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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. What is the first way suggested by students in the class for shooting a scene of a bunch of people coming to class?

2. The purpose of technique is to free the what?

3. In ADR, what does D stand for?

4. According to Mamet, film schools are basically what?

5. According to Mamet in Chapter 3, "In addition to what you will or not learn about the medium through your desire to understand it, that desire itself will be ______."

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What did Mamet think of the steadicam?

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. What did Mamet write in Chapter 1 regarding character description and narration?

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

Compare the films of Frank Capra and Werner Herzog. How do these directors differ in their approach and storytelling? With whom do Mamet's theories most relate?

Essay Topic 3

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

(see the answer keys)

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