Deck 8: Summary: style as a formal system

Question 1

The 180-degree editing of The Maltese Falcon is typical of traditional form and thus would not be considered a salient technique used by the filmmaker.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

In 1941 the most startling transitional device used in films was

A) the shock cut.
B) the swish pan.
C) the sound bridge.
D) superimposition.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

What are the salient stylistic techniques used by Tati in his film Mon Oncle?

A) diegetic sound and visual puns
B) rapid montage and nondiegetic inserts
C) reliance on character performance and close-ups
D) nondiegetic sound and comedic dialogue

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The ending of Citizen Kane

A) does not reference the beginning of the film, which is a move away from traditional organizational form.
B) provides firm resolution to the mystery of Kane's character.
C) echoes the beginning of the film explicitly.
D) provides no real insights into Kane's character.

Question 5

If a character speaks, the viewer expects to hear diegetic sound that is faithful to the source.

Question 6

If a character begins to leave the frame in a scene, the viewer expects the camera to remain stationary.

Question 7

Independent films have less opportunity to make extreme stylistic choices.

Question 8

Noticing the use of parallelism in a film would come as what part of the process of analyzing a film?

A) determining the organizational structure
B) identifying the salient techniques used
C) tracing out patterns of techniques
D) proposing functions for the salient techniques and the patterns they form

Question 9

Tati's stylistic choices in Mon Oncle produce a thematic and narrative contrast that runs throughout the film.

Question 10

Parallelism, an important feature in many great films, is surprisingly absent from Citizen Kane.

Question 11

The nature of the lighting, setting, and music give the opening scene of Citizen Kane a feel most associated with

A) documentary films.
B) thrillers.
C) romance films.
D) mystery movies.

Question 12

In the dinner scene in Shadow of a Doubt in which Uncle Charlie praises small-town living, what purpose does the dialogue serve?

A) informational, mostly to orient the audience as to the current events in the town to which Little Charlie has moved
B) to strengthen the audience's and Little Charlie's suspicions that the uncle is a murderer
C) to strengthen the audience's suspicions that the uncle is a murderer while keeping Little Charlie in the dark
D) to confuse the audience as to the true motives of the principal characters, especially Little Charlie

Question 13

Welles makes the important newsreel sequence distinctive by using a number of techniques that do not appear anywhere else in Citizen Kane.

Question 14

A salient characteristic of Citizen Kane's style is the use of

A) crosscutting.
B) nondiegetic inserts.
C) nonactors.
D) dolly and crane shots.

Question 15

A filmmaker's creative choices can be constrained by technology, stylistic norms, or taste.

Question 16

Which of the following does NOT belong to this list of films and their salient techniques?

A) Grand Illusion: the long take
B) Citizen Kane: shooting in depth
C) October: mobile camera
D) Mon Oncle: comic sound manipulations

Question 17

Welles uses the shock cut to convey the passage of time during the "breakfast table" sequence between Kane and his first wife.

Question 18

Our Hospitality creates its gags by

A) isolating each element in a single shot and then linking the two elements by editing.
B) putting two elements in the same shot and letting us observe comic juxtaposition.
C) isolating each element in a single shot and then allowing the progression of shots to create comic structure.
D) following heavily physical actions by the characters with scenes of extreme stillness to create comic juxtaposition of opposite levels of movement.

Question 19

In Citizen Kane, Welles makes the narrator, Thompson, almost unidentifiable through the use of low-key lighting and staging choices.

Question 20

In Shadow of a Doubt, which of the following is done by the development and stylistic presentation of the story?

A) They make the audience identify with the murderer.
B) They put the audience close to Little Charlie.
C) They keep the audience confused as to the true motives of Uncle Charlie.
D) They take us chronologically through the defining moments of Little Charlie's adolescent life.

Question 21

What does it mean for style to function perceptually? What are some aspects of this quality? Give an example from Citizen Kane.

Question 22

In Citizen Kane, what functions does the newsreel sequence serve and what techniques does Welles use to set it apart?

Question 23

How does Welles use mise-en-scene in Citizen Kane to set up the contrast between the early, idealistic part of Kane's life and his later withdrawal from public life?

Question 24

What is the relation (if any), both visually and graphically, of the beginning and ending of Citizen Kane?

Question 25

In Citizen Kane, each narrator's version is presented as objective and omniscient narration.

Question 26

When analyzing a film, what qualifies as a salient technique? Give some examples from the chapter.

Question 27

What are some of the things that should be looked for when determining the organizational structure of a film?