Film Viewing Practice Essay "Agent Carter"

In the film excerpt from "Agent Carter", it begins with a montage of several photos of previous Marvel comics, along with offscreen sound played in the background. The sound itself is of Agent Carter, although the screen does not yet show the audience who is talking, or to who the words are directed towards. The camera then goes to Captain America and Agent "Peggy" Carter speaking to each other, an example of diegetic sound as both characters are able to hear one another. Captain America's attire is rough, with rips and dirt stains easily seen on his costume. However, Carter is pristine, dressed in a black uniform along with a matching hat. This directly shows the contrast in not only the characters but also shows the situation they're in at the moment. While Rogers (Captain America) is in danger, Carter is perfectly safe at the base. They are shown speaking to each other, mostly focusing on Rogers until there is a brief cutaway edit to show Carter's sad expression. This is then followed by a brief shot with rather bleak lighting, setting a dreary mood as Rogers redirects the aircraft downwards. The beginning scene finally ends with the screen fading to black.

One year later, the scene begins with an establishing shot, along with an extreme long shot in order to show the area in which the story takes place. There are several A-Cuts as men in an office move around, with the sound of their chairs moving and feet stomping as an example of Synchronous Sound. The scene isn't very well lit, setting the mood as boring or dull. This is also supported by the dull attire the men are wearing, with differing shades of grays and black being visible. The phone rings and the audience is able to briefly hear what the caller says. With a Follow shot, the rest of the office is revealed to the viewer. A sound bridge is used while the camera shifts to Agent Carter, as the viewer is still able to hear the man's words even when the camera switches off of him. The camera is now on Carter, where Blocking and Method Acting is shown. The actress displays Carter's frustration, although is careful not to reveal it so easily, becoming Carter at that moment. The Blocking is used in the way the actors are set, with Agent Carter shown to be in the back of the room slightly hidden behind one of the men's shoulders. There is then another follow shot, as Carter and a coworker talk, another example of diegetic sound. The scene finally ends with Carter getting a call, an extended shot used to capture her emotions as she responds to the call. 

The next scene begins with Lowkey lighting, showing Agent Carter approaching her destination in a very dignified manner. An L-Cut is used to switch between some unknown men talking in what appears to be a shop, and the sound of shoes tapping against the street as Agent Carter approaches. Two men approach Agent Carter, followed by conversation (a great example of diegetic sound) and also many alternating over the shoulder shots. As Agent Carter begins to beat up the two men, there are sound effects added in order to make it appear as if the actor is really hitting the men, an example of both post-synchronization dubbing and synchronous sound. As the camera switches to a man inside, we are hardly able to hear Carter hitting the other two men outside, an example of a sound perspective. Deep space is also shown here, as the space between the man inside and the trio outside is emphasized by the difference in both lighting and sound. Finally, the excerpt closes with Carter holding a weapon to the man's head, along with the words "Drop it" as an example of offscreen sound.