Dialogue – Rick’s line “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” is effective as it tells the audience how certain he was that he’d never see Ilsa again, therefore he speaks in a shocked manner after she comes to his cafe.

Underscoring – A soft but noticeable piece of music accompanies the scene where Rick uses a gun to threaten Renault, building suspense and audience intrigue as to whether he will actually shoot him.

Sound Motif – The song ‘It had to be you’ recurs throughout the film as a reminder to the audience that Rick and Ilsa’s relationship was real and impacts their behaviours in the narrative of the film. The song is heard for the entirety of the Paris flashback, as this is when Rick and Ilsa’s love for each other was the strongest.

Synchronous Music – Synchronous music can be heard in the scenes taking place in Rick’s bar, with Sam playing the piano and singing to customers. Even when the attention is on other characters, the music continues to maintain the verisimilitude of the film.

Sound Mixing – In the scene where the plane is beginning to land in Casablanca, a musical score can be heard in addition to the sound of the plane flying and dialogue. These being heard all at once establishes the atmosphere of the scene and creates a sense of realism.

Diegetic sound

Diegetic sound in Casablanca is evident when Ilsa asks Sam to play the song ‘As Time Goes By’. The fact that the characters themselves can hear the music is important to understand how Rick cant bear to listen to the song that reminds him of Ilsa, and just hearing it causes him to dart across the room to stop the music and halt the pain he feels in remembering his past.

Diegetic sound also is significant in ensuring the verisimilitude of the film, in the midst of war and occupations elsewhere, residents of Casablanca come to Ricks bar to listen to music and forget the troubles of the world around them.

Non-Diegetic sound

The use of underscoring in Casablanca is also non-diegetic, in the first scene between rick and Ilsa they recall the last day they met. The score starts as a soft romantic violin, to represent how Ilsa is first ignorant to the torment that happened that day, and only remembers the love she felt for Rick. Synchronising with Ilsa’s change of expression, she then recalls how the Nazis occupied France that day, the underscoring then turns dramatic and violent.

This is used to share the heartbreak that Ilsa feels with the spectator, to immerse them in the movie and to feel as though they themselves experienced the same things.

Sound Motif

The use of sound motif in Casablanca holds a highly emotional response in the spectator. The first time the audience hears the song ‘As Time Goes By’, Ilsa doesn’t even need to say the name of the song as it is so ‘forbidden’ that Sam isn’t allowed to play it. This foreshadows an importance regarding the song, thus leaving the spectator to imagine the meaning behind the pain this song causes Rick, and the connection Rick has to Ilsa.

Connoting this song to pain, the spectator is then reintroduced to ‘As Time Goes By’ when Rick is alone, drinking, and feeling sorry for himself. The Mise-en-scene paired with the diegetic sound motive that is ‘As Time Goes By’ evokes a moving response in the viewer that is then justified by Ricks flashback of the last meeting between Rick and Ilsa in Paris, the day the Nazis came. A Romantic and beautiful song is reduced to a painful, heart aching experience, likewise of the relationship between the Ilsa and Rick.

Dialogue

Rick’s famous line: ‘Here’s looking at you kid’ is an example of Dialogue in Casablanca, the way he repeats this line throughout the movie connects the plot, and gives the spectator an idea of the relationship between the two.

Synchronous sound/ atmos and foley sound

Synchronous sound, or sync sound, is audio that lines up precisely with what’s happening on screen.

An example of this is the clink of Ricks glass as he slams it on the table in this sequence, similarly Foley/atmos sound is used to accentuate the sound of a door slam when Ilsa leaves Rick once more. This is made to be louder, more prominent as the pair are once again separated and Rick is left alone like in Paris. This heightens the dramatic effect of this scene, and evokes a isolated feel in the spectator.

A good example of Diegetic sound in Casablanca is when IIla ask Sam to play the song ” As Time goes by” as it is a significant moment in the film.

A example of how Non Diegetic is when Yvonne is kicked out of the Bar and her words don’t match her lips. Another example is in an earlier scene where the gun shots plays and he falls to the ground 5 second later.

Realism is depicted in Casablanca through it’s themes of love and war. The romance between Rick and Ilsa is portrayed as real and powerful, while the second World War directly impacts the plot (emphasised by the use of authentic newsreel footage of Nazi soldiers in Paris).

In terms of tone, Casablanca is a dramatic and romantic film, retaining the idea of the ongoing war that was happening at the time while also allowing audiences to escape their real lives.

The film adopts a visual style of ‘Film Noir’, which can be seen through the low-key lighting, the darker tone and plot compared to other films released at the time, and the use of flashbacks to before the war.

Editing: I believe that Casablanca uses Continuity editing as a way to create a steady flow within the film.

An example of this is the plane scene at the beginning of the film. It uses a Mid shot to make the plane the focal point

Below is a medium shot of the people in the Café. It is shown like this to immerse you in the world from the view of someone in the café.

This is a medium shot of people viewing the plane landing. The shot tracks to show all the reactions

This is a close up shot of IIsla Lund to show her reaction and emotion

Below is a similar close up of Rick to show his emotions he’s feeling.

realism: Casablanca doesn’t fully stick with accurate realism overexaggerating aspects in a way to reflect what the audience wants to see rather than something to relate to. This can be seen through the romantic plot of the movie taking up most of the attention instead of life during the war. As well as the characters being played popular attractive movie stars wearing costumes that don’t accurately portray what lower class refuges would wear. Making a more ideal looking reality to what it actually it due to audiences at the time looking for an escape from their bleak lives during the war.

Tone: Casablanca has dramatic, suspenseful and romantic tones. Reflecting the feelings of war at the time.

Visual style: Casablanca has elements of “film noir” in terms of visuals. Using low lighting, harsh shadows as well as being in black and white.