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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Mamet says you should always do things in what way, in order to make the best movie?
(a) The most interesting way.
(b) The most frugal way.
(c) The least interesting way.
(d) The most artistic way.

2. The smallest unit is the shot; the largest unit is what?
(a) The beat.
(b) The film.
(c) The ending.
(d) The scene.

3. According to Mamet in Chapter 3, "You tax the audience every time you don't move on to _______ of the progression as quickly as possible."
(a) The next essential step.
(b) The MacGuffin.
(c) The action.
(d) The essential truth.

4. Whose method relies on a succession of images juxtaposed so that the contrast moves the story forward?
(a) Eisenstein.
(b) Capra.
(c) Einstein.
(d) Morrison.

5. Who directed the film Places in the Heart?
(a) Alfred Hitchcock.
(b) Werner Herzog.
(c) Frank Capra.
(d) Robert Benton.

Short Answer Questions

1. Counterculture architecture was based on designing buildings based on what?

2. Anytime anyone does what, "that's a counterforce"?

3. What logical construct did Mamet use to explain the system of film-making in Chapter 3?

4. What are after-the-fact attempts to shore up that which was not correctly designed in a film?

5. According to Mamet, when the film is correctly ____, the subconscious and the conscious are in alignment.

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Mamet's rule of thumb for cutting extraneous material from a film?

2. What is the backdrop of On Directing Film? From what setting did the author base the text?

3. What are the different approaches Mamet discussed as methods of storytelling in film, in Chapter 1?

4. Describe the "School of Countercultural Architecture."

5. What did Mamet write regarding dreams and film in Chapter 1?

6. What does Mamet say regarding the juxtaposition of uninflected images in Chapter 3?

7. How was the hypothetical film shot in Chapter 2?

8. How did Mamet describe Eisenstein's theory of montage?

9. What did Mamet write in the Preface regarding the blind author who decided to become a screenwriter?

10. What scenario did Mamet put forth to the class in Chapter 2? How did Mamet relate the suggested opening shot of this scenario to television?

(see the answer keys)

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