Film Practice Essay "Agent Carter Clip"

     Throughout the 2013 film "Agent Carter", directed by Louis D'Esposito, there are a number of different film elements that have a number of different camera angles and shots. In the beginning scene, it is a shot of Captain America operating an airplane that cuts over to a close-up of another character, Peggy Carter. The beginning scene is essentially a flashback where the technique of cross-cutting is used to depict the personal experience of a character by displaying a past event. Also in this shot, mise-en-scene is used through the utilization of low-key lighting, as Peggy is seated in a dimly-lit room, which to me established a sense of seriousness. The low-key lighting was used to set a dramatic and emotional tone to the establishing scene. The camera then cuts back to the scene of Captain America placing a photo of Peggy on the dashboard of the airplane with non-diegetic sound in the background, which made this part of the scene much more emotional and sad. With the background music in this scene, it could be predicted that Captain America was going to die within a matter of seconds. The screen then goes black to a visual that said "one year later," which could mislead the Audience to believe Captain America had died for sure. 

    The camera cuts between Agent Carter and Captain America (Steve Rogers) with suspenseful, somber music that foreshadowed a concerning event was about to ensue. The scene then cuts from Agent Carter and Captain America having an emotional conversation to present day with the background music fading away. The next scene shows a bird's-eye establishing shot of the city that cuts to the police precinct. In this scene, there is a use of low-key lighting that made the scene more suspenseful and dark to the watcher. Mise-en scene is added in this scene through the use of costume, as Agent Carter is seen wearing the color blue, which she was wearing a navy-blue blazer and skirt, minimal makeup and sported a hairstyle that established the setting in the 1940's. All the other characters can be seen wearing hues of the color blue as well. The color blue can also be traced back to the color of Captain America's suit, as the color blue is used to establish a feeling of heroism and represents the"good guy." 

Throughout the scene in the office, there is a number of close-up and eye level shots that to me, creates a sense of importance to what is displayed in the frame and draws more attention to the frame as a whole. Further in to the scene, there is mise-en-scene used as a panning shot of Peggy walking past a car is in the frame, and the car, which is a prop, is also establishing the time period of when the scene is taking place, which is in the 1940's. From there, a scene comes where Peggy is walking into a building and must fight off two men. There is multiple camera angles used in this scene which created intensity and proved Peggy was an excellent fighter. A reaction shot is also used when Peggy kicks one of the men through a window, and there is a reaction to something happening off-screen. 

Ultimately, the performance the actors and actresses put on made the entire first five minutes of the film made the experience much more realistic and captivating to me as a watcher.