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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Mamet go to college?

2. In the scene generated for the class in Chapter 2, what did the protagonist want?

3. According to Mamet, storytellers need to be warned against falling into what?

4. The smallest unit is the shot; the largest unit is what?

5. Mamet cited Aristotle in saying there is no such thing as what?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How did the class progress in the details of their hypothetical film in Chapter 2?

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

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

5. Describe the objective and beats in the hypothetical film in Chapter 2.

6. Describe how film is like a design.

7. What did Mamet indicate is the point of view of the performance artist, in Chapter 3?

8. What did Mamet think of the steadicam?

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

10. How did Mamet illustrate juxtaposition of shots in documentary film in Chapter 1?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Mamet's opinion of actor training in the United States today. What level of training do film actors have versus stage actors?

Essay Topic 2

What authors did Mamet quote in the book with regard to cutting extraneous text in a screenplay? What theorists did he speak about in dramatic analysis?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the element of dialogue in film. What did Mamet suggest in directing scenes with dialogue? What should a director avoid in terms of dialogue?

(see the answer keys)

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