WOMEN OF THE HOUR

Taylor Swift’s ‘Anti Hero’ video, written and directed by the multi-hyphenate singer, was a big hit with MTV Video Music Awards voters. Best Cinematography winner Rina Yang BSC reflects on her work on the fun shoot. 

“Watch my nightmare scenarios and intrusive thoughts play out in real time,” is how Taylor Swift introduced the video for ‘Anti-Hero’, the lead single on her record-breaking 2022 album ‘Midnights’. But September 2023’s MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) were anything but a bad dream for the singer-turned-director, as ‘Anti-Hero’ won six prizes including the night’s top honour of Video of the Year. When the video also came out on top in the Best Cinematography category, the spotlight deservedly shifted to Rina Yang BSC. 

Yang and Swift first teamed up for All Too Well: The Short Film, which earned the cinematographer her first VMA nomination last year. It was Yang’s visuals on an Amazon commercial, directed by Queen & Slim’s Melina Matsoukas, which caught Swift’s attention. Seeking the same visual style, the singer secured Yang to lens her first short film, which accompanied a previously unreleased 10-minute version of 2012 hit ‘All Too Well’. Since then, the duo’s creative collaboration has continued on Swift’s ‘Lavender Haze’ and ‘Bejewelled’ music videos from her latest album ‘Midnights’. 

With echoes of All Too Well’s celluloid aesthetic (although shot on the Sony Venice), ‘Anti-Hero’ is a self-critical window into Swift’s inner demons. The five-minute video sees the real singer meet her anti-hero doppelganger, a visual representation of her insecurities. A highlight is an amusing narrative sequence, taking place at Swift’s imaginary funeral, which fleshes out the lyrics: “I have this dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money/She thinks I left them in the will.” 

Yang prepped remotely for ‘Anti-Hero’ due to shooting Flint Strong, Rachel Morrison ASC’s feature directorial debut to be released in 2024, in Toronto at the same time. “We had a lot of prep time to think about [our approach],” she recalls. “Then, as soon as I finished Flint Strong – I think we finished at 6am in the studio in Toronto – I hopped on a flight at 10am and I was in Los Angeles the same day to scout for ‘Anti-Hero’. It was such a great project that I didn’t want to miss it.” 

Working with Swift is always a pleasure for Yang and her vision as a director makes prep a relative breeze. “Taylor always knows exactly what she wants to do,” she says. “She thinks about it a lot in her own time before she brings on her collaborators, is my impression.”  

A key point of discussion was how to shoot the narrative element of the video. Yang and Swift would share TV and film references to check they were on the same page visually. The scene, which features comedy actors Mike Birbiglia, John Early and Mary Elizabeth Ellis arguing over Swift’s will, gave the cinematographer a chance to experiment with a different genre.  

“It was interesting for me because I don’t often do straight-up comedies,” muses Yang. “We mentioned a few shows – I’d say, ‘What do you think about handheld or a few snap zooms,’ and she’d say, ‘Yes, exactly.’”  

During the take, two operators – Ari Robbins SOC and Thomas Fedak – worked handheld, while Yang was at the DP station operating both zooms. “I would snap zoom when the actors deliver a funny line, or just something that felt like the perfect moment to do a little snap zoom,” she says.  

To capture Swift and her various incarnations – including a giant-sized Swift who crawls into a dinner party, much to the annoyance of the diners – Yang worked closely with Phil Crowe and his team at Parliament VFX. Parliament, which also lent their VFX support to ‘Lavender Haze’, won Best Visual Effects for their work on ‘Anti-Hero’ at the VMAs.  

“It was great to work with Phil again and it was good to have the reassurance of an expert,” remarks Yang. “Parliament would send us reference videos and we’d watch it to make sure we got the giant Taylor and life-sized Taylor right.”  

Getting scenes right where Swift would be side-by-side with her anti-hero alter ego was also crucial. “We didn’t want it to always be split-screen where they don’t cross the threshold – we wanted to go beyond that because it’s not easy to split-screen the whole time.” 

Yang relished the challenge of lighting for different genres across her work on the three ‘Midnights’ videos. While ‘Lavender Haze’ involved a lot of loud lighting cues, ‘Anti-Hero’ had a more static approach. The shoot was fully set-build and the lighting was mostly LED. Working in tandem with a skilled lighting programmer – “I always make sure I have a really good lighting desk op!” – she uses a wingman board which allows her to dim lights and trigger cues herself. “That’s something I like doing – I did that for Rachel’s film. For ‘Lavender Haze’ or something more lip sync-heavy I would live mix myself. For ‘Anti-Hero’, as the lights were mostly static there’s not much cueing, but I’d still have some intensity control on my board.” 

Although the whole shoot for ‘Anti-Hero’ was a fun experience for Yang, she especially loved shooting the narrative scene with the comedians: “It was hilarious and I love the chemistry between them. I always enjoy watching Taylor direct actors because she’s so good at talking to them.” 

She continues: “Whenever I shoot with Taylor, I make little videos on my phone when we’re working things out or discovering things. It’s just a few of us, not with the entire crew, and I enjoy that bit more than anything.”