The series Evil, from creators Robert and Michelle King, has already been picked up for a second season. The show stars Katja Herbers as Kristen Bouchard, a forensic psychologist who joins a priest-in-training (played by Mike Colter) as they investigate the Churchs backlog of unexplained mysteries. As the episodes unfold, the two must come to grips with a logical or supernatural explanation to the supposed miracles, demonic possessions, and hauntings that have been reported.
The Kings turned to cinematographer Fred Murphy, ASC who they collaborated with on The Good Wife, Braindead and The Good Fight, to help bring Evil to the screen. Murphy alternates shooting Evil episodes with Tim Guinness. The team chose Panavision to support the series from preproduction through post.
We chose to shoot with the DXL2 camera because it has a terrific range from light to dark, says Murphy, a five-time Emmy nominee. It seems to reach into the darkness, and it seems to have more color. The other cameras I tested were much more contrasty and required more light to produce the same image. With the DXL2, it's more like film you don't have to put lights everywhere, and everything seems to fall off slowly and gradually.
On the shoot, Murphy pairs the DXL2 at 5K resolution with T2 Leica Summicron lenses. The sensor size is Super 35, and the aspect ratio is 16:9. The camera's specs include 16-bit Light Iron color and one of the quietest signal-to-noise ratios in the market.
Murphy says that the primary visual inspiration is The Night of the Hunter, the 1955 classic directed by Charles Laughton and shot by Stanley Cortez, ASC in expressionistic and spare black and white.
There's a moment in The Night of the Hunter when Robert Mitchum is about to stab Shelley Winters, says Murphy. It's a strange kind of wide shot in which the lighting and the set design combine to give an abstract, church-like appearance. The roof comes to a point, and he has a streak of light playing on him. But all around them, there's darkness. In a way, our whole visual approach is rooted in that scene.
Of course, that film is black and white, but on Evil, we try to use extremely intense color on occasion, says Murphy. There's a great deal of contrast between warm and cold, and the camera's ability to see subtle color differences helps make that work.
A simple night exterior establishing shot of the main character's home shows the camera's range. The location is a modest brick duplex in Astoria. There's very little light there, Murphy explains. I'm shooting at a stop of 2, at 1600 ASA. I had one large blue-ish light illuminating pretty much everything, and some lights coming from underneath to brighten the adjacent trestle. There's a small light on the house, and eventually, some headlights from cars pulling in. You'd be shocked at how little light I'm using. But with the DXL2, you can read all the way, deep into the background, underneath the trestle, and into the trees, which are silhouetted against the night sky ambience. Normally, in a night scene like that, the sky would just go black. There'd be nothing there. I'm just amazed at what the camera can capture.
Murphy and Guinness work with colorist Steve Bodner at Light Iron's facility in New York.
Steve is very good he's on my wavelength, says Murphy, who previously worked with Bodner on The Good Fight. It's so much easier when you find someone who likes what you like and has the same desires about the way it looks. I had Steve design the LUT for Evil, which is a very helpful and important part of it. It's a slightly adapted (KODAK 35mm) 5218 simulation, but it's more than that. I only use one LUT, and I correct the lighting, the camera, or both to suit the shot.
From the first time I sat with Fred and Tim for testing The Good Fight to now working with them on Evil I just felt like we all were on the same page, says Bodner. They both are so talented, and they are also open to collaboration, which is exciting because they allow me to try different ideas. I'm really grateful that they allow me to add my own personal touches because it is what makes my job fun and rewarding. I think Evil has a unique look that really stands out from other network programs.
Murphy notes his relationship with Panavision goes back to the 1970s, when he was a young cameraman making no-budget movies. Today, Panavision still has his back. If I need anything, they get it, he espouses. They've made gizmos for me, like the giant iris I used on Murder in the First and a special lens for Mothman Prophecies where only the center was in focus. And Light Iron, since it's part of Panavision, really understands this camera. The dailies look great. The people at Panavision and Light Iron make a key contribution to the look of these shows.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
The series Evil, from creators Robert and Michelle King, has already been picked up for a second season. The show stars Katja Herbers as Kristen Bouchard, a forensic psychologist who joins a priest-in-training (played by Mike Colter) as they investigate the Churchs backlog of unexplained mysteries. As the episodes unfold, the two must come to grips with a logical or supernatural explanation to the supposed miracles, demonic possessions, and hauntings that have been reported.
