May 2023

Fred Murphy, ASC: Daring to Be Bold

The career path of Fred Murphy, ASC has not been clear-cut, emerging naturally from multiple interests: photography, architecture, animation, the ocean, editing, lighting, and, of course, movies. Many of these pursuits remain, but he ultimately defined himself as a cinematographer — one who has created a distinctive body of work spanning nearly every genre in film and television. Upon accepting the 2023 ASC Career Achievement in Television Award, presented during the 37th Annual ASC Awards on March 5, he remarked, “It came as quite a surprise. I’m really touched to be honored like this.” Fred Murphy, ASC finds his frame while shooting a short to introduce Kodak’s Vision3 250D 5207 film stock in 2009. Murphy was born into a family of...more