The Start of Schoonmaker's Career
For a female editor that's been working since the 1960s, I was intrigued to find out how Schoonmaker began her career 50 years ago, and how she began her life-long work only editing for Martin Scorsese.
A very useful article on the editor states that as a young woman: "she noticed a newspaper ad offering on-the-job training as a film editor. The job was far from glamorous. She assisted an editor, who would hack up classic foreign films to the appropriate length for TV ... That skill led her to Scorsese. Both were taking a six-week filmmaking course at New York University when the professor asked her to help Scorsese salvage his student film "What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?," which had been butchered by a negative cutter." [6]
- I think that this is amazing, that a simple opportunity on a university course can lead to a 50 year long collaboration, creating extremely successful films together.
"Schoonmaker edited his first feature, 1967's "Who's That Knocking at My Door," and then they worked together as editors on Michael Wadleigh's 1970 Oscar-winning documentary feature, "Woodstock."
- I think that this is amazing, that a simple opportunity on a university course can lead to a 50 year long collaboration, creating extremely successful films together.
"Schoonmaker edited his first feature, 1967's "Who's That Knocking at My Door," and then they worked together as editors on Michael Wadleigh's 1970 Oscar-winning documentary feature, "Woodstock."
Despite earning an Oscar nomination as supervising editor on "Woodstock," Schoonmaker was told that if she wanted to become a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild, she would have to go back to basics and work as an apprentice and an assistant. She refused.
So for a decade, Schoonmaker worked on various documentaries and small projects until Scorsese got her into the union for "Raging Bull." And they have worked together ever since." [6]
- I found this interesting as in my research I found that it's unknown how Schoonmaker was allowed into the union, so in this case it's an unusual way of starting a career path. However, I think that it's a testament to Schoonmaker's skill as Scorsese only wanted her as his editor and no one else.
- I found this interesting as in my research I found that it's unknown how Schoonmaker was allowed into the union, so in this case it's an unusual way of starting a career path. However, I think that it's a testament to Schoonmaker's skill as Scorsese only wanted her as his editor and no one else.
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| Schoonmaker (left) and Scorsese (right) |
Editor Credits
Since working on Raging Bull, Schoonmaker has only ever worked on feature films that were created by Scorsese. However, she has also worked on a number of documentaries, short films, and tv movies over her incredible 51 year long career. Below is the extremely impressive list of her editor credits:
- 2018 - The Irishman (pre-production)
- (Unknown) - Sinatra (announced)
- 2016 - Silence
- 2015 - Bombay Velvet
- 2014 - Learning to Drive
- 2013 - The Wolf of Wall Street
- 2011 - Hugo
- 2010 - Shutter Island
- 2007 - The Key to Reserva (Short)
- 2007 - The McCartney Years (Video documentary) (Rockshow Concert)
- 2006 - The Departed
- 2004 - The Aviator
- 2003 - Michael Jackson: Number Ones (Video documentary) (segment "Bad")
- 2003 - AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Robert De Niro (TV Movie)
- 2002 - Gangs of New York
- 2001 - My Voyage to Italy (Documentary)
- 1999 - Bringing Out the Dead
- 1997 - Kundun
- 1996 - Grace of My Heart
- 1995 - Casino
- 1995 - Michael Jackson: Video Greatest Hits - HIStory (Video documentary) (video "Bad")
- 1993 - The Age of Innocence
- 1991 - Cape Fear
- 1990 - Made in Milan (Short documentary)
- 1990 - Goodfellas (film editor)
- 1989 - New York Stories (segment "Life Lessons")
- 1988 - The Last Temptation of Christ
- 1987 - Michael Jackson: Bad (Video short)
- 1986 - The Color of Money
- 1985 - After Hours
- 1982 - The King of Comedy
- 1980 - Rockshow (Documentary)
- 1980 - Raging Bull
- 1979 - Wings Over the World (TV Movie documentary)
- 1970 - Street Scenes (Documentary)
- 1970 - Woodstock (Documentary) (as T. Schoonmaker)
- 1969 - The Virgin President
- 1967 - Who's That Knocking at My Door
- 1966 - Passages from James Joyce's Finnegans Wake [1]
Awards
In 2007, 2005 and 1981 Schoonmaker won three Oscars (The Departed, The Aviator, and Raging Bull), along with winning 27 other film awards including a BAFTA, a Hollywood Film Award, and a Satellite Award for her editor credits on such films as Goodfellas, Gangs of New York, and Hugo. She has received 57 award nominations in total, all between 1971 and 2017 [2]. This is incredibly inspiring for me to learn how much an editor can achieve in a working life time, and if you love your work and have the right skill set and talent, there's never a need to step away from editing.
Skills & Experiences
When researching Schoonmaker's work in the industry, I found a number of sources that explore her thoughts on female editors, the areas she enjoys working in, her approaches to editing, and her time working with Scorsese over the years.
Firstly, in one interview Schoonmaker stated that "When I came into the business in the '60s, there weren't that many [female editors] ... Since then, it's grown quite fast — I think probably because women are good collaborators." [3]
"sometimes what I’ve seen in director/editor relationships is an ego battle about who thinks they’re right. I don’t think that’s necessary: what’s important is to do what is right for the film." [5]
- I think that the fact that since the 60s the number of female editors has risen is very encouraging for me, as I often feel that the industry is mostly male-dominated. But I feel like in modern times, I stand a very high chance of becoming successful in my work. The above quotes on Schoonmaker's thoughts on collaborations are also very useful in highlighting that collaborating shouldn't be a battle of who's opinions are correct, it should be about working together to create the best possible piece of work.
- I think that the fact that since the 60s the number of female editors has risen is very encouraging for me, as I often feel that the industry is mostly male-dominated. But I feel like in modern times, I stand a very high chance of becoming successful in my work. The above quotes on Schoonmaker's thoughts on collaborations are also very useful in highlighting that collaborating shouldn't be a battle of who's opinions are correct, it should be about working together to create the best possible piece of work.
In another interview, Schoonmaker discusses her first area of work in the industry, and the influences it had on her: "I started in documentaries, and that was a great help to me with improvisation, because with documentaries you're handed a big lump of footage and you have to shape it and make it into a story - which I love doing." [4]
- I found this to be very relative to me, as during my time at university I have worked on a number of different types of productions - including documentary. And I think it's clear that even if there's only one specific area that you want to work in, working on all different types of projects will always be beneficial in learning new skills and discovering your strengths and favourite areas of work.
- I found this to be very relative to me, as during my time at university I have worked on a number of different types of productions - including documentary. And I think it's clear that even if there's only one specific area that you want to work in, working on all different types of projects will always be beneficial in learning new skills and discovering your strengths and favourite areas of work.
As Schoonmaker has almost entirely worked on Scorsese films over the years, a large amount of information that I found was based on their working relationship, and the ways that they approach his films. In on interview, she stated that: "every project is a different challenge ... it’s just constantly fascinating and ever-changing—and he has such high standards for himself and for everybody who works with him" [5]
"I didn’t know anything about editing when I met him, nothing! So he was always with me during the first cut. Now I do first cut, and then he comes in and we edit together for the rest of the post-production process very intensely." [5]
- In this area, I found it very interesting to learn about the ways that their collaborative dynamic changed over time, as once Scorsese was confident with Schoonmaker's abilities, she was able to traditionally complete the first cut alone. I think that this also confirms further information that I've found on professional practices in editing, as an editor almost always works alone in the begin, then works alongside the director to work hard on improving and mastering the film.
"I didn’t know anything about editing when I met him, nothing! So he was always with me during the first cut. Now I do first cut, and then he comes in and we edit together for the rest of the post-production process very intensely." [5]
- In this area, I found it very interesting to learn about the ways that their collaborative dynamic changed over time, as once Scorsese was confident with Schoonmaker's abilities, she was able to traditionally complete the first cut alone. I think that this also confirms further information that I've found on professional practices in editing, as an editor almost always works alone in the begin, then works alongside the director to work hard on improving and mastering the film.
When asked in the same interview if she likes to be on set during filming or to edit on site, Schoonmaker stated: "I don’t have time, because I’m cutting the movie as he’s shooting it, and also, I also don’t want to have my eye prejudiced by what I see, how they are making something ... I don’t want know how it is made. Marty wants me to look at the footage cold on the screen the next day and react to it and tell him if anything’s wrong, which it hardly ever is." [5]
- I completely agree with this type of editing method, as it's typical practice to cut the footage together during production time to ensure that there is consistency and no issues. But in order to only focus on the cuts and performance, I feel that it's important not to be influenced by the dynamic or difficulties it may have taken to get certain shots.
- I completely agree with this type of editing method, as it's typical practice to cut the footage together during production time to ensure that there is consistency and no issues. But in order to only focus on the cuts and performance, I feel that it's important not to be influenced by the dynamic or difficulties it may have taken to get certain shots.
Talking more about her editing process alongside Scorsese, Schoonmaker describes the typical steps that they go through when editing a film: "Over the years, our movies always start out much longer, so we screen, we preview, recut, screen again and so on." [5]
Similarly, Scorsese also stated that: "There are very few outside people ... We literally have the film there and struggle with it, create it, enjoy it, get confused, get tired, get happy, get upset and move on." [6]
- I found this very interesting, to learn that even on an big budget Hollywood film, the method of work can still be very particular with only the director and the editor working on cutting the film, in similar ways to cutting a short film - such as myself and the director of Double Exposure.
As Schoonmaker has worked as an editor since long before digital footage and software were created an introduced, she's had to adapt to modern techniques. When asked which software she uses, she answered: "I actually use an English system called Lightworks, which I was trained on during the early days of digital editing ... It has a controller that is like the old flatbed editing machines and I love that. So I’ve been editing on Lightworks ever since Casino." [5]
- As Lightworks is an older program that can often be used by a breadth of people, including people just starting out in the industry, I find it fascinating that Schoonmaker uses rather simplistic tools to create such incredibly cut films.
- I found this very interesting, to learn that even on an big budget Hollywood film, the method of work can still be very particular with only the director and the editor working on cutting the film, in similar ways to cutting a short film - such as myself and the director of Double Exposure.
As Schoonmaker has worked as an editor since long before digital footage and software were created an introduced, she's had to adapt to modern techniques. When asked which software she uses, she answered: "I actually use an English system called Lightworks, which I was trained on during the early days of digital editing ... It has a controller that is like the old flatbed editing machines and I love that. So I’ve been editing on Lightworks ever since Casino." [5]
- As Lightworks is an older program that can often be used by a breadth of people, including people just starting out in the industry, I find it fascinating that Schoonmaker uses rather simplistic tools to create such incredibly cut films.
Lastly, I found an interesting insight on editing from Schoonmaker: "it takes years and years to really understand editing. The main thing is we often have to take out our favourite scene or half of it, or drop a line we love in order to make the film move and make the film the right length when it’s released." [5]
- I think that this is always true of editors, that we have to remove parts of a film that we love in order to allow it to flow and maintain it's excitement and entertainment when viewed by an audience.
- I think that this is always true of editors, that we have to remove parts of a film that we love in order to allow it to flow and maintain it's excitement and entertainment when viewed by an audience.
Editing Example
Alongside finding an example of Schoonmaker's editing work and drawing inspiration from the clip, I also found an interesting online video that shows the collaborative dynamic between Schoonmaker and Scorsese from decades ago:
In a more modern example of Schoonmaker's editing techniques, I found a clip from a The Wolf of Wall Street scene. Although in comparison to the scenes of Double Exposure, this film is a lot more gritty, from the start of this clip until 1:08, the tone of the scene in the bedroom is a great comparison to that of Double Exposure:
The bedroom scene uses a number of editing techniques to slowly build the tension in a domestic argument. I found when analysing this scene that the pacing of cuts is actually quite slow, allowing most of the tension to be drawn from the way the characters are speaking to each other. The editor holds on a lot of two-shots, allowing us to gauge the character's reactions simultaneously. However in one moment, she uses matched close-ups of the characters for a powerful line, allowing us to be shocked by what she says. I learned from this that when approaching similar argument-styled scenes for Double Exposure, that the use of holding on two-shots to draw intensity from performance as opposed to quick cuts can be very powerful.
However, I did find a continuity error within this scene. As at 0:20, Leonardo DiCaprio's character is naked from the waist down, but once he sits up on the bed 8 seconds later, he's wearing trousers. This was encouraging for me to know that I have a good eye for continuity and consistency in film!
Why I Chose Thelma Schoonmaker & Influences
The reasons as to why I chose to research Thelma Schoonmaker are that she's an inspirational female editor, she's been working as an editor for over 50 years which I find very encouraging, her long-standing collaborations with a talented director, her editing techniques used in a number of drama and thriller films that I was able to draw inspiration from, and my 50/50 knowledge on her work - having seen some of her edited films but not others, before learning a large amount about Schoonmaker and her work.
Alongside researching and learning about another director (Kirk Baxter in my previous post), learning about Thelma Schoonmaker was very useful to me in learning about the approaches that a very experienced editor takes to her work, along with helping me with the ways to approach my own editing work for Double Exposure.
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