Film Viewing Practice Essay

The Marvel one-shot Agent Carter is about a woman, Peggy Carter, being frustrated at being marginalized at work and goes on an unauthorized solo field mission. Throughout these scenes, numerous forms of the main elements in creating a film are being used: editing, sound, mise-en-scene, and camera shots, angles, movement and composition. In the opening scene we first see agent Peggy and Steve Rodgers with the use of simultaneity as the exchange their final words. With this editing technique, the audience feels a sense of sadness as the camera switches from each character showing their unhappiness as Rodger is plummeting to his death saying his final goodbyes. Accompanied by this scene is a synchronous sound. Applying this sound to the scene helps enhance the sorrowful emotions being felt by the audience making the scene have a more powerful effect on the audience’s feelings. Following this scene is the usage of the non-simultaneous sound of an alarm suggesting to the audience that there will be some kind of an emergency. Leading up to this sound is a scene being shot in an office setting as the agents await their orders after receiving the alarming call with further details. Shortly after the agents have returned from their mission, the editing theme of leitmotif has appeared after the reoccurrence of the alarm sound symbolizing that there is a mission that needs to be completed. After collecting all the information from the call agent Carter is shown with the use of three different camera shots as she approaches her targets. First, there is the use of dolly shot showing her working towards the received location. Immediately following is a close-up shot showing agent Carters bold look as she gets closer to her target. Following the close-up shot is a long shot showcasing the environment agent Carter is in. After these shots were made the film leads up to agent Carter confronting two men after which resolving in a fight with the use of non-diegetic sound as another man, another one of Carter’s target sitting in his office not knowing of what is going on outside. The scene ends with the man eventually becomes aware of what is going on and trying to leave but is confronted by agent Carter. Mise-en-scene is used all throughout this film, but the main concept of the setting and location is set in the late 1900s. The is evident with the wardrobe used between both men and women. It is also shown through the inequality carter is faced with in her workplace as she is treated less than the men are. She is also forced to work in an office deprived of doing fieldwork. Even though she has proven herself more than qualified to do fieldwork. The setting and location are also enhanced with the technology and the building structures that appear throughout the scenes in this film. Without the use of all these elements appeared in this film, the shots would have been emotionless and have no scene of direction leaving the audience puzzled about the purpose of the film and the meaning behind the scenes.