (ACE) in Universal City, CA on February 26, 2010; Karen Herman conducted the two-hour interview.
Other TV and film projects he talks about include: The Atlanta Child Murders, Cocktail, and Patriot Games. Throughout the interview, Travis discusses his method of editing: the importance of rhythm and clarity in editing, how he presents a first cut, and how he approaches each project differently. Neil Travis was interviewed in a joint venture with American Cinema Editors (ACE) in Universal City, CA on February 26, 2010; Karen Herman conducted the two-hour interview.
Related To This Video
Featured Content
From Roots: Part 1 (airdate: 1/23/77): link to sequence discussed by Neil Travis in his interview, where Kunte Kinte is captured [as posted on You Tube]
Resources
YouTube video player - HTML5 compatible.
Highlights
Editor Neil Travis on his definition of editing
Clip begins at: 23:18, Duration: 00m 22s
Editor Neil Travis on editing Kunte Kinte's capture in part one of Roots
Clip begins at: 41:48, Duration: 02m 22s- Editor Neil Travis on how a director could err in not giving an editor creative freedom
Clip begins at: 04:00, Duration: 00m 34s - Editor Neil Travis on the experience of winning the Oscar for (on the live broadcast)
Clip begins at: 17:02, Duration: 02m 29s - Editor Neil Travis on how producer Stan Margulies described him while accepting Travis' Emmy for Roots
Clip begins at: 36:04, Duration: 00m 33s - Editor Neil Travis on the importance of rhythm and clarity in editing
Clip begins at: 08:21, Duration: 01m 39s - Editor Neil Travis on how each project should be approached differently
Clip begins at: 29:51, Duration: 00m 56s - Neil Travis on supervising the sound mix on Please Don't Eat the Daisies, and being paid for writing one of the episodes
Clip begins at: 23:50, Duration: 02m 06s - Editor Neil Travis on how being on location for Rootshelped inform his editing, leading to his Emmy win
Clip begins at: 37:25, Duration: 01m 23s
Interview
- Part 1
- Introduction
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On his background; on joining the editor's union; on writing an episode of Please Don't Eat the Daisies; on being mentored by Verna Fields; on his editing technique; on a scene he hated to cut from the feature film Dances With Wolves
Clip begins at: 00:14 - On his father's work as a sound effects editor; on working with Morgan Freeman; on being opinionated but still following a director's vision; on supervising the sound mix on Please Don't Eat the Daisies
Clip begins at: 15:41 - On working on the feature film The Cowboys; on being in awe of meeting legendary screen star John Wayne
Clip begins at: 29:42 - On working on the landmark miniseries Roots: the experience of being on location, the editing of Kunte Kinte's capture, and the feeling that Roots would be a successful miniseries; on his disatisdfaction with The Atlanta Child Murders (for which he was fired)
Clip begins at: 35:35 - Part 2
- On working on the feature films: Premonition, Cujo, and No Way Out; meeting Kevin Costner on No Way Out
Clip begins at: 0:0 - On how he likes to present a first cut; on appearing on location for Cocktail
Clip begins at: 09:12 - On the experience of winning an Oscar for Dances With Wolves; on working on Dances With Wolves
Clip begins at: 17:02 - On his definition of editing; on the score of Dances with Wolves; on what winning the Oscar meant to him
Clip begins at: 23:18 - On approaching each movie differently; on working with the Montage editing system for Patriot Games; on working with director Philip Noyce; on working on Terminator 3
Clip begins at: 29:51 - On his advice to aspiring editors; on his experience winning the ACE Award for lifetime achievement
Clip begins at: 51:52
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This is a very important and historic interview. Thank you Emmytvlegends.
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