A Pigment of My Imagination

    Director Michael Curtiz brilliantly used black and white photography to create a beautiful and classic look for his film, Casablanca. As opposed to color, black and white really forces the cinematographer to carefully plan out his lighting setups. And though, technically, black and white needs more finessing to get the picture exposed correctly, when seen, its very format creates a dramatic play of light and shadow.
In film, the visual elements captured by the photography always serve a larger purpose—to serve the characters, and add to the story. One place in Casablanca in which this is seen is in the classic “of all the gin joints…” scene. This takes place after Rick reencounters Ilsa for the first time at his bar. This scene is set later that night as Rick is having a drink in the dark, trying to wash away the feelings that arose when he saw Ilsa.

Because this scene was shot in a studio, the DP could control every light in the scene, without having to worry about natural light. This whole scene (excluding Rick’s flashback of Paris) was shot very low-key. Right away, this clearly defines that the scene takes place at night, which the previous shot (the front exterior of Rick’s Café, with the sign lights turning off) established. The scene starts with a medium close-up of Rick sitting at a table at his bar. All the overhead lights are off, and he is alone, a wine bottle in front of him. This careful setup establishes not only his location, but also reflects his thoughts at this point—he is mad and heartbroken and wants to hide from others and forget the past.
As we track out, we begin to see some detail in the background, but it’s mostly in shadow, drawing our focus to Rick. Rick is wearing a solid white jacket, and he is strongly lit from the side, making him really pop out from the background. We now see that the scene is light with very high contrast (though later in the scene, once Ilsa enters, the whole value system lights up a bit more). This contrast, together with the side facial lighting (which splits his face in two) illustrates a part of Rick’s personality—he is two-sided, at this point in the movie, we don’t know who he will end up supporting in the film or what his motivations are. At this point in the scene, his face is mostly under-lit, so his dark hair fades into the background, drawing you to his eyes. The harsh underlighting also creates strong shadows in his face and shows the furrows in his forehead. This shows his deep vulnerability and frustration, while whenever he has his “public face” on, like with guests at his bar, he always has a soft, even lighting.
All this time meanwhile, in the background, we see the tower search light probing the city, coming in and out of the shot, a constant reminder of the dangerous world he lives in, and how he feels he’s always being watched. As Sam enters, he emerges from the darkness and stays that way. He is not really lit himself, there is only the small amount of light in front of him that reflects into his dark face. This serves to make Sam part of the background, and not compete with Rick, it almost makes him like a ghost, like a voice in Rick’s head.

Ultimately, the lighting works well in this scene to illustrate Rick’s inner dilemma. The light seems very controlled and almost painterly. You can tell it was artfully crafted for an almost surreal look, not natural realism. Despite some simulation of natural light, like the window in the background, the lighting is all designed to highlight Rick. This scene shows the emotional power of low-key lighting to set a dark and depressing mood that can be full of fear and mystery. It also shows that when setting up a shot, you don’t have to see every detail in the background. If it is distracting or interferes with the subject, it can be placed in shadow and made into negative space. This scene in specific, and the whole movie in general clearly demonstrate the power of cinematography and lighting in developing character, and show that no matter how qualified the photographer is, or how stylish the shoot looks visually, it should all be there only to serve the story.