Clubhouse Conversations — The Fire Inside

In this episode, director Rachel Morrison, ASC and cinematographer Rina Yang, BSC are joined by interviewer Bradford Young, ASC to discuss their work on The Fire Inside — a biographical sports drama that explores the professional and private lives of Claressa "T-Rex" Shields, the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing.

The Fire Inside follows Shields (Ryan Destiny), a high-school junior in Flint, Michigan, as she trains under the tutelage of her hard-nosed coach, Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry), and pushes ever-further toward her dream of thriving at the Olympian level. The film marks the feature directorial debut of Morrison, whose storied body of work includes Mudbound — a film that, in 2017, made her the first woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.

In this interview, Morrison and Yang discuss their approach to shooting some of the film’s pivotal moments in natural sunlight; the challenges of creating an engaging prom-set sequence with limited time and resources; their use of handheld and compact digital cameras to allow for a sense of intimacy and flexibility within tight spaces, including the boxing ring; how they upheld the authenticity of their Michigan setting while shooting on location in Toronto; their careful orchestration of a single-take fight sequence that showcases the protagonist’s transformation, and more.

Bradford Young, ASC is a cinematographer whose works include Arrival and TV miniseries When They See Us. For Arrival, he was nominated for an Academy Award.

Rina Yang, BSC is a cinematographer who, in 2022, became the first Asian woman member of the British Society of Cinematographers. Her extensive background in music videos includes collaborations with Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, FKA Twigs, Sam Smith and Kamasi Washington, and her TV series credits include episodes of Euphoria and Top Boy. She also served as director of photography on Nanny, which, in 2022, became the first horror feature to receive Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize.

Rachel Morrison, ASC is a filmmaker whose cinematography credits include Fruitvale Station (2013), Dope (2015), Mudbound (2017) and Black Panther (2018). For Mudbound, she was nominated for an Academy Award and an ASC Award.

You’ll find all episodes in our ASC Clubhouse Conversations discussion series here.