Film viewing practice essay "agent carter"

 The Short 2013 film “Agent Carter” directed by Louis D 'Esposito captures and exemplifies tons of different film elements. In the opening scene you can hear Peggy's voice as the marvel intro rolls, not even 20 seconds in and the film is using a sound bridge or the process when sound carries over a visual transition in a film: this goes to show how great of a director Louis d ’Esposito is. The first use of a camera shot and angle is in the flashback between Peggy and Steve Rodgers (captain America) when they are cutting between scenes the camera has a closeup on each of their faces which helps to capture the emotions and facial expressions by forcing the audience to view their faces. Surprisingly in this same scene the editing processes of crosscutting and simultaneity occur in the constant cuts during the conversation between the two. Right before the flashback ends you get a behind the back shot of captain America sitting in his pilot seat heading straight down towards the ground, this shot shows the setting but does not show what he is feeling in these supposedly last moments. On the other line Peggy hears silence/radio static then a fade to black.

The next scene opens up with an establishing shot of a city with the writing “one year later” to set up the scene and provide detail to what is now happening. In the back sad but hopeful music plays helping to inflict emotion in the audience. This use of music is an example of a non-diegetic sound or any sound that the characters on screen can not hear but the audience can. The scene changes to a lowkey lit office filled with men and Peggy  with an alarm blaring showing something important is going to happen. The boss gets a call that  two agents are needed to be sent to go after a man called the zodiac and the music changes to something faster paced making the scene much more dramatic and intense. After Peggy is not picked to go on the mission her boss comes and talks to her and in this confrontation there is a heavy use of over the shoulder shots and eye level shots to make you feel like you are the person who is listening in their place. The eye level shots also help to show details into the faces of the characters demonstrating their personalities.

After all the men have left, Peggy sits at her desk and the boss receives a call that agents need to be sent out to go catch the zodiac. The scene then skips to Peggy heading towards the location walking right up to the establishment. In this walk the mise-en-scene use of costume is exemplified demonstrating the time period by showing the men wearing clothing from a period like the 50’s  , this helps to make the film more accurate and more believable. As the men approach Peggy the setting is dark and is lowkey lit, helping to emphasize the mise-en-scene and make the scene that much more suspenseful. Peggy beats up the men and there is one left he goes for his gun and looks up and she is gone , the whole time an old timey song is playing in the back. This is an example of a diegetic sound because the characters on screen can hear it. She gets the man at gunpoint and says drop it.

The final scene is a great example of staging and acting. The henchmen do a great job in looking scared and nervous and Peggy does an even better job at selling that she is a highly trained/ skilled agent. To sum it up the use of camera angles , sound and mise-en-scene really help to bring this film to life making it believe and very entertaining to watch.

Film elements graphic organizer

 

MISE-EN-SCENE

I decided to comment on the mise-en-scene of the 2007 film  "There will be blood" directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. This film is know to be one of the best movies to demonstrate mise-en-scene and said that the mise-en-scene is what pushes the story. I chose this film because of the high reviews that it has received and the perfect executions of mise-en-scene. Personally my favorite part and arguably the best part of the whole film is the acting and performances of the main characters.

The film starts off in a mining tunnel showing the main character doing different things in the dark tunnel. This gives off an example of lowkey lighting which is used throughout the film. Lowkey lighting is when the fill light is at a very low level, causing the frame to be cast with large shadows.  This creates a dark and gloomy feeling making it seem as if you too are going in the dark in a  scary tunnel it also helps to direct the main focus on the main character or an object that brighter.

This movie is supposed to take  place during the late 19th century and the early 20th century but was made in 2007 so it stresses the importance of  the mise-en-scene of costume. Costume is important because it can demonstrate a  character’s personality, status, and to signify these differences between characters. Costume is an important part of displaying the era in which the film is set showing typical outfits wore in that period and helps to make the movie seem more accurate and sets the theme. The movie "there will be blood" does an amazing job at conveying the right outfits to be worn in that time period showing what people would wear in all walks of life ranging from what kids would wear , women , poor workers, rich men, and even young ladies . The nice outfits the main character wears shows his power , wealth , and status in the industry and time period playing an important part in portraying who he really is.

Being in the empty and almost untouched California wilderness drilling for oil much of the scenes demonstrate deep space or when there are important components in the frame located both close to and far from the camera. This creates a wide feeling and shows how big something can be for example when they are showing the off the new drilling station they built demonstrating how massive it is and how small/far they are from it. This deep space also intertwines with the setting/staging showing how things compare for example the oil rig being bigger than the church showing what is more important to the owner... the oil.

5 Master edits with sound effects

1) Offscreen sound: This clip perfectly demonstrates an offscreen sound because the sound is assumed to be in the space of a scene yet remains offscreen while the action takes place simultaneously. A peaceful song is playing while Michael is sleeping but really takes place offscreen and for me circus music is playing assumed to be happening in the scene. This makes the scene more interesting and captures the viewers attention

2) Postsynchronization dubbing: The second example of a sound effect being used is Postsynchronization dubbing which is the process of adding sound to a scene after it is filmed.  This demonstrates it because I added the sound of a fast car to the 2 clips after it was recorded and edited. This effect makes the scene funnier and compares the 2 things to a fast car.

3) Music: This scene includes music which is almost church like demonstrating the holiness and importance of toilet paper. Music really enhances the emotions inflicted in the scene making it much better than compared to something without music.

4) Sound Bridge: A sound bridge is a type of sound editing that occurs when sound carries over a visual transition in a film. The following scene is an example of a sound bridge because the same creepy music continues to play throughout the two scenes almost flowing and carrying over. The sound bridge helps to keep the eerie vibe from the music going throughout the whole scene making it much more creepy.

5) Non-diegetic sound: In this scene Michael keeps wanting to do bad things but remembers me telling him not too and stops. This scene shows how a non-diegetic sound is used because it is sound that the characters onscreen cannot hear but the audience can. The non-diegetic sound helps the viewers laugh and realize what is  going on.