Today we’d like to introduce you to Travis Smith.
Travis, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I have always been into comic books, sci-fi, and fantasy stories and I wrote several of my own stories when I was a child. My love for cinema began when I saw The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, it was then I wanted to turn my stories into movies. Through middle and high school, I wrote my own comic books and screenplays staying the course of wanting to make films. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in film production from Full Sail University in 2012 and I started off as an audiovisual technician. For six years, I did AV until I broke into the TV industry professionally with ESPN (Thanks Amy Miller). I have worked for several of the major TV networks from ESPN, NFL Network, NBC, MTV, Univision, MLB Network, UFC, Telemundo, Yahoo! Sports, New England Patriots, ABC, FOX and many more. I learned from the older engineers on the TV shows and then finally I was hired to be a video engineer, then senior video engineer, then broadcast engineer, then a sr. broadcast engineer, and now I am a broadcast technical manager. I have worked on close to now 300 live major TV shows to date, mainly in professional sports and entertainment. A lot of known TV programs I have engineered from the Murder Trial of George Floyd, MLB Network Division Series, Murder Trial of Ahmaud Arbery, Mexico v Honduras and many others.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not always been easy. A lot of people want to work in this industry but they don’t understand there is a lot that comes with it. Breaking in was hard, but once you are in you are in. I have traveled the last three years being on the road 200 days a year away from home in all kinds of weather conditions and also the hours are long. I am one of the few African-American engineers in the industry as there is not that many of us and then I’m also turning 31 soon; most of your engineers are much older. There have many been times I showed up for a show and people don’t even shake my hand or they think I’m the driver until they realized I am the engineer in charge over the whole show.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a broadcast technical manager, I oversee the technical design, build, transmission, production and hiring of the technical crew for the major live professional TV productions from in studio, on location, stadiums, and sound stages.
What I specialize in is broadcast engineering, video over IP, cinematography, virtual production, and directing. Broadcast engineering is apart of electrical engineering by the way.
I am most known for and made national headlines with being one of the lead sr. broadcast engineers working with Court TV on the Murder Trial of George Floyd (2021) and the Murder Trial of Ahmaud Arbery (2021). Out of the 300 TV productions I have worked on some of the select few shows have been the MLS Cup, Wild ‘n Out, Miss Universe, Super Bowl 53, MLB Division Series, WNBA, ESPN College Football Award Show, Visa Big Air, UFC Fight Night, Ring of Honor, MLS All-Star Game and many others.
The thing I am most proud of is how far I have come in such little time. I owe the glory to God for what he has done for me.
My ambition sets me apart from others.
What’s next?
Currently I am in talks with the major TV networks for upcoming work. I have signed on to several upcoming TV productions filming in Atlanta this year. Lastly I see myself becoming a chief technology officer and/or a studio VP in the next two years.
Also, I am also directing a few shorts films this year that I am currently in pre-production with.
Contact Info:
- Email: darkcinedigital@gmail.com
- Instagram: director_of_productions
Image Credits:
1st Picture: Myself with Marvel’s Ant-Man Paul Rudd on set 2nd Picture: Myself on set with UFC 3rd Picture: Myself on set with ESPN 4rth Picture: Myself with Attorney Ben Crump on site at the Murder Trial of Ahmaud Arbery 5th Picture: Myself on set with MLB Network
