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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. Who did Mamet cite in saying that we needn't avoid things just because they're cliche?

2. What is the main shot of any given scene?

3. What craft did Mamet say he does sometimes in Chapter 3?

4. What was Hitchcock's phrase for the thing which the protagonist is chasing?

5. Mamet says in Chapter 1 that it is the __________ that makes the movie. What was he talking about?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How did Mamet describe film in terms of syllogism in Chapter 3?

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

4. What does Mamet say in terms of withholding information from the audience, in Chapter 2?

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

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

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

8. How did Mamet describe human nature in piecing together stories from film?

9. What did Mamet cite from the book, "The Uses of Enchantment" in Chapter 2?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who was William of Occam, and what was Occam's Razor? How does this apply to film and dramatic analysis?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss human psychology as it relates to the juxtaposition of uninflected images in film. How did Mamet describe neurosis in this analogy?

Essay Topic 3

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

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