If you told Lizzie Kunkle ’14 five years ago she’d be working as a lead assistant editor on prominent Netflix documentaries like Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes and Bobby Kennedy for President she might be amazed—but she probably wouldn’t be surprised.
“I can barely remember a time when film wasn’t part of my life,” says Kunkle, a cinema major while at Denison. “My dad got me my first camera in 8th grade, and right then I knew I wanted to be an editor.”
In a field where you have to interview for every project you work on, Kunkle’s ability to confidently sell her abilities has been invaluable. It’s a skill she credits to her liberal arts education at Denison.
“I didn’t have experience as a lead assistant editor when I interviewed for Bobby Kennedy for President. But when asked, I answered that I absolutely have the skills to deliver a series to Netflix.”
Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes has garnered both critical acclaim and criticism—treading the thin line between illumination and glorification of the famous serial killer. The four-part docuseries dives into the mind of Ted Bundy using interviews from his time on death row, as well as modern-day interviews with those who knew him.
No one knows the footage better than Kunkle.
“I know pretty much every piece of archival footage in the Ted Bundy series,” says Kunkle. “I logged all of it, I markered it. Everything that went to the editor went through me first.”
Kunkle excelled at her role as lead assistant editor. She set up the project file, labeled every clip, compiled the footage, and exported edits—all so the editor could just sit down and cut. Kunkle also managed all aspects of post-production, interfacing with the president of her company and sending cuts to Netflix, a role usually handled by a dedicated post-production manager.
She’s amazed by the notoriety of the series. “It’s crazy how much changes between working on a project to when it gets released. We never expected this type of response, but it’s really cool to say I’ve worked on something everyone has heard of.”