Casablanca

In the film “Casablanca”, one particular scene stood out to me where I started to really think about the sound design. It was the part where Ilsa sat down and asked Sam to play the song “As Time Goes By” in Ricks Oasis. As Sam plays the song, Rick overhears it and runs over to Sam reminding him that he does not want that song to be played. Sam points to Ilsa and Rick looks over only to be in complete shock that Ilsa is right in front of him. The lyrics and tone of the song were romantic and bubbly while Ilsa’s facial expressions displayed sadness and regret. I am able to tell that something went wrong between Rick and Isla after listening to the song and watching her reaction.This scene is an example of how the sound design included co-expression into the film. The image of Ilsa and the song displayed cues that each had their own meaning. The sound changed after Rick saw Ilsa that went along with the shocked look on his face. The sound was stagnant and the melody kept repeating itself just like Rick’s facial expressions that remained constant and in shock. The sound was just as expressive as the image of Rick in that scene. The sound design was able to pair the expression in the images with the right sound.