With its fourth season, the National Geographic series Genius presents a dual portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, inspirational leaders who paved parallel paths as pioneers in the American civil rights movement in the 1950s and '60s. Genius: MLK/X traces their journeys from their formative years through their rise to prominence, as they each shaped a legacy that remains vitally important.
Trevor Forrest served as lead director of photography for MLK/X, with cinematographer Joe Jody Williams lending his talents to select episodes. Forrest worked closely with Panavision to select an equipment package based around Panavised Alexa 35 cameras and Primo spherical lenses, with modified Anamorphic Flare Attachments used for key moments. Trevor was an early adopter of our Anamorphic Flare Attachments, says Dan Sasaki, Panavision's senior vice president of optical engineering and lens strategy. He used them on Little Fires Everywhere, and when he was prepping MLK/X, he was looking for an even more pronounced anamorphic effect. We ended up modifying the AFA so it would still provide the anamorphic flare and also induce a visually appealing falloff around the edges.
What follows are Forrest's reflections on the production, in the cinematographer's own words.
When I read the scripts for the pilot and first few episodes, I was mostly struck by the scale of the story about the whole lives of these two iconic world figures. I knew that even though this was a biopic, it was a modern thriller at its heart. What brought this scale together was the parallel connection described in the book The Sword and the Shield, which inspired the series.
Looking at the range of years from the mid 1940s to the late 1960s, I initially tried to create an approach to each decade. This quickly shifted to follow the socioeconomic movement of the time. There was pre-war, post-war and then the 1960s, which had its own departure because those years were a very dangerous time for both MLK and Malcolm X as they grew beyond their beginnings and many saw them as threats to the political status quo.
A film stock that charted this exact trajectory was Kodachrome color reversal. It became my base reference and way into creating this world. The specific qualities of reversal are much closer to a digital sensor than the density of a three- or four-strip motion-picture film stock. Reversal is thin and sharp exacting is another way to say it.
Photographers of the time that ran parallel to this journey and had used Kodachrome were Gordon Parks and Ernst Haas. They were already on the mood wall of director Channing Godfrey People's office wall when I met her. The archive staff of Life magazine and National Geographic were amazing partners and allowed me to physically dive into the image archive for inspiration. This is how we designed the color palettes of sets and costumes, which were beautifully created by production designer Todd Fjelsted, costume designer Mercedes Cook and their teams.
The way we depicted the show's periods would follow the look of the film stock as it grew over those decades. From 1940-1945, what we called our pre-war era, Kodachrome had bright, natural greens, a muted palette of all the other colors that weren't yet well developed, cream highlights, and brown and blue shadows rather than black. Our approach to this era was informed by nature daylight, with candlelight and flashlights at night in the countryside, and very little streetlight in the towns.
In the post-war years of 1947-1959, film-stock technology rocketed, and Kodachrome became the signature of Life magazine and the photography of the time. Bright, clear colors, skin tones and clothing details were well-defined, and the shadows were now a deep navy blue. The war was over, and we sought to capture the flamboyance and relief with more color, camera movement, and joy expressed through costume and lighting front-lit flash photography and warm tungsten streetlight and home lighting. We let the shadows fall away to allow the story to be clandestine in Malcolm's world and to underscore the private drama unraveling in MLK's life at home and at church.
In the 1960s, Kodachrome had its best clarity in the highlights, but the shadows fell off very quickly. Fluorescent lighting worked together with this to create a shadowy world of uncertainty complemented with pin-sharp and easily overexposed cold highlights. This kept the shadows cool, which also added to the fashion, cars and overall style of the time. Things were dark and dangerous, but the decade, and the cinema of the time, had a style to it that was slick and sharp. Noir filmmaking had found another level.
We used Alexa 35 cameras with classic Panavision Primo lenses. We paired the Primos with modified Anamorphic Flare Attachments for signature punctuations throughout the journey moments that connected MLK or Malcolm X to their past, or out-of-body experiences when the stress and fear became so intense. I've used Primos many times, so I know their qualities intimately. I knew they would render the huge range of beautiful skin tones accurately and represent the characters in a way that felt like you could reach out and touch them. Clarity, not sharpness. The perfect combo.
This project was unique because of its continued cultural importance. We had the opportunity to lift the words of these two men into the world of today. I was brought closer to the story by my film family of technicians, like gaffer Justin Dickson, who had lived the story growing up in the Baptist South and shared their very personal experiences, love and emotion for the scripts, which elevated my ability to tell the story. It was one of those shoots that happens a few times in your career. It was a special experience.
Images courtesy of National Geographic and Tre
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...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
With its fourth season, the National Geographic series Genius presents a dual portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, inspirational leaders who paved parallel paths as pioneers in the American civil rights movement in the 1950s and '60s. Genius: MLK/X traces their journeys from their formative years through their rise to prominence, as they each shaped a legacy that remains vitally important.
