January 22, 2025

Rina Yang, BSC: Igniting The Fire Inside

The Fire Inside is the true story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, a boxer from Flint, Michigan and her trainer, Jason Crutchfield. She became the first American woman to win Olympic gold in boxing. The Fire Inside is the feature directorial debut for Rachel Morrison, the first woman cinematographer nominated for an Academy Award.

Cinematographer Rina Yang, BSC enjoyed the ability to speak with director Rachel Morrison in a shorthand way about shooting the film. “It did help that I’ve known Rachel for a while, just being female DPs in this boys’ game,” she says. “It was nice to be able to skip the tech chat and get to the point, because we had a really insane schedule.” The film’s production had faced numerous challenges, having to shut down during COVID in 2020 which halted filming for two years. Once The Fire Inside was greenlit again, they faced an accelerated production schedule in Toronto. Rina prepped by watching a documentary about Claressa Shields called T-Rex and watched all her fights in the 2012 Olympics as references. She and Rachel meticulously shotlisted every scene and entered it into a detailed spreadsheet so that they knew what they needed each day.

The Fire Inside focuses on capturing the intensity of Shields’ journey, both inside and outside the ring. “Rachel and I talked about how we wanted to shoot the boxing,” Rina explains, “but we decided that ultimately, we just wanted to feel the fight from Claressa’s point of view rather than doing cool boxing shots.” This approach led to a raw and intimate portrayal of the sport, emphasizing the emotional and physical toll on Shields. Actor Ryan Destiny underwent rigorous training to perform all the boxing scenes herself, and Rina often opted for handheld cameras to capture the raw energy of the story. Rina and Rachel both operated a few of the boxing scenes. Rina didn’t hesitate to tell Rachel how her camerawork was looking. “I was really honest. She would ask if she did a good job. I’d say that was good, or suggest a move that’s less active and a little bit more quiet with the camera.”

Rina’s path to becoming a cinematographer was not a direct one. After moving to London from Japan at 21 with limited English, she decided to pursue film school. While working on a film set, Rina was inspired by Sara Deane, a female cinematographer, and realized that cinematography was her true calling. She subsequently honed her skills through a series of short films, music videos, and commercials.

You can see The Fire Inside currently in theaters and streaming on VOD January 28.

Find Rina Yang: Instagram @the_rinayang

Hear our previous interview with Rachel Morrison about her work as a cinematographer on Mudbound: https://www.camnoir.com/ep19-2/

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The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

February 16, 2022

Catch The Fair One director Josef Kubota Wladyka and actor/screenwriter Kali Reis

Catch the Fair One is about Kaylee “K.O.” Uppashaw, a mixed Indigenous boxer who is searching for her sister, Weeta, who has been missing for two years. K.O. sets off on a dark and dangerous journey as she willingly allows herself to be exploited by a sex trafficking ring to find out what happened to her sister. Catch the Fair One is the second feature for Josef Kubota Wladyka, who has also directed episodes of Narcos, Fear the Walking Dead and The Terror. It’s the acting debut for Kali Reis, who is an Indigenous/Cape Verdean world champion boxer and activist for missing and murdered Indigenous women of North America.

Josef met Kali through a friend’s boxing gym. Watching her train and box helped Josef form an idea for the story of Catch the Fair One and he wanted a collaborative partner who could help shine a light on the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women. With such dark subject matter, Kali and Josef knew they wanted the film to be a thriller, with themes of pain, loss, and regret that intentionally draws the audience in. Kali enjoyed being a part of the creative writing process. Though she had never written a script before, she feels she drew on her ancestors’ tradition of storytelling and it felt natural. Kali was able to write her own character, building Kaylee from the ground up. Josef and Kali shoot a lot of rough footage, working out different character and script ideas. Kali also trained at an acting boot camp to help her learn acting and character work. Josef felt fortunate to work with Darren Aronofsky, who came on board as executive producer, and he gave Josef feedback on the movie to help bring it into focus.

Find Kali Reis: Instagram: @ko_ndnbxr
Twitter: @KO_Reis86

Catch The Fair One opened February 11th in theaters and on demand. https://www.catchthefairone.movie/

Learn more about Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women: https://www.nativewomenswilderness.org/mmiw

Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: https://camnoir.com//ep159/

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com

Sponsored by Aputure: https://www.aputure.com/

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Twitter: @ShortEndz