Watch: Everything You Need to Know About the History of Female Editors in Six Minutes

[Editor's Note: This video essay is part of our "Everything You Need to Know" series created exclusively for No Film School by Senior Post. To revisit other entries in the series, click here and here.]

While it might be hard to believe, the history of film editing was, once upon a time, a little less exclusive and sexist than other professions in the film industry. In the early 20th century, women helped to splice and tape film reels, as the tedious task resembled, in some higher-ups' thinking, the act of sewing.

It was there that women were able to experiment with the form, discovering, for instance, the power and tension-building ambiance of a close-up. For an early example of this, we highly recommend the work of editor Margaret Booth.

As film editing began to take life as a desired artistic profession, one requiring creative input and a knowing eye, men started applying for (and subsequently taking) the gigs previously held by women. Still, there were several instances of female editors fighting to keep their work relevant, and it was thanks to their persistence and unquestionable talent that some made it through and persevered.

One such example is Dede Allen. While Allen's jarring, confrontational work on Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde almost got the editor fired by the head of Warner Brothers, it was lead actor Warren Beatty who fought to keep her style in the picture. She went on to continue having a successful career editing for the likes of Sidney Lumet and John Hughes. 

To get a crash course in the work of the most prominent female editors, check out our exclusive video below. Remember to take notes (and a few film recommendations)!

As the video also makes clear, the working partnerships between directors and editors is crucial, some of the most iconic being Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker, Quentin Tarantino and Sally Menke, and David Lean and Anne V. Coates. Once a professional relationship is established and is allowed to grow over several films, the editor becomes a crucial part of the directorial vision we associate with a well known filmmaker's auteurist bent.

Do you have an editor whose work you admire? Any particular examples of great editorial work you wish to recommend? Let us know in the comments below.

Movies referenced