Week 3: Film Viewing Practice Essay

The film "Agent Carter" is a film about a woman defying gender stereotypes to work an office job while also going on secret missions. Through the use of camera shots and angles, editing, sound, and mise-en-scene, the film constructs meaning to help the viewers better understand the film and underlying components of characters.

The film uses camera shots to construct meaning. Specifically, with close shots, the filmmakers allow viewers to focus on the strong emotions portrayed in the characters' faces. This can be seen with the woman trying to communicate with Steve. The film also uses multiple establishing shots that let the viewers understand the setting of the film. This includes shots of the control room, the city, and the office. The film uses a shot of Golden Gate Bridge to inform the viewers that everything is happening in San Francisco. This shot of the Golden Gate Bridge is important not only to camera usage, but it adds to other elements of the film, like setting.

The film uses editing towards the beginning of the clip. There is obvious contrast being used between showing the woman in the control room, Agent Carter, and the man on the spaceship, going back and forth between the two shots. The film uses this to demonstrate the dire situation that the man is in, as he is in a situation so far away from the safety of everyone else. This clip could also be seen as simultaneity because both are occurring at the same time. I know this because they are actively having a conversation while the edit is taking place. Another example of contrast being used is when Agent Carter shows up at the office and the two men go outside to meet her, leaving another inside. The man inside is playing music, eating, and reading, paying no attention to the events outside. However, the mood outside is very serious. You can hear crickets in the background. After the fight starts between them, the film flips back and forth between the inside of the office and the outside of the office. This is an example of not only contrast being used effectively, adding to the viewers' perception of the film, but simultaneity as well.

The film uses sound to accentuate other features. There is background music in multiple scenes. The filmmakers use this background music to add to the mood of the scene. In the scene where Agent Carter is in the office, handing out papers, and sees a picture of the man in her desk, the background music picks up. This is used to show the seriousness of the subject and to portray the feelings of the woman. The music stops abruptly when her boss interrupts. This is used to send a message to viewers that the somber mood is over. The same music picks up after that, reestablishing the mood.  The film also uses post-synchronization dubbing, like glass shattering and the sound of punches, when Carter attacks the two men. This sound helps the viewer understand the serious pain she is inflicting on them. Most notably, the filmmakers use sound when the other man has picked up a gun. The classic suspenseful horror music plays.

The film uses mise-en-scene mostly in setting. The film has a very detailed setting that helps viewers understand the situation at hand. The offices and control room that Agent Carter are in work to show who Carter is as a person. The lighting is also dark and gloomy, portraying the same mood that sound does. The low lighting of the movie exemplifies the seriousness of what is happening in the movie. The costume of Carter portrays her as a professional woman who takes her job seriously. Agent Carter's actor portrays a serious, hardworking woman, an element that adds to the value of the film.