
Created by Tony Basgallop and executive-produced by M. Night Shyamalan, the horror series Servant has delivered 40 episodes of psychological torment across four seasons as it tells the story of a young couple coping with the loss of their 13-week-old son. The series consistently takes viewers to unexpected places both narratively and visually; in the fourth and final season, those destinations were reached with the help of cinematographers Lowell A. Meyer; Gabriel Lobos; Marshall Adams, ASC; Greta Zozula; Pete Konczal, ASC; and Michael Gioulakis, ASC. Meyer, who also photographed three episodes of Season 3, recently shared his perspective on maintaining the series' signature style of camerawork.
Cinematographer Lowell A. Meyer (right).
Panavision: How would you describe the look of the series?
Lowell A. Meyer: This show is all about tension. Why are people doing what they're doing? Why aren't they doing another thing that could save them? What is outside the frame? What is that person eating?! It's about the parceling of information at the exact right time and withholding whenever you can.
This translates to the photography by way of holding shots as long as possible and letting the suspense, drama and even comedy play out in real time. It also usually means a lack of coverage, so we're not giving ourselves or the audience a way out of that tension. It means seeing far down hallways and keeping the lighting moody, with lots of shadows and corners to hide in. Our camera is almost a character in and of itself, in every nook and cranny of the house, peering and moving to keep pace with the action. But it's also a matter of contrast the camera can seamlessly go anywhere it wants until it suddenly can't and is locked off.
Everything was meticulously storyboarded in advance, so there was very little improvisation on the day. Our shots could be incredibly complex and sometimes required the camera to go in a very odd space in the house under a door, in a garbage disposal, etc. Having the resources and team at Panavision New York so readily and closely available was a necessity to ensure the creative success of the season. We knew their cameras, lenses, and gear could handle the crazy shots and tasks that we were asking of the equipment and our crew every day.
Were there any particular visual references you looked at for inspiration?
Meyer: Being Season 4, the show's look was so established that there was little more needed than the source material itself. The directors and I were always mining earlier episodes and shots to see how we could one-up them or do something unique in sets we'd seen so many times before, all while staying grounded and keeping every creative decision in the perspective of the characters and the emotions of the scenes.
That being said, Fincher, Hitchcock, Bong and Shyamalan were all names that the directors and I looked to for additional inspiration when stuck or presented with something unique for the show. Rosemary's Baby and Parasite were big references for me since they deal with status and relationship dynamics within the confines of elevated and subterranean spaces.
What optical characteristics did you see in the Primo 70 lenses that made them the right match for Servant?
Meyer: The Primo 70s were an established lens set on the show, and for good reason: They're fast, lightweight, relatively small, and they come in a wide variety of focal lengths. These practical advantages allowed them to be employed with our Mini LF on a Ronin 2, which we used for nearly every shot on the show, even with the Primo 70 zooms.
They're really gorgeous lenses, with a sharpness across the frame yet a softness to the focus roll-off. Paired with a subtle softening filter, these lenses shine as full-frame beauties and give the show its melancholy and modern look.
More than anything, we used very wide focal lengths on the show. The 27mm and 29mm were the hero lenses by far, but it was important to have the wiggle room of a variety of wide focal lengths that held up in their sharpness and lack of distortion. Even though we were on a set where we could remove walls and built-ins to get any achievable angle, we tried to stay true to what would be possible in the physical confinements of a real house. Having smaller lenses and a variety of focal lengths helped us not break that creative limitation we imposed upon ourselves.
How does this project differ from others in your career?
Meyer: Servant was wholly a beast of its own, constantly reinventing what's possible to do with a camera and how complicated a shot can get. I can't count how many oners we did that were long takes, full of compound movements, pans and tilts that were tack sharp and needed to hit a critical mark with a critically tight depth of field. The crew was always chomping at the bit to tackle these big shots. It's a powerful sight to behold when you see an entire crew working in sync to get a complicated idea on its feet and then accomplished on time and on budget that's an art in and of itself! There's truly no better feeling to me than to be on a set that is running smoothly and producing scenes that make the whole crew proud to contribute their pieces of the puzzle.
We were nearly always single-camera filming, with the second camera preparing for the next scene. That helped us get ahead of these complicated setups. Working on a TV schedule, we often didn't have a lot of prep time, so instead we would leap-frog the camera teams, going from Steadicam on A to dolly on B, then to Ronin on A, then a rigged mount on B, etc. We were always trying to stay one step ahead to make our days full of these bespoke rigs and shots.
Servant is also unique in my career in that it's a TV show that really is director- and DP-driven. The directors
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
30/04/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) concluded its third regular season on Saturday, reporting growth across attendance, viewership, digital engage...
30/04/2026
NBC Sports will air national MLB coverage on Sundays beginning May 3, with MLB Sunday Leadoff on Peacock and NBCSN at 12:30 p.m. ET, followed by the debut of th...
30/04/2026
Clear-Com has appointed Brian Grahn as Market Outreach Manager of the Americas and Ben Turnwell as Business Development Manager for EMEA live.
Grahn joined Cle...
30/04/2026
ARRI has introduced the cforce MAX, a new lens motor for the Hi-5 lens control system. The cforce MAX is twice as fast as the cforce plus motor it replaces whil...
30/04/2026
Knuerr, Voxtronic, and IHSE will jointly present an integrated control room solu...
30/04/2026
The CW Network and ESPN have announced an agreement to make the ESPN App the exclusive streaming home for all CW Sports live events. CW Sports will continue to ...
30/04/2026
Ed Sheeran's The Loop' tour launched in Auckland in January 2026 before moving on to Australia, with South America and the United States to follow late...
30/04/2026
Audinate has announced Dante Preset Creator, a free online tool for configuring Dante network settings before hardware is available on site. Presets created in ...
30/04/2026
Yahoo Sports has announced the appointment of Jarrod Schwarz as General Manager of Yahoo Sports. Schwarz will oversee product, design, and technology; revenue a...
30/04/2026
Nielsen has released a new report, Get Ready with Media Intelligence: 2026 FIFA World Cup Edition, examining U.S. soccer viewership trends, fan engagement, and ...
30/04/2026
USA Lacrosse and SportsEngine have announced an expanded partnership, naming Spo...
30/04/2026
Telos Alliance will participate in the 2026 Media Production and Technology Show (MPTS), taking place May 13-14 at Olympia London. Rather than exhibiting from a...
30/04/2026
The global streamer buys the U.S. DTC platform solutions provider for a reported...
30/04/2026
Tigo Sports, Paraguay's leading sports broadcaster, has upgraded its video infrastructure with Ateme solutions for live encoding, multiplexing, and signal c...
30/04/2026
World Rugby and IMG have announced a long-term media rights partnership focused on growing rugby in the United States ahead of the Men's and Women's Rug...
30/04/2026
For the second year in a row, Overtime and the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) are teaming up through a renewed content partnership to bring fans even...
30/04/2026
The 22-year ESPN vet's responsibilities will reportedly be taken over by SVP Mike Foss...
30/04/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
30/04/2026
Amazon and Duke University have announced a multiyear agreement for Prime Video to present exclusive coverage of three Duke Blue Devils men's basketball neu...
30/04/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
30/04/2026
Music is evolving, and so are the ways you discover and connect with artists. In...
30/04/2026
Between April 22-29, the first inaugural Stockholm Music Week brought together thought leaders and partners across industries including music, tech, government,...
30/04/2026
Iconic large-format console upgraded
API's iconic Vision console has just been treated to an overhaul that aims to meet the demands of today's profe...
30/04/2026
Comes complete with miking accessories
The LCT 440 Pure has proven to be a popular member of Lewitt's mic line-up, offering impressive technical perform...
30/04/2026
24 October 2026 at The Octagon, Sheffield
Now in its eighth year, SynthFest UK is the largest event of its kind in the UK, bringing together the top keyboar...
30/04/2026
SBS & NITV LEAD NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK 2026 WITH LANDMARK GULPILIL DOCUMEN...
30/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz equips new Terminal 3 at Frankfurt Airport with security scanner...
30/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz expands broadband amplifier portfolio with new power classes up ...
30/04/2026
Jennifer Ehle (Contagion, Zero Dark Thirty) and Alex Hassell (Rivals, Wasteman, ...
30/04/2026
MELBOURNE, Fla., April 29, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) today announ...
30/04/2026
MELBOURNE, Fla., April 30, 2026 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) reports first quarter 2026 results.
Highlights
Orders of $7.8 billion; book-to-bill of 1....
30/04/2026
Behind the Broadcast: The Sound of Elite Golf Golf is gaining popularity; the 2025 Ryder Cup achieved record-breaking viewing figures in the UK specifically, wi...
30/04/2026
STA VENERA, MALTA, APRIL 29, 2026 CPI Media, a voluntary organization within the Missionary Society of St Paul (MSSP) and a leading media house dedicated to p...
30/04/2026
New software platform delivers comprehensive timing measurement across production workflows...
30/04/2026
Once again, the UK Pavilion in Hall 5 of BroadcastAsia 2026 will feature the latest and best in technology specifically developed and tailored for modern media ...
30/04/2026
Avid powers faster workflows and next-generation immersive audio with latest Pro...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Scalable broadcast-grade production over public internet, replacing traditional OB workflows...
30/04/2026
Live demonstrations highlight LCEVC ecosystem momentum, AI-powered video pipelines, and expansion across broadcast, streaming, and social media.
DTV (TV 3.0) ...
30/04/2026
Student Spotlight: Matthew Leon The dual major shares his path from community college to Berklee, and how his heritage influences his work.
April 29, 2026
B...
30/04/2026
Berklee Artists to Perform at Major Global Music Festivals As part of the Berklee Popular Music Institute, students will perform at Lollapalooza, Governors Ba...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...