The Use Of Editing Techniques In Casablanca

The way that a movie is pieced together by the director/producers has a huge impact on the viewer’s experience. Stylistic elements are used to help engage the viewer; however, without these techniques the viewer will most likely loose interest. In this essay I will be taking a look at a scene within the movie Casablanca directed by Michael Curtiz in 1942. Casablanca is a classic film that is reviewed to be one of the greatest movies of all time. This could be due to the notable quotes used throughout the movie, or its ability to follow a historic, comical, and romantic storyline throughout the course of the film. It caters to several different viewers, making this movie favorable to many. This scene in Casablanca uses specific editing techniques

that heighten and draw attention to the tension between Ilsa and Rick. The techniques that I will be exploring in this essay include close up shots to highlight the character emotions, quick transitions between shots to keep the audience engaged, and le motifs (A Time Goes By) to represent the importance of these two characters meeting.

Casablanca has several important stylistic elements which I will further look into.

The way you edit a clip can drastically change the way one perceives it. If you edit it one way, you may be able to bring about feelings of love and affection. Yet, if you edit it slightly different, you could bring about feelings of fear or suspicion. The quick cuts in the movie Casablanca are able to help the audience observe the tension that exist between Ilsa and Rick. “Close-ups are much more dramatic than long or medium shots. They are preferred when emphasizing someone’s emotion (Moura, 2014).” Casablanca often used close up shots in order to highlight intense/emotional moments between characters.

For example, during shot 13. When Ilsa is listening to Sam play “As Time Goes By.” There is a close up of Ilsa that lasts for 26 seconds. During this time, you see Ilsa deep in thought. She is thinking of the past life she once shared with Rick, as they listened to the song. We were able to interpreted this from the close up shot that was focused on Ilsas face. Yet, near the end of the scene we see that there are more close up shots. Though, these are shorter in duration. Each close-up shot lasts no longer than about 3 seconds each. The fast pace of these close up shots, combined with the emotional expressions of the characters causes an intense and dramatic scene between Rick and Ilsa. The beginning of the scene starts with shots averaging at 5 seconds. Yet, once the intensity picks up near the end of the scene. The shots last for an average of 5 seconds or less. So, the faster the shots changed, the more intensity it brought to the scene. Editing techniques were important in the making of this movie so that the characters could portray their feelings to the audience. The use of these editing techniques encourages the audience to stay engaged throughout the film.
The music score for Casablanca what mainly composed by Max Steiner.

Music is played almost constantly throughout the movie, as it helped to guide the narration as well. Casablanca was part of the sound era, which occurred from the 1930’s- present day. There are a few different elements of sound throughout the film, but I will be focusing on the occurrence of leitmotif. The leitmotif technique is a short, constantly recurring sound that is often associated with a specific person, or place. An example of a leitmotif can be found in the movie Casablanca. We constantly hear the song ‘As Time Goes By’ being played throughout the movie. The first time we hear the song is in the given scene chosen for us. In shot 7, Ilsa asks Sam to play ‘As Time Goes By’ for her on the piano. Later Rick hears the song, and as he goes to stop Sam from playing it, he realizes that Ilsa is there. From then on, the song is played almost every time that Rick and Ilsa are together. The only time that the song is not played is when Rick and Ilsa are arguing. When it comes to the overall music throughout the scene we see that the beginning has calm and relaxed music. Yet, this changes when Rick and Ilsa see each other for the first time. There is a lot of built up tension, and so the music picks up. In shot 17 we begin to hear the sound of violins rapidly playing. The music played in this moment is used to help highlight this intense moment between Rick and Ilsa. The scenes music changes from calm and

relaxed, to a hectic and heightened sound. Casablanca was able to combine several different sound techniques in order to give the audience a satisfying and engaging experience as they watched the movie.
Both, editing and sound techniques were often used throughout the movie Casablanca. This scene in specific used editing techniques that heighten and draw attention to the strained relationship between Rick and Ilsa. The techniques that I explored in this essay include leitmotifs (As Time Goes By) to represent the importance of these two characters meeting, quick transitions between shots to keep the audience engaged, and close up shots to highlight the characters emotions. So why are editing techniques crucial to the success of a movie? Without these stylistic elements incorporated throughout movies. The audience would easily loose interest. We often forget about the amount of time and work put into making a successful movie. We can see that there was a lot of time and effort put into the making of Casablanca, and that is what makes it one of the best movies of all time.