Q&A Hero

Q: Which of the following is not a category Academy voters make Oscar nominations for and then vote on to determine the winner? a. Best Casting d. Best Sound Editing. b. Best Live-Action Short Film e. Best Sound Mixing c. Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Q: As a historian studying the first twenty years of the U.S. film industry, what is the main business trend you notice? a. geographical dispersal of studios b. growth in size of production companies from individual-owned to corporate c. rise in West Coast financial investment d. instability among production units e. decline in the role of producers

Q: Which of the following best summarizes the arrangement of financing in Hollywood today? a. It is strictly aligned to money invested by a studio. b. It is strictly aligned to money invested by venture capitalists. c. It is largely unchanged since the golden age studio system. d. Only one person can claim on-screen credit for serving as line producer. e. It can combine funding from a producer and external business interests.

Q: The ratio between above-the-line costs and below-the-line costs in todays film budgets is generally a. 30:70. d. 60:40. b. 40:60. e. 70:30. c. 50:50.

Q: You are invited to a preview screening for an upcoming film. Which of these might you be asked to do? a. Fill out a questionnaire. b. Discuss promotional strategies with the marketing team. c. Laugh at particular points in the film. d. Meet with the actors. e. Supply your name for an on-screen credit.

Q: You are a producer previewing your film. Based on the responses of your focus group, you may a. decide to make changes to the final cut. b. reduce the budget of your film. c. fire your director. d. reshoot the entire film with a new cast. e. rewrite the script of the film.

Q: All of the following contributed to the decline of the studio system EXCEPT a. World War II restrictions. b. the rise of television. c. an economic recession in the United States. d. decentralized management structure. e. federal government intervention.

Q: The following statement best describes the central producer by the mid-1930s: a. a delegator with complete financial control. b. a delegator with no financial control. c. a figurehead with no authority. d. a micromanager with complete financial control. e. a micromanager with no financial control.

Q: Which of the following is true of the package-unit system? a. It was an organizational structure that typically included several managers and individual unit production supervisors. b. It was typically embraced by independent producers. c. It emerged in the 1950s. d. It resulted in movies with a predictable technical quality and studio look. e. It was only used by Warner Bros. and Columbia.

Q: Which of the following best describes the package-unit system? a. a modern invention that found favor in the 1990s b. a model that studios used to resist independent filmmakers c. a way of concealing the true costs of a production from East Coast financiers d. a system pioneered by Irving Thalberg that propelled MGM to success e. a personalized approach to film production that departed from the studio systems model

Q: You are a studio mogul prior to 1931. Which of these is NOT a reason to resist unionization? a. Unions attempted to dislodge moguls. b. Unions sought to break long-term contracts. c. Unions tried to raise workers pay. d. Unions threatened strikes. e. Unions tried to gain more on-screen credit and recognition for studio workers.

Q: You are preparing your final print, making decisions about marketing, and exhibiting your film. You are engaged in the process of a. production. d. casting. b. postproduction. e. directing. c. preproduction.

Q: Which of the following best describes the goals of the Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC)? a. promoting Hollywood abroad b. seeking control of the motion picture industry by removing competitors c. lobbying the government for freedom of speech d. experimenting with new technologies e. undermining monopolistic practices in the United States

Q: Prior to 1931, typical Hollywood studios modeled this organizational structure a. the producer-unit system. b. the package-unit system. c. the central producer system. d. a hybrid structure that favored independent producers. e. There was no formal studio structure at this time.

Q: The producer-unit system typically included which of the following titles? a. general manager d. sound designer b. cinematographer e. actor c. editor

Q: Under the producer-unit system at MGM, a general manager would a. liaise with subordinate managers to control the production process. b. be on-set every day to supervise the shoot. c. coordinate business practices with other studios. d. inspect film stock to maintain print quality. e. report daily to the executive manager.

Q: By the mid-1930s, the five major studios were a. Paramount, MGM, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, and RKO b. Paramount, MGM, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, and Universal Studios c. Paramount, MGM, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, and Columbia Pictures d. Paramount, MGM, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, and United Artists e. Paramount, MGM, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, and Republic Pictures

Q: A vertically integrated studio controls a. production, distribution, and exhibition. b. only production and distribution. c. only production and exhibition. d. only distribution and exhibition. e. only production.

Q: Which of the following best describes MGM? a. It was a poverty row enterprise. b. It is no longer in existence today. c. Irving Thalberg was a senior executive there. d. It was the largest of the majors. e. Its backlot was so small that it had to lease soundstages from other studios.

Q: Which of the following statements is true about United Artists? a. Charles Chaplin was one of the founders. b. Daryl F. Zanuck ran production from 1933 until 1956. c. It was a major studio. d. It was established to give artists less control over how their movies were distributed and marketed. e. It was part of MGM.

Q: Which of the following is a poverty row studio? a. United Artists d. Republic Pictures b. Universal Studios e. David O. Selznick Productions c. Lionsgate Films

Q: During the production phase, the principal activities of a director generally include which of the following? a. color grading d. sound editing b. reviewing rushes e. arranging financing c. developing a marketing strategy

Q: As a director in the process of production, your job might generally include which of the following? a. scouting locations b. adding the musical score c. breaking down the shooting script into manageable sections for each day of shooting d. scheduling studio space e. raising money to pay your employees

Q: Which of the following production scenarios likely would require the smallest crew? a. an exterior location scene involving multiple camera and lighting setups b. an exterior location scene involving a busy city street during the day c. an exterior location scene involving the creation of artificial snow d. an exterior location scene involving two actors and one setup e. an exterior location scene involving many extras and animals

Q: The size of the crew ultimately depends on a. how experienced the cinematographer is. b. whether the film is on schedule. c. union regulations. d. the directors preference. e. the needs of the shot.

Q: The three phases of postproduction include a. editing, preparing the final print, bringing the film to the public. b. editing, preparing the final print, repaying investors. c. editing, bringing the film to the public, repaying investors. d. editing, repaying investors, determining ticket prices. e. bringing the film to the public, repaying investors, determining ticket prices.

Q: The roots of the studio system in the first decade of the twentieth century can be traced to the pioneering work of which of the following people? a. D. W. Griffith d. Josef von Sternberg b. Edmund Goulding e. Carl Laemmle c. Thomas Edison

Q: Very slow film stock a. is also known as reversal film stock. b. produces a grainy image. c. cannot shoot in color. d. requires little light. e. requires a lot of light.

Q: In traditional film production, the cinematographer controls the photographic image in which of the following ways? a. sound design d. actors performances b. choice of film stock e. mise-en-scne c. slow-motion

Q: Which of the following is the key difference between digital and analog filmmaking? a. Digital filmmaking does not require preproduction. b. Digital filmmaking shoots eighteen, rather than twenty-four, frames per second. c. Digital filmmaking uses a sensor to record images. d. Digital filmmaking uses different size gauges to determine resolution of the image. e. Digital cameras do not have a lens or aperture.

Q: When a director consults with her cinematographer, it is primarily to a. ask for advice about directing the actors. b. inquire whether cost considerations prohibit potential setups. c. check whether the contents of the script are being respected. d. consider whether continuity is being enforced. e. discuss how practical considerations will configure the aesthetic of the eventual image.

Q: Which of the following statements are correct about digital technology? a. Digital technology is more costly for distributors and exhibitors than film technology. b. Digital technology is less versatile than film technology. c. Digital technology uses more light than film technology. d. Digital technology requires more laboratory processing than film technology. e. Digital technology is cheaper to work with than film technology.

Q: The preproduction phase is often associated with which of the following? a. blocking and lighting rehearsals d. reviewing the dailies b. shooting footage e. rewriting a script c. marketing the film

Q: You are obtaining the rights to a script, securing financing for a film, and hiring a cast and crew for a production. This is part of the process of a. postproduction. d. distribution. b. production. e. exhibition. c. preproduction.

Q: What are the key stylistic characteristics of the highly influential yet short-lived Italian neorealism film movement?

Q: Why is Breathless (1960) by Jean-Luc Godard considered a definitive catalog of the French New Wave movement that reinforces auteur theory?

Q: Although new wave movements of the postwar era embraced freedom of expression by breaking from cinematic conventions, why does the Danish Dogme 95 movement seem more restrictive than other movements of the period?

Q: What was the intended purpose of the Oberhausen Manifesto, and how did it ultimately contribute to the rebirth of German cinema?

Q: In what ways does Akira Kurosawas Ran (1985) reflect Japanese culture, tradition, and attitudes?

Q: With the exception of Satyajit Ray and a few others, many of Indias filmmakers remain virtually unknown in the United States. What is it about Ray and his work that brings international recognition and sets it apart from the works of lesser-known Indian filmmakers?

Q: Explain the factors and changes that transformed Hollywood in the postwar period and brought about the New American Cinema.

Q: As a filmmaker, if you make a film using an analog medium, this means that a. the image is composed of pixels. b. the image is composed of digits. c. the image is a virtual representation. d. the image is legible to the naked eye. e. the image is not legible to the naked eye.

Q: In addition to movies, what other artifacts might film historians use in their research?

Q: What is the largest format of film stock? a. 8mm d. Super 8mm b. 35mm e. 70mm c. IMAX

Q: Explain the similarities and differences between aesthetic and economic approaches to studying film history?

Q: Describe the basic components of Thomas Edisons Black Maria, considered the first motion picture studio.

Q: Citing the works of Thomas Edison, William Laurie Dickson, and others, explain how historic milestones such as the invention of movies are seldom the result of a single inventor or development.

Q: How did D. W. Griffiths The Birth of a Nation (1915) influence the evolution of the feature film and help develop classical Hollywood cinema?

Q: What key factors led to the demise of the German expressionistic film movement?

Q: Explain what Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein meant by montage of attractions and how this approach differed from the classical Hollywood style.

Q: Why did most films produced during Hollywoods golden age lack the cinematic innovations that swept Europe?

Q: Which Italian neorealist film directly inspired Satyajit Ray to make the Apu Trilogy, a series of films that chronicles the everyday life of an Indian family? a. Umberto (1952) d. Rome, Open City (1945) b. The Bicycle Thieves (1948) e. Shoeshine (1946) c. Ossessione (1943)

Q: Although Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, and Satyajit Ray are all Bengalese filmmakers with international success, what distinguishes Ghataks and Sens films from Rays? a. Their works are not considered part of the new Indian cinema. b. Their films focus on the individual over the political. c. Their films reflect their political views. d. Their films avoid socially provocative subjects. e. Their films were not accepted by Western audiences.

Q: A pre-sound era consisting of experiments with cinematic technique and subject matter, followed by a golden age of popular filmmaking that lapses into the state-funded production of sociopolitical film is a historical pattern largely applicable to what cinema region? a. Latin America d. Germany and Austria b. Middle East and North Africa e. China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan c. United States and Canada

Q: How did independent movie producers of the 1960s, looking to hire film artists, benefit from the collapse of the studio system? a. They were able to hire artists from anywhere in the world. b. Artists salaries were more affordable. c. Competition from television created a labor surplus. d. Audiences shied away from studio pictures. e. Independent financing became less complex.

Q: Many of the new wave movements pursued by postwar European filmmakers stressed a. continuity in editing. d. psychological truth. b. Hollywood filmmaking styles. e. complex political ideology. c. social realism.

Q: What effect did the reception of Jim Jarmuschs Stranger Than Paradise (1984) have on independent film production? a. It made it more difficult for independent films to find audiences. b. It diverted financing from studio pictures. c. It ushered in an era of minimalist films. d. It revitalized the foreign film market in the united states. e. It encouraged independent film production.

Q: Inspired by the Free Cinema movement, ________ was the first major British film to explore homosexuality in contemporary English society. a. Victim (1961) d. The Servant (1963) b. Room at the Top (1959) e. Kes (1969) c. We Are the Lambeth Boys (1958)

Q: The framing, lighting, and experimental use of color utilized by emerging cinematographers of the New American Cinema were drawn from ________ filmmaking techniques. a. classic Hollywood d. European b. naturalistic e. Soviet c. French New Wave

Q: Free Cinema, Dogme 95, Das neue Kino, and other new wave movements sought to break from cinematic conventions, revitalize filmmaking, and a. increase profits. b. reduce the influence of the director. c. nationalize filmmaking. d. explore cinema as a subject in itself. e. shock audiences.

Q: Which movie is considered the masterpiece of the Italian neorealism movement? a. Luchino Viscontis Ossessione (1943) b. Roberto Rossellinis Rome, Open City (1945) c. Vittorio De Sicas Shoeshine (1946) d. Vittorio De Sicas The Bicycle Thieves (1948) e. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes LEnfant (2005)

Q: Which of the following was NOT a requirement for Danish filmmakers who agreed to The Vow of Chastity ? a. All shooting must take place on location. b. No use of flashbacks is allowed. c. Plots must never revolve around murder. d. The camera must remain stationary. e. The film must be shot on Academy 35mm color film stock.

Q: Which Japanese film features four different points of view and is credited with the birth of Japans golden age of cinema? a. The Life of Oharu (1952) d. Ikuru (1952) b. Seven Samurai (1954) e. Late Spring (1954) c. Rashomon (1950)

Q: Prior to 1990, East German film production remained under the control of a. West Germany. d. France. b. the Soviet Union. e. Great Britain. c. Hollywood studios.

Q: The founders of the Das neue Kino movement believed that revitalization of the German cinema required recognizing both the divisive effects of Germanys Nazi past and a. German nationalism. b. French avant-garde cinema. c. the importance of East German filmmakers. d. commercial exploitation. e. postwar Germany as a divided country.

Q: Films of Japans Nuberu Bagu movement include what two notable characteristics? a. romance and murder b. humor and self-reflection c. brutality and nihilism d. violence and comedy e. nationalism and black and white imagery

Q: Following the death of Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong in 1976, films of the Peoples Republic of China have a. adhered more closely to communist ideology. b. taken on traditionally taboo subjects. c. directly challenged authority. d. featured action-driven plots with an emphasis on martial arts. e. focused less on individuals and more on the community.

Q: The formal characteristics of wuxia and kung fu styles of Hong Kong filmmaking include spectacular studio settings and a. disjointed editing techniques. d. desaturated color palette. b. foreign-born actors. e. static imagery. c. naturalistic lighting.

Q: Hong Kong director John Woos carefully choreographed scenes of violent action were inspired by the violent films of a. Orson Welles. d. Jean-Luc Godard. b. John Ford and Howard Hawks. e. Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah. c. the Wachowskis.

Q: Which Taiwanese director has had success in both his native country and Hollywood? a. Hsaio-hsien Hou d. Ang Lee b. Edward Yang e. Stan Lai c. Tsai Ming-liang

Q: If a socially provocative film produced in Chennai, India, is successful with audiences in southern India, why might it never find success with Mumbai audiences in the north? a. The Indian distribution system is too restrictive. b. Mumbai audiences are not interested in Indian cinema. c. Mumbai audiences speak a different dialect and prefer Bollywood-produced musicals. d. Regional censorship boards may ban it. e. The storylines may be too complex for Mumbai audiences.

Q: What element of filmmaking does Truffauts adoration of such directors as Jean Renoir, Alfred Hitchcock, and Orson Welles seem to negate? a. dialogue d. mise-en-scne b. collaboration e. acting c. lighting

Q: French New Wave filmmaker Claude Chabrol studied the films of what Hollywood director to learn the effect of suspense? a. Alfred Hitchcock d. Fritz Lang b. Orson Welles e. John Ford c. Howard Hawks

Q: Why do Jean-Luc Godards French New Wave films from the early 1960s still look modern to todays audiences? a. He used advanced motion picture cameras. b. French New Wave techniques are still used by contemporary filmmakers. c. Many of the films subjects remain topical. d. He used highly sensitive color film stock. e. Actors were trained in a naturalistic style.

Q: Filmmaking that seeks to express the identity of the filmmakers country is called a ________ cinema. a. new wave d. cultural b. political e. national c. patriotic

Q: The Jazz Singer (1927) is historically significant because it featured several scenes with a. slow motion. d. a musical score. b. montage. e. color. c. synchronous dialogue.

Q: Why would the original release of Baby Face (1933) have run into problems with the Breen Office had it been released after July 1, 1934? a. It featured scenes of excessive violence. b. its negative depiction of religion c. The female protagonist was a stereotype. d. It featured nudity. e. the overt sexual behavior of its female protagonist

Q: In 1934, Joseph Breen became the head of the ________, which was created in 1934 by the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) to self-regulate movie content. a. Hays Office b. Production Code Administration c. New York State Censorship Board d. Motion Picture Association of America e. Studio Censorship Bureau

Q: Which first-time filmmaker created a masterpiece that broke many of the cinematic conventions of Hollywoods golden age? a. Victor Fleming d. Orson Welles b. Alfred E. Green e. Bryan Foy c. Alan Crosland

Q: Cinematographer Gregg Toland achieved a high degree of cinematic realism in Citizen Kane (1941) through the use of lighting, deep-space composition, and a. framing. d. location-shooting. b. editing. e. soft focus. c. deep-focus cinematography.