Catriona Delbridge - Editor
Job title - Editor
Experience - 10+ years
“Having children has made me a much better editor, you grow up, you understand the world in a new way, and you learn to prioritise better. After managing toddler tantrums, there is little that fazes me at work these days.”
Tell us about your job role and the kinds of projects you work on;
First off, I wanted to say thank you for having me on your page. It’s an honour to be featured alongside these other women. I’m a picture editor working primarily in fiction and occasionally docs. I love stories of human struggles, a good lament, a coming of age, a love story, anything that gets into the human condition. I also enjoy having a few side projects on the go. I often do pre-selecting for film festivals and awards and even run my own short film competition for local children. I’m also currently a member of Bafta Crew, and an Associate Governor with the BFE.
What does an average day look like in your post-production working world?
My average day starts very early! I get out for a run first thing, then get the kids to school. Juggling children and family life alongside freelance work is not easy and no two weeks are the same for me. The kids get sick, have problems at school, need ferrying back and forth to after-school clubs, and then every few weeks they have a school holiday. At this stage in my career, and in their lives, I don’t want to be too absent from home so at the moment I'm taking projects where I know I will get support from the production about my commitments outside of work. I’ve recently had the pleasure to work with some fantastic women directors who are in the same boat and it means there is a greater level of understanding around this. I’m currently working on 5 different short projects, ranging from 3 to 25 minutes. They’re all at different stages of the edit, so in any given day I could be loading new footage or making final turnovers. Because of the hectic family life, I will often get an hour done early before school drop off, then work between 9 and 3.30, take a break and then finish off for another couple of hours at the end of the day if needed. I avoid working the weekends as much as possible. There’s no joy in burnout and I need time away from the edit. The industry as a whole needs to work a lot harder, not just for mothers but for anyone with caring responsibilities. Having children has made me a much better editor, you grow up, you understand the world in a new way, and you learn to prioritise better. After managing toddler tantrums, there is little that fazes me at work these days.
What has been your career highlight?
One of my highlights has got to be getting a thank you in an Oscar speech. I was the first assistant editor on Slumdog Millionaire, assisting Chris Dickens, it was great to get a personal thank you in his speech, and the film itself was a wonderful experience and huge learning curve. My other highlight was working on Shaun of The Dead (again assisting Chris). It was endless fun to work on and the film is so widely loved. Nearly 20 years later pretty much everyone I work with still wants to ask me about it. I’m very lucky to have been involved in such a special film.
How did your career in post-production begin?
No one in my family worked in the film industry but I fell in love with films as a teenager so my career began by me ordering a copy of the BFI handbook (pre-internet days!) and cold calling companies from a phone box. I started out as a runner at a telecine house. I loved it. I had to wheel trollies stacked with 35mm film cans back and forth across Soho but I got to meet so many editors and other assistants and soon after that I became a freelance assistant on feature films.
Tell us about a pivotal moment in your career;
Two really pivotal moments for me were firstly working on Shaun of The Dead as it lead to so many other opportunities. And secondly my break from assisting to editing. At the time my children were still very young, I was wondering if I would ever make it back into the film industry after taking a maternity break. My confidence was very low. I didn’t have the self-belief to make the jump to editing but I was introduced to a director who overlooked all that and pretty much shoe horned me into doing a job for her. At the time I was terrified of being exposed for not knowing what to do but it was the crucial first step I needed. I always thought that other editors had a magic key, a secret that I didn’t know about. Once I started cutting I realised how much I’d absorbed as an assistant and I learnt to trust my instincts about what works.
Which women in post do you admire?
I came across Raising Films at a time when I thought that babies plus filmmaking were a total impossibility. Working freelance and raising a family isn’t easy, but they offered a huge amount of support and encouragement. I love meeting new women directors and recently have had the good fortune to work with a number of very talented women who I admire for their drive and innovative ways of storytelling. And honestly, I just really love chatting, spending a bit of time over coffee, lunch or a glass of wine with them; it is as important to me as the edit. Getting to know what makes them tick (and have the stamina to direct!) is what I admire. I also have a small, close group of women (assistants and editors) that I’ve known for over 20 years. These are the women who really keep me going, who have supported and listened to me over the years. Can I name them? Jo, Alison, Celia, Lea, Tamsin – you are the best.
What advice do you have for other women wanting to start a career in post?
Make no apologies for who you are. I spent too many years thinking that I didn’t measure up to my male peers because The Godfather wasn’t my favourite film. My teenage inspiration was Dirty Dancing and Footloose. These were the films that made me fall in love with cinema and they are just as valid as anything. I’ve also learnt that if I’m fretting about an edit, really the best thing is to just make that first step and something will always follow. You don’t need to provide all the answers immediately, it’s an ongoing collaboration with your director and no-one expects the first cut to address everything. Oh, and if in doubt…keep it simple!