Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1203636
"A social experiment and game of strategy": Contestants at the tribal council on "Survivor: Edge of Extinction." From left: Victoria Baamonde, Eric Hafemann, Kelly Wentworth, Joe Anglim, Julia Carter, Dan "Wardog" Dasilva, Lauren O'Connell, Rick Devens, David Wright, Gavin Whitson, Aurora McCreary, Ron Clark, and Julie Rosenberg. P H O T O : R O B E R T V O E T S / C B S E N T E R T A I N M E N T 34 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E F ourteen hundred and forty min- u t e s . T h a t ' s h o w m u c h r a w f o o t a g e t h e " S u r v i v o r " p r o - duction team captures of the brutal challenges, bonding, and backstabbing that occur within every three-day cycle that usually makes up an episode of the hit reality franchise. Millions of people have seen countless tales of betrayal and survival play out on their screens. But HOW THE EDITING TEAM HAS KEPT THE "SURVIVOR" TRIBE TOGETHER THROUGH 40 SEASONS before the footage gets to the fans, the "Survivor" editing team takes all that coverage and trims it down to forty min- utes per episode, spinning the stories that have kept viewers tuned in for two decades and 600 episodes. In honor of the show's upcoming 40th season (premiering February 12 on CBS), CineMontage interviewed members of the show's editing team, as well as ex- ecutive producers, about the process of editing the biggest reality TV franchise on the planet. The Raw Materials Every episode of "Survivor" consists of the same raw materials: highlights of life at the tribe camps; at least one chal- lenge, usually for safety in the form of immunity; and the elimination of a con- testant via a vote at Tribal Council. The By Mike Bloom Outwit, Outplay… Out-cut?