Crime on Film (ENGL 222) MIDTERM EXAM

NOTE: DO NOT PRINT THIS EXAM OR MAKE ANY COPIES OF IT (PAPER COPIES OR 

COMPUTER COPIES). MAKE SURE TO SIGN YOUR HONOR STATEMENT (WHICH 

HEUSTON E-MAILED TO YOU) AND TURN IT IN ALONG WITH YOUR ANSWERS.

Crime on Film: ENGL 222                                   MIDTERM EXAM                                                                              Heuston          

(5 PTS. EACH):

(1) Which of the following elements is NOT part of a film’s mise en scene?

(a) Sound

(b) Staging of action

            (c) Physical setting and décor

            (d) Framing of materials 

            (e) Style or manner of photographing materials

(2) The two still photos below are examples of ____________________________. 

(a) crane shots

(b) point of view (POV) shots

            (c) crowd shots

            (d) lap dissolve shots

            (e) all of the above

(3) Significance of camera angles: High angle shots (camera looking down on a person) tend to make a person look __________________,

 whereas low angle shots (camera looking up at a person) tend to make a person look ______________________.

(a) heavy or massive; light or slender

(b) small or powerless; powerful or menacing

            (c) powerful or menacing; small or powerless

            (d) evil; good

            (e) None of the above

(4) During roughly what time period was the Motion Picture Production Code (a.k.a. the Hays Code) in effect?

(a) 1893-1943

(b) 1929-1942

            (c) 1930-1968

            (d) 1969-1989

            (e) None of the above

(5) Why do some people disagree with auteur theory?

(a) It’s French, and thus doesn’t apply to American films

(b) It’s American, and thus doesn’t apply to French films

            (c) It gives a film’s director all the credit and ignores other contributors

            (d) It gives a film’s director too little credit and overemphasizes other contributors

            (e) None of the above

(6) The  DOD/Zarqawi handout I sent you includes some very different versions of video clips that show former Al Qaeda in Iraq 

leader and eventual F-16 airstrike recipient Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.What do these clips demonstrate?

(a) Drone strikes

(b) How Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) can change the way film/video footage is perceived 

            (c) How editing can change the way film/video footage is perceived. 

            (d) How acting can change the way film/video footage is perceived. 

            (e) How mise en scene can change the way film/video footage is perceived.

(7)  According to Giannetti’s definition, which of the following would likely or generally be categorized as a personality star as 

opposed to an actor star?

(a) Jason Statham (the star of the Transporter and Crank action movies)

(b) Arnold Schwarzenegger

            (c) Will Ferrell

            (d) Vin Diesel

            (e) All of the above

(8) During the so-called Golden Age of the star system (a.k.a. the age of the Hollywood studio system)

(a) The Hays Code was in effect

(b) Five major studios dominated the film industry worldwide

            (c) Exclusive contracts meant that studios essentially owned their stars

            (d) Four hundred or more reporters and columnists covered the Hollywood beat

            (e) All of the above

(9) The two still photos below are examples of ____________________________. 

(a) Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) shots

(b) close-up shots

            (c) low-angle shots

            (d) matte shots/matte paintings

            (e) None of the above

(10) Panning shots are 

(a) camera movements that scan a scene horizontally

(b) camera movements that scan a scene vertically

            (c) camera movements that bring the camera closer to a scene

            (d) camera shots from a crane

            (e) None of the above

(11)  A movement of the camera away from the central attraction (usually a speaker) to show an onlooker or listener is called

(a) a tracking shot

(b) a reaction shot

            (c) a crane shot

            (d) a smash cut

            (e) a dissolve

(12) Which of the following does NOT actually happen in Vertigo?

(a) John "Scottie" Ferguson solves the murder of Madeleine Elster.

(b) John "Scottie" Ferguson prevents the murder of Madeleine Elster.

            (c) John "Scottie" Ferguson falls in love with the same woman twice (sort of).

            (d) The same woman falls in love with John "Scottie" Ferguson twice (sort of).

            (e) None of the above

(13) _______________  is an example of a film in which the director repeatedly attempts to dazzle the audience with unusual 

or imaginative shots, whereas _______________ is much less flashy and uses such shots only rarely.

(a) The Maltese Falcon; The Night of the Hunter

(b) The Maltese Falcon; Mystic River 

            (c) Mystic River; Point Blank (À bout portant) 

            (d) The Night of the Hunter; Mystic River

            (e) All of the above

(14) Which of the following is NOT true of Mystic River?

(a) Dave Boyle (played by Tim Robbins) actually kills someone.

(b) Dave Boyle actually kills Katie Markum (the teenage girl).

            (c) Jimmy Markum (played by Sean Penn) feels that he's somehow responsible for his daughter's death, 

                though he doesn't know how/why.

            (d) Jimmy Markum kills the wrong person by mistake. 

            (e) None of the above

(15) When can the balance between realism and formalism shift?

(a) From soundtrack to soundtrack

(b) From actor to actor

            (c) From shot to shot

            (d) Never

(16) The term _____________________ refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the number of people present, the 

less likely people are to help a person in distress. When an emergency situation occurs, observers are more likely to take 

action if there are few or no other witnesses.

(a) "cross-cutting"

(b) "Bystander Effect"

(c) "reaction shot"

            (d) "Method acting"

(17) ____________ is an intermediate style between extremes of realism and formalism

(a) Documentary

(b) Chronology

            (c) Cinéma vérité

            (d) Classicism

(18) The two still photos below are examples of ____________________________. 

(a) formalistic photography

(b) kinesthetic photography

            (c) high-angle shots

            (d) lap dissolves

            (e) flashbacks

(19) Which of the following is true of The Maltese Falcon?

(a) The film is regarded as a classic example of film noir.

(b) The Hays Code (the Motion Picture Production Code) influenced the ending.

            (c) Nobody finds the real Maltese Falcon during the film.

            (d) The film includes a femme fatale character. 

            (e)  All of the above

(20) The two still photos below are examples of ________________________. 

(a) extreme long shots

(b) the Hays Code 

(c) chiaroscuro

            (d) All of the above

            (e) None of the above

NOTE: DO NOT PRINT THIS EXAM OR MAKE ANY COPIES OF IT (PAPER COPIES OR 

COMPUTER COPIES). MAKE SURE TO SIGN YOUR HONOR STATEMENT (WHICH 

HEUSTON E-MAILED TO YOU) AND TURN IT IN ALONG WITH YOUR ANSWERS.