Film Viewing Practice Essay

The film Agent Carter utilizes the four main elements of film: editing, sound, mise-en-scene, and camera composition to convey feelings of injustice, loss, and opportunity, centered around the titular character Agent Carter.

The opening scene of Agent Carter uses the cut-style of editing to transition between shots of Carter and Steve. The abrupt nature of the cut allows the raw emotion in the scene to parallel the raw transitions. The viewers can quickly and easily witness each character in their separate environments to fully capture the contrast between the two. While both characters understand that peril is in Steve’s midst, Carter expresses much more sadness, in contrast to Steve’s stoic acceptance. By using the contrast element of editing, we are able to capture this disparity of emotion. The style of editing changes to fade-to-black to mark Steve’s possible demise and that the scene is transitioning one year into the future. The fading helps represent the passing of time.

Agent Carter uses primarily diegetic sound throughout the clip. This use of sound creates a feeling of realism, where both the audience and the characters experience the sound together. The scene depends heavily on direct sound, due to the character dialogue. However, non-diegetic sound is also used, though sparingly. As Agent Carter walks over to meet the antagonists, background music begins to play. The music is ominous and dark, building suspense as Carter reaches the scene without backup. The sparing use of non-diegetic sound gives the use of it more value, as it is used only when necessary as an enhancement to the scene, allowing the direct sound to be the star of the scene, once again adding to the realistic nature of the scene. The use of the blaring alarm signifies danger and a call to duty for the agents. Every time the alarm goes off, the audience and Carter both grow in anticipation of her possible assignment.

The primary elements of mise-en-scene used in this clip work together to convey the ambiance of the overall clip and set the tone as well. The setting is industrial and reflects the time period, which is possibly World War II. New advances in technology, for that time, are highlighted to show Carter’s job of decoding messages and analyzing data. The agents are all dressed in the work clothing of men and women of that time. They wear suits, which lend to the mysterious and official nature of their offices. Carter is the only female in the room and is the only person wearing a skirt as well. A skirt is typically not the ideal choice of clothing for a person who is supposed to be out in the field, but in this case, it represents that Carter’s male coworkers don’t regard her as equal or an agent that will be sent to the field. Despite the injustice thrown at Carter, she defies standards and uses her appearance of femininity and vulnerability to overcome her enemies, even while wearing a skirt. The overall lighting of the scenes is low-key, adding to the dark atmosphere. Carter is often staged in the back or alone, which further demonstrates the isolation the men of the office bring upon her for being a woman in a male-dominated field.

The camera is most often at eye-level throughout the scenes, allowing the audience to connect on a deeper level to the characters. The audience gets to primarily see the characters’ faces, where most of the emotion is expressed. In the beginning scene, the shot is eye-level and can almost be considered a choker shot, which then transitions to more of a long shot, where Carter can be seen sitting at her station, surrounded by technology but alone in the large control room, allowing the audience to see how alone she is literally and figuratively.