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 ...
13/11/2026
The UIM E1 Series wraps its third season this week with the Bombay Sapphire E1 Miami GP, Nov. 11-14, on Biscayne Bay at the Miami Seaplane Base on Watson Island...
13/11/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
13/11/2026
Singer-songwriter Benson Boone will headline entertainment for the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles St...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone, a 7th order ambisonic microphone array that captures spatial audio for immersive video prod...
13/11/2026
SMPTE has announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infrastructure and communications technology for the Solutions Hub at t...
13/11/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced the theme and program focus for the 2027 HPA Tech Retreat, which takes place Feb. 14-18, 2027, in La ...
13/11/2026
Football Manager 27 Touch is available on Apple Arcade starting today. The game ...
13/11/2026
MotoGP has announced a two-year media rights agreement with ESPN covering the Un...
13/11/2026
Apple Sports, the free iPhone app, has added the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to its lineup of supported sports, in time for Saturday's UFC 334. The...
13/11/2026
The NBA and Fanatics Studios, the joint venture between Fanatics and entertainme...
13/11/2026
ESPN held its annual EDGE Innovation Conference last night and offered up an ove...
13/11/2026
Regional sports network gives Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland students a platform to thrive
One of the biggest games in Division III college football will be pla...
13/11/2026
Studer-inspired 500-series PWM compressor unveiled
The HLabs range already includes a couple of Studer-inspired offerings in the form of the PRE169 and EQ16...
13/11/2026
Download Now!
To view the white paper, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name
Company*
Country* Please select your countryA...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Blue Lucy, the workflow orchestration and integration platform for broadcasters, rights owners and localisation companies, today announced an integration with c...
13/11/2026
Krotos announces Black Friday offers on Studio Pro and Studio Max
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
First-year annual plans start at US$195.99...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
New 7th order ambisonic microphone with 108 MEMS...
13/11/2026
Meet the Berklee Student Setting Planetary Motion to Music With his compositional platform SoniKosmos, Javier Roqueni aims to make the universe the ultimate i...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud company, today announced a partnership with Golden Times Media Technology (stock code 920021.BJ), a Beijing-based media and tech...
13/11/2026
CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world, together with its Malaysian partner, Cedar ...
13/11/2026
SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infra...
13/11/2026
iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, will present its software-first approach to DRAM optimization at Android TV APAC Summit 2026 in Bang...
13/11/2026
Beginning today, November 13, Apple HomeView is available for purchase at Apple Store locations, on the Apple Store online, and in the Apple Store app in select...
13/11/2026
From pediatric research to smart hospitals, AI is helping care teams spend less time on routine tasks and more time with patients.
Health systems and startups...
12/11/2026
Industry leaders examine how Dynamic Media Facility, Media eXchange Layer, and c...
12/11/2026
The junior Tar Heel is embracing the technical and creative challenges of live production while emerging as a leader and mentor in the control room...
12/11/2026
Gracenote, Nielsen's content intelligence business, has released its fifth a...
12/11/2026
RTL Deutschland will bring the NHL to free-to-air TV in Germany starting Nov. 30...
12/11/2026
Clear-Com supported On Air 2026, a 24-hour student-led broadcast connecting 45 u...
12/11/2026
uniqFEED has opened a Remote Operations Center (ROC) in Madrid, Spain. It is already operational, delivering virtual advertising for LaLiga matches. The ROC is ...
12/11/2026
Disney, ESPN and the NBA will present Dunk the Halls, the third real-time animated NBA game using Sony's Beyond Sports data visualization technology, on Chr...
12/11/2026
Van Wagner has launched Van Wagner RELAY, a digital platform for official athlet...
12/11/2026
Deal brings together two of the industry's most established graphics brands and significantly expands Vizrt's footprint in U.S. sports and regional broa...
12/11/2026
Euro TV Production GmbH of Austria has upgraded its outside broadcast vehicle with Lawo technology. The mc 36 Classic console in service since 2019 was replaced...
12/11/2026
Tagboard has launched Spark Resize, an AI-assisted tool now in beta that takes an existing graphic and produces a new version for a different aspect ratio or sc...
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.
