Chapter 2: Principles of Film Form
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Usually, each of the systems that becomes the “complex synthesis” of a movie is
a. largely haphazard and accidentally arranged.
b. highly organized and deliberately assembled.
c. strangely careless and shoddily produced.
d. awkwardly thought-out and hastily conceived.
e. perfectly streamlined and unsusceptible to error.
2. One system of film, mise-en-scène, involves
a. dialogue, music, ambience, and effects tracks.
b. cuts, montage, dissolves, and fade-in/fade-outs.
c. actors, actresses, characters, and narrators.
d. lighting, setting, props, costumes, and makeup.
e. camera movements and coordination.
3. Content is defined as________, and form is defined as ________.
a. the subject of an artwork; the means by which that subject is expressed and experienced
b. the means by which a subject is expressed and experienced; the subject of an artwork
c. the artwork itself; the subjects left out of an artwork
d. the subjects left out of an artwork; the artwork itself
e. the creator of an artwork; the artist’s creation
4. Which of the following would be considered a film’s use of form?
a. a highly complex psychological drama’s intertwining storylines
b. a character’s background story in a witty comedy
c. the use of dramatic lighting to convey a madman’s tortured psyche in a slasher film
d. the sound track of a movie sold as an individual recording album
e. the director’s publicity notes accompanying the release of his or her latest film
5. In the abortion clinic scene from Juno, the content is ________, while the form is ________.
a. the character Juno; Ellen Page, the actress who plays Juno
b. Juno in the waiting room; the entire film of Juno
c. Juno in the waiting room; decor, patterns, implied proximity, point of view, moving camera, and
sound
d. director Jason Reitman; Juno in the waiting room
e. decor, patterns, implied proximity, point of view, moving camera, and sound; Juno in the waiting
room
6. The formal differences and similarities among various works of art lead to questions about how
a. a single artist approaches a multitude of subjects.
b. all artists approach a multitude of subjects in the same way.
c. all artists should be critiqued according to fixed criteria.
d. form and content have little or nothing to do with one another.
e. the respective forms shape our emotional and intellectual responses to the subject matter.
7. Which of the following demonstrates how various forms shape our emotional and intellectual
responses to subject matter?
a. The same realist technique is applied to several different cinematic narratives.
b. The same director uses various styles throughout his or her career.
c. Different cinematic stories are filmed using the same company of actors.
d. Different scenes are shown to an audience by projector, television, and computer.
e. Different directors each employ their own, different styles to depict the same story and characters.
8. Rather than being separate entities that come together to produce art, form and content are instead
a. two individual elements that can never combine to produce art.
b. two conflicting elements that should always be analyzed distinctly from one another.
c. two interrelated aspects of the entire formal system of a work of art.
d. two different names for the same formal element.
e. two similar elements that perform different functions in different works of art.
9. In Hollywood, producers and screenwriters assume that audiences decide whether they like or dislike a
movie
a. before it even begins.
b. within its first 10 minutes.
c. before the third act.
d. when it ends.
e. once they have had time to reflect upon it afterward.
10. Once a narrative begins, expectations make viewers ask questions about
a. the director’s intentions. d. the critics’ reception.
b. the movie’s worth. e. the story’s outcome.
c. the narrative’s theme.
11. Screenwriters often organize a film’s narrative structure around the viewer’s
a. desire to learn the answers to important questions.
b. disinterest in learning the answers to important questions.
c. engagement with issues beyond the scope of the story.
d. familiarity with a wide range of references and allusions.
e. longing for instant gratification and/or catharsis.
12. Alfred Hitchcock’s term “MacGuffin” refers to
a. a character type repeatedly used throughout his films.
b. a type of viewer who can be easily manipulated through specific storytelling strategies.
c. an object, document, or secret that at first appears to the characters to be vitally important but that
turns out to be of no real importance to the overall narrative.
d. the overall narrative.
e. the first turning point of a film.
13. Why is the stolen $40,000 in Psycho considered a MacGuffin?
a. because it is of vital importance throughout the entire movie
b. because eventually it is of no real importance in the movie
c. because it is of vital importance to some but not all of the characters
d. because it is of vital importance to some but not all of the viewers
e. because in 1960 it was considered a lot of money
14. How do patterns operate in the chase scene in D. W. Griffith’s Way Down East?
a. The characters repeat the same set actions.
b. Parallel editing is used to make different lines of action appear to be occurring simultaneously.
c. Distinct lighting schemes are used to differentiate the various settings from one another.
d. The same song plays at particularly dramatic moments.
e. Shot durations remain the same throughout.
15. In what way does The Silence of the Lambs use patterns in the scene of an FBI team preparing to storm
a house?
a. A specific editing pattern used throughout the film is adhered to, thus confirming viewer
expectations.
b. A specific editing pattern used throughout the film is replaced with a new one, thus re-creating
viewer expectations.
c. A specific editing pattern used throughout the film is at first violated and then adhered to, thus
confusing viewer expectations.
d. A specific editing pattern used throughout the film is at first employed and then broken, thus
thwarting viewer expectations.
e. A specific editing pattern used throughout the film is satirized, thus mocking viewer expectations.
16. Which of the following demonstrates the way patterns can be broken for dramatic and expressive
purposes?
a. A succession of close-ups is followed by a wide-angle shot of a desolate landscape.
b. A conversation between two characters never wavers from a series of alternating over-the-shoulder
shots.
c. An action sequence consists entirely of a rapid burst of shots portraying one character running
after another.
d. A scene of a character receiving news of a loved one’s death is shown in a single static shot.
e. A montage of people building a house exclusively features shots of hands holding and working
with tools.
17. Why is light the essential ingredient in the creation and consumption of motion pictures?
a. Light allows color to be recorded and seen.
b. Light prevents film stock from decaying over time.
c. Movie images are made when a camera lens focuses light onto film stock and when movie theater
projectors transmit motion pictures as light.
d. Sound recordings are actually created via the manipulation of light.
e. It isn’t; since shadow play, photography, and other moving-image arts use light to create their
effects, film is far from unique in employing it.
18. How does lighting function in the scene between Tom, Casy, and Muley in The Grapes of Wrath?
a. It obscures the characters so that the viewer has just as difficult a time seeing them as they do
themselves.
b. It contrasts the dark background and Muley’s haunted face, which is illuminated by a flickering
candle, thus revealing the despairing state of mind of the characters.
c. It depicts with harsh lighting the ruin of the withered fields that led to the characters’ ruin.
d. It depicts with bright lighting the happy–go-lucky attitude of the characters during one of their
liveliest moments.
e. It throws eerie shadows on the wall, thus evoking an image of horror that is as scary to the
audience as to the characters on-screen.
19. The overly symbolic light of a single candle in The Grapes of Wrath reflects what collective state of
mind?
a. exuberance d. logic
b. despair e. strength
c. mystery
20. In terms of their role in movies, what is the difference between light and lighting?
a. Light is responsible for the image we see on the screen; lighting is responsible for significant
effects in each shot or scene.
b. Light is responsible for significant effects in each shot or scene; lighting is responsible for the
image we see on the screen.
c. Light is necessary for the production of movies; lighting is useful but not necessary for the
production of movies.
d. Light cannot be manipulated for the production of movies; lighting can be manipulated for the
production of movies.
e. Light can be manipulated for the production of movies; lighting cannot be manipulated for the
production of movies.
21. How is it that movies appear to be moving?
a. by projecting a quick succession of still photographs called frames
b. by projecting light on the screen so that it illuminates every other celluloid frame
c. by using rapid editing patterns
d. by means of two simultaneously working projectors
e. by a strobe effect that tricks the spectator’s eyes
22. What is the standard rate by which films are still shot and projected?
a. 12 frames per second d. 30 frames per second
b. 18 frames per second e. 36 frames per second
c. 24 frames per second
23. Which recent film trilogy has experimented with higher frame rates?
a. Star Wars d. The Matrix
b. The Hunger Games e. Batman
c. The Hobbit
24. How do movies use the elements of time and space?
a. Movies mainly manipulate time and only slightly manipulate space.
b. Movies only slightly manipulate time and mainly manipulate space.
c. Movies mainly manipulate time and do not manipulate space at all.
d. Movies mainly manipulate space and do not manipulate time at all.
e. Movies manipulate both space and time.
25. On the movie screen, how do space and time relate to one another?
a. Space and time are relative to each other.
b. Space and time have nothing to do with one another.
c. Space and time only occasionally play interrelated roles.
d. Space and time operate together but are perceived separately.
e. Space and time function individually in alternating sequences.
26. Which of the following does NOT demonstrate the movie principles of “dynamization of space”
and/or “spatialization of time”?
a. During a movie scene in which two characters meet at a bar, the action suddenly flashes forward to
their later rendezvous at an apartment.
b. During a movie scene, a close-up focuses the viewer’s attention on one character’s lips.
c. A live, theatrical drama is presented in which scenes play out on a single set meant to depict a city
police station.
d. A movie chase sequence is slowed down so that it looks like it is taking place underwater.
e. A movie scene is cut so that the viewer sees the characters interact with each other from multiple
angles.
27. Which of the following is a way in which movies can manipulate time?
a. presenting events in chronological sequence
b. presenting events from a single perspective
c. playing with shadow to imply character state of mind
d. slowing down action
e. magnifying a minute detail within a landscape
28. If a character in a movie scene were to drop out of the frame, a viewer would most likely interpret this
to mean that the character was
a. exiting a theatrical setting in which the action is taking place.
b. disappearing in physical existence.
c. leaving the story, never to return.
d. moving to another part of the established space.
e. dropping out of one shot in order to immediately reposition himself for another one.
29. Why would movies be largely incomprehensible if we didn’t automatically identify with the camera
lens?
a. because the startling movements of the camera through space would appear to have no connection
to the way we actually see
b. because we would think that everything happening on screen was being watched by a deity or an
invisible person
c. because the camera lens is infallible while the human eye is error-prone
d. because we would wonder exactly who or what was operating the camera
e. because we would otherwise identify with the characters
30. In film theory, what does the concept of “mediation” mean?
a. Film is a medium through which visual information is captured and represented.
b. Film is a significant tool by which the news media creates ideological material.
c. It refers to the bargaining process by which film companies and unions negotiate contracts.
d. It refers to the cinematic apparatus as a collective entity.
e. It refers to the process by which an agent, structure, or other formal element transfers something
from one place to another.
31. How is cinema’s ability to manipulate space effectively demonstrated in the cabin-on-the-edge-of-a-
cliff sequence in The Gold Rush?
a. Charlie Chaplin gracefully uses his body within the frame to convey a sense of both slapstick and
pathos.
b. Gliding camera movements evoke the feeling of the chaotic elements of nature surrounding the
cabin.
c. Suspense is created because individual shots have been edited together to create the illusion that
the cabin and the cliff’s edge form part of a complete space.
d. The use of montage makes it appear as if events taking place miles apart from each other are
occurring at the same time.
e. Special effects trick one into thinking that two characters who have never even met inhabit the
same space.
32. Directors Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund use crosscutting techniques in City of God in what
unique way?
a. split screen d. bullet time
b. freeze frame e. fast motion
c. verisimilitude
33. How does the baptism scene from The Godfather give the sense that different actions in locations are
occurring simultaneously?
a. by the continuity of particular actions, dialogue, and music
b. by the discontinuity of all the scene’s disparate elements
c. by the chaotic, uneven cutting of the scene’s separate shots
d. by the uncoordinated sound track and visual information
e. by the jarring, unsynchronized occurrences of sacred and profane acts
34. The climactic gunfight in The Killer demonstrates how cinema
a. fosters the suspension of disbelief.
b. condenses time within scenes.
c. complements visual action with sound and music cues.
d. extends time within scenes.
e. matches screen time with real time.
35. Which of the following is an example of cinematic manipulation of space?
a. the shooting of a scene with gauzy filters
b. an abrupt cut that moves the action of a movie forward thousands of years in the future
c. the clever editing of sequence to make it appear as if all shots were taken in the same room when
in reality they were not
d. dramatic, shadowy lighting
e. deliberately and painstakingly choreographed actors
36. Why do director John Woo and editor Kung Ming Fan alternate between elegant slow motion and
bursts of fast motion in capturing violent gun battles in The Killer?
a. to purposefully confuse the viewer
b. to draw attention to the artifice of filmmaking
c. to give their fight scenes a dizzying kinetic energy
d. to distract the audience into thinking something is happening that is not
e. to attempt to capture the extremely rapid movement of bullets projecting through space
37. Which of the following is an example of cinematic manipulation of time?
a. a rapid tracking shot through a confined alleyway
b. the extension of various shots so that a scene’s screen duration becomes longer than the purported
time of its events
c. the complex interweaving of several shots to provide multiple views of the same subject
d. an animated sequence within a live-action film
e. a film containing several long takes
38. What is a freeze-frame?
a. a static composition
b. a shot featuring no human subject
c. a still image shown on-screen for a period of time
d. a tableaux of actors arranged to depict a famous painting
e. a breaking of the fourth wall
39. Which of the following helped inspire the first motion pictures?
a. the realist impulse of the visual arts
b. the antirealist impulse of the visual arts.
c. the nonrealist impulse of the visual arts
d. the surrealist impulse of the visual arts
e. the corporeal impulse of the visual arts
40. The French filmmaker(s) who established the realistic direction of cinema was (were) ________, while
the French filmmaker(s) who established the antirealistic direction of cinema was (were) ________.
a. D. W. Griffith; Georges Méliès
b. Georges Méliès; the Lumière brothers
c. Georges Méliès; D. W. Griffith
d. Edwin S. Porter; Thomas Edison
e. the Lumière brothers; Georges Méliès
41. Antirealism is defined as an interest in or concern for
a. the actual or real, with a tendency to view or represent things as they really are.
b. the speculative and fantastic.
c. problems that cannot be solved.
d. naturalistic performances and dialogue.
e. abrasive or aggressive art.
42. What are expectations associated with realistic characters?
a. that they do things that conform to what we understand of real people
b. that they do things that are continuously heroic and brave
c. that they are always physically attractive and likeable
d. that they constantly surprise us with actions that have no basis in logic or reason
e. that they are always working-class people
43. Why can it be said that realism in movies is a kind of illusion?
a. because there is no such thing as reality
b. because realism ceased to exist as a viable artistic approach decades ago
c. because nothing captured on camera and projected on screen can technically be defined as “real”
d. because no matter how similar to our experience of the world it might appear, realism always
entails mediation
e. because the concept of realism has always remained the same throughout the history of the arts
44. Which of the following would be considered an antirealist element in the realist film Beasts of the
Southern Wild?
a. the loosely structured story of a young girl and her hotheaded father
b. shooting on location
c. giant horned beasts encased inside icebergs
d. the use of handheld cameras
e. the use of light-sensitive film stock
45. What is the definition of “verisimilitude”?
a. the appearance of being true or real
b. an unconvincing appearance of truth
c. the inaccurate portrayal of the world we live in
d. the accurate portrayal of the world we live in
e. exact duplication
46. Audiences’ expectations in regard to “reality”
a. always stay the same.
b. change across time and cultures.
c. change only when an epochal shift occurs in the fabric of society.
d. are usually dictated by box office performance.
e. are rarely taken into account by filmmakers.
47. How does The Shape of Water employ cinematic verisimilitude?
a. by only using for its fantastic premise real scientific methods and procedures
b. by basing the film on real historical events
c. by reveling in artifice and not choosing to make its special effects look seamless or spectacular
d. by making the motivations of the cleaning woman and water creature specimen entirely
implausible
e. by having the audience become emotionally invested in an interspecies romance between a
cleaning woman and a water creature specimen in a government research center
48. Which of the following is NOT an example of cinematic verisimilitude?
a. a horror movie that makes a scary monster into a completely believable screen presence
b. a sci-fi movie that makes a fantastic premise seem entirely plausible within the internal logic of its
own story
c. a romantic comedy in which the character’s actions conform to what people understand and expect
of human behavior
d. an action thriller that is gripping precisely because it could conceivably take place in real life
e. a bizarre, alienating film containing absurd and inconceivable events that prevent its audience
from becoming absorbed in any sort of fictional world
49. Films that succeed in seeming verisimilar across cultures and generations often
a. fail at the box office.
b. have to carefully consider what will be convincing as truth in the future.
c. need Hollywood resources in order to look plausibly realistic.
d. enjoy the sort of critical and popular success that prompts people to call them timeless.
e. have to be domestic dramas but never science fiction or other sorts of fantasy films.
50. What is meant by “cinematic language”?
a. the way cinema uses preexisting languages, such as the written word, to communicate meaning
b. the accepted systems, methods, or conventions by which the movies communicate with the viewer
c. the various ways characters speak on screen
d. the way critics and scholars discuss cinema
e. the way the general public discusses the cinema
51. Which of the following demonstrates how cinematic language becomes individuated and complex?
a. A movie combines a variety of elements such as lighting, sound, and acting into a single shot.
b. A movie uses individual elements so that they retain their conventional, generalized meaning.
c. A movie refuses to combine elements or even possess more than one shot.
d. A movie juxtaposes shots in particular contexts, creating scenes and sequences.
e. A movie only uses text to communicate meaning to the viewer.
52. The conventions of cinematic language represent a sort of ________ between the filmmaker and the
audience about the mediating element between them: the shot.
a. agreement d. verisimilitude
b. conflict e. realism
c. formalism
53. Why do cinematic conventions represent a certain agreement between the filmmaker and the audience?
a. because they represent a common, shared cinematic language that can be both used for familiar
purposes and reimagined for newer ones
b. because they represent an exclusive cinematic language that is only familiar to the filmmaker, and
thus ungraspable by his or her audience
c. because they represent a cinematic language familiar to the filmmaker that can then be
communicated to an audience that is ready to learn it
d. because they represent a cinematic language unfamiliar to the filmmaker, who works
unconsciously to reach an audience that can then translate his intentions into words
e. because they represent a cinematic language unfamiliar to both filmmaker and audience: the film
itself mediates between them
54. Which of the following demonstrates the way a filmmaker can employ both convention and
innovation?
a. by producing a shot-by-shot remake of a beloved classic
b. by producing a thoroughly original film without any historical precedent
c. by shooting a scene in a traditional style for unusual narrative purposes
d. by refusing to work with trained actors and technicians
e. by writing his or her own scripts as well as directing them
55. What accounted for Donnie Darko’s increased popularity on VHS and DVD after being a box office
dud in 2001?
a. repeated viewings of the film by audiences
b. the reassessment of the film by critics after they originally gave it negative reviews
c. the lead actor’s on-again, off-again trouble with the law
d. the director’s following film, which was a blockbuster success
e. the film’s running time, which was cut down to a more manageable length for VHS and DVD
56. Frank, the grotesque bunny figure in Donnie Darko, is an example of
a. realism.
b. antirealism.
c. the border between realism and antirealism.
d. the extreme margins of realism.
e. the extreme margins of antirealism.
57. Donnie Darko uses a simple ABABAB shot/reverse-shot pattern in one driving scene ultimately to
achieve what dramatic effect?
a. complacency d. shock
b. comedy e. grief
c. anger
58. The parallel action sequence that alternates between shots of a community talent show and the burning
down of a mansion in Donnie Darko compels viewers to perceive what meaningful connections in
these apparent contrasts?
a. elation with grief d. capitalism with socialism
b. conformity with rebellion e. rejection with sacrifice
c. pleasure with boredom
59. In the first high school scene in Donnie Darko, the relentlessly moving camera shifting between
“normal,” fast, and slow motion serves as a visual representation of which of the following concepts?
a. the fluid nature of time d. the inevitable nature of time
b. the predictable nature of time e. the realist nature of time
c. the rigid nature of time
60. In order for viewers to identify with Donnie Darko’s struggle to navigate the bizarre cosmic quest
thrust upon him, the filmmakers portray his normal world and mundane existence through
a. antirealism. d. idealism.
b. formalism. e. realism.
c. romanticism.
ESSAY
1. Explain how a movie scene might synthesize elements of mise-en–scène, sound, narrative, and editing
to intentionally construct and express meaning.
2. A satirical scene from a romantic comedy features its protagonist daydreaming of his love interest as
an angel floating through the air. A slow-motion shot of this woman captures her through a gauzy filter
with soft lighting as an overblown choral arrangement plays on the sound track. What is the content of
the scene, and what is the form used to express it? Why might such formal elements have been chosen
to express the content?
3. Why is it important to recognize the formal differences and similarities among works of art that
possess related or even the same content?
4. What is the danger in solely analyzing the content of movies?
5. How does Alfred Hitchcock’s concept of the MacGuffin play upon audience expectations?
6. How do patterns and expectations relate to one another?
7. How might a film’s lighting influence the audience to feel about a character? Offer an example from
the textbook and an example of your own.
8. Explain why it is when we watch a movie, although we are usually unaware of it, we are actually
watching a screen with nothing projected on it at all.
9. Explain, in brief, why it is that movies do not really move but only seem to be moving.
10. How are plays and movies different from each other in regard to the way they usually represent space?
11. Use an example of a specific cinematic technique to explain how the camera eye mediates between the
world and us.
12. What does mediation have to do with the way the camera captures and represents the outside world?
13. Compare Richard Linklater’s Boyhood with the baptism scene from The Godfather. Which manipulates
time for expressive effect, and which does so more for pragmatic storytelling purposes, and how?
14. Explain why a documentary-style drama about the lives of ordinary coal miners and a speculative
science fiction film about a future world in which cloning has become an everyday practice might both
fit into the category of realism.
15. Explain how the first high school scene in Donnie Darko manipulates time for thematic effect.