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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. What term means a filmmaker, usually a director, who exercises creative control over his or her works and has a strong personal style?
(a) Collaborator.
(b) Auteur.
(c) Artiste.
(d) Creator.

2. In Chapter 2, Mamet says that it's impossible to make a character what?
(a) Relatable to everyone.
(b) Carry a scene.
(c) Interesting in general.
(d) Narrate a story.

3. Who wrote The Profession of the Stage?
(a) Georgi Tovstonogov.
(b) Andreas Tovstonogov.
(c) Michael Chekhov.
(d) Constantin Stanislavski.

4. Sometimes, Mamet says in Chapter 3, the piece (film) will do what?
(a) Work with you.
(b) Create roadblocks.
(c) Fight back against you.
(d) Create impediments.

5. According to Mamet, you always want to tell a story in what?
(a) Shots.
(b) Cuts.
(c) Character.
(d) Narration.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Mamet in Chapter 3, the only thing the dramatic form is good for is what?

2. The movie, more than what, is closer to simple storytelling?

3. According to Mamet, film directors should all aspire to be what?

4. What is the term Mamet used for the protagonist's ultimate goal in the scene in Chapter 2?

5. According to Mamet, what was his response to "lovely enthusiasts who will aver that the purpose of modern art is not to be liked"?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What did Mamet write about drama school and film school in Chapter 1?

3. What writers and filmmakers did Mamet refer to in the Preface and Chapter 1 regarding screenwriting and film direction?

4. Describe Mamet's discussion of understanding precipitation in architecture in Chapter 3.

5. How did Mamet relate the "School of Countercultural Architecture" to film directing?

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

7. How did Mamet explain the principle concern in choosing shots in Chapter 2?

8. What did Mamet write of producers in Chapter 2?

9. What is a "MacGuffin", and who coined this phrase?

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

(see the answer keys)

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