Week 3 - Agent Carter

Agent Carter (Marvel One-Shots, 2013, dir. Louis D’Esposito)
Clip duration: 5:09
Start point: 00:00
End Point: 05:09

The following is an analysis of a clip from Agent Carter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It chronicles Strategic Scientific Reserve agent Peggy Carter as she fights off atomic-level threats that have emerged after or as a consequence of World War II.
The shot opens with a close shot of Captain America in the cockpit of an aircraft of some sort, flying downward at a high velocity. There is an intense sound of the engine that adds more tension to the scene as the Captain continues to plummet. It is revealed that the landing will not be safe and that he is forced to crash-land. It cuts to a similar close shot of Carter in some kind of control room, listening to the Captain's final words of "Peggy...this is my choice," before he crashes into what can be assumed to be the ocean and presumably dies.
Time flashes forward to a year after that scene, and there is an establishing shot of New York City bathed in sunset light, with the caption "One Year Later." The camera transitions to another establishing shot, this time of an office bustling with suit-clad men. One of them receives a call and subsequently discloses the whereabouts of an enemy known as Zodiac who is apparently armed and extremely dangerous. The mise-en-scene is done exceptionally, with the office desks and their contents appearing cluttered to add to the mood of the office setting. The lighting is largely natural (i.e. through sunlight), and the camera work remains close through the scene. In the next scene, Carter is shown addressing her boss about why she hasn't been sent on her first mission even after three months. The boss, and a few other men, merely tell her to relax and then depart for drinks at Nelson's. Immediately after, she receives a call containing enemy coordinates and rushes to the scene in spite of her boss' orders.
The next scene is in an urban setting at night, where Carter meets two men that attempt to ward her from their building, presumably affiliated with the enemy. Carter proceeds to dispatch the men in unarmed combat, sending one of them through the window. The lighting here is very low-key and the mise-en-scene is done to create a feeling of 'the bad part of town.'