When asked to comment on the significance of a film's editor, my friend and film director, Tina Rathborne, exclaimed, "They are the captain of the ship! They set the direction! They are the compass!"

The relationship between a documentary film's director and an editor is an intimate one. The editor responds to all the elements of the footage and journeys along with the director in the process of determining the film's course. Taking picture after picture, frame by frame the editor interprets the meaning and helps establish the pulse of the film. The editor's job is to help navigate the material and understand what the director is trying to say and move along closely with the work. Directors are passionate about their editors because the terrain is so personal. When the interplay reaches into a deeper realm, the film editor often feels like a "soulmate" to the director. For Karen Schmeer, her work cuts that close.

Karen worked as editor for Director Lucia Small's film, MY FATHER,THE GENIUS. These were Lucia's comments on the significance of the film editor to a film and in particular, the significance of Karen's participation: "I think they are one of the main writers of the documentary. They sculpt and shape it with you. Karen helped me write my movie. She brought so much to my project. She was pivotal in creating story, structure and nuance. There were many, many themes (in my film). Karen helped to address them and (build) narrative structure. We were real collaborators. We did a lot of work side by side. We worked off each other's creativity. She takes possession of the film with you and helps you find the film."

Karen Schmeer studied anthropology at Boston University. How fitting that she unwittingly wound up working with documentary filmmaker Errol Morris, recently referred to as one of our " most valuable cultural anthropologists" by Vanity Fair magazine, and whose film, THE FOG OF WAR, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary. In a sense, Karen stumbled into the dark hole of the edit suite. She didn't know that she wanted to work in film although she took film theory classes at B.U. because she liked going to films. She worked at the Coolidge Corner Movie Theatre for five years "schlepping popcorn and, you know, I was manager" while she was studying at B.U. "And I actually had the same job in high school in Portland, Oregon, where I worked at another movie theatre." So with a little digging, it's clear to see that Karen had a love of film all along. After graduating in 1992, Karen heard from a friend that Errol Morris' office was in town and that perhaps they might need an intern…

Karen began research interning and then assistant editing for Errol on his film FAST, CHEAP & OUT OF CONTROL. Her job was primarily to log in the footage, find and scan graphics, prepare and organize all the materials, and digitize the video into the computer. Talking with Karen it seems that her skills and talent as an editor came by osmosis and her natural propensity for "digging." When asked what makes a good editor, Karen replied, "Ability and enjoyment of putting something messy together, in order. It does always feel like a puzzle. It's the ability to make sense out of something that doesn't overtly make sense. And the ability to watch a lot of footage," she says with a chuckle, "and enjoy it." Soft spoken and bearing a quiet intensity, it is easy to imagine her sorting through all the material, intrigued by "the puzzle" as she puts it, and staying resolved to the finish. Her sense of humor helps, too.( Karen spent five years working on FAST, CHEAP and was promoted to editor with Shondra Merrill.) Errol Morris speaks highly of Karen saying, " She's one of the brightest people I know and an extremely gifted editor. She has been crucial in all three films (FAST, CHEAP & OUT OF CONTROL; MR.DEATH: THE RISE AND FALL OF FRED A. LEUCHTER, JR.; THE FOG OF WAR: ELEVEN LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF ROBERT S. McNAMARA) and played an important role in their success. FAST, CHEAP was one of the most difficult editing projects and she helped crack it. She has a natural gift as an editor. She has brought a lot to what I do."

Since 1997, Karen has worked with several other directors in between going back to work with Errol Morris, including Rob Moss, Lucia Small, Martha Swetzoff, Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini. In addition to which she has worked on a television series and on commercials. Lucia Small called her "my creative partner" and went on to say, "What's great about Karen is that she's entirely dedicated to the position of editor. She loves her job. She brings so much passion to it. She's very committed to telling the story as much as you are. It is a real gift." Karen is adamant when she says, "Thank God I'm not a director!" She believes "no matter who you work for it is their film. You really are not equals. The director's word is the final word. We (as editors) could influence but the editor is always at the service of the director. That's the way it has to be. That's your job."

Karen worked with Rob Moss on his film THE SAME RIVER TWICE (IMAGINE cover story February 2003). It was Rob's "first time working with an editor" and he was apprehensive about hiring an editor because he usually "cuts his own" film. Rob found that, "Karen has a way of settling in. She wants to see everything. She wants to figure it out. She wants to be left alone. She had tons of visual ideas. Very quickly I knew she was intuitive. She loved film. She made beautiful choices. It was a collaboration." His doubts about having someone else editing his film vanished, "In a heartbeat I would work with her again. I loved having someone to collaborate with. She brought so many good film ideas."

Every editing job is "like adult education" Karen says because she learns so much. She welcomes the familiarity of working so regularly with Errol Morris. "We're definitely a team," she says, "He's the first person I've worked for. I've absorbed his aesthetic. You do that with anyone. I absorb their aesthetic. You spend so much time. I know what he wants. It's very symbiotic. We have worked out a lot of kinks. It has been very collaborative." Go see their latest collaboration, THE FOG OF WAR.