This document provides guidance for writing a film critique. It outlines key elements to discuss such as narrative elements, acting, cinematography, directing style, and societal impact. It emphasizes analyzing these technical and artistic aspects of the film and using specific examples from the movie to support points. The document also provides formatting guidance for in-text and reference citations when discussing films.

1. Page 2 of 9
True and False Questions:
1. Over the years, the term “quality assurance” was associated
with measurement and inspection.
2. During the Middle Ages, the craftsperson was responsible for
producing the product but not responsible for quality.
3. The notion that “quality is free” has been associated with W.
Edward Deming.
4. Continuous improvement is a core principle of total quality.
5. Under the Deming philosophy, each department should
optimize its own individual performance.
6. Many aspects of the Deming and Juran philosophies are
similar.
7. Crosby argues that zero defects is a performance standard and
not a motivational program.
8. Total quality organizations use customer wants and needs to
drive strategy.
9. Policy deployment is a total quality-based approach to
executing a strategy.
10. Value-creation (core) processes exist in manufacturing firms
and not service firms.
11. A “balanced scorecard” represents measures and indicators

2. that focus on financial performance.
12. A “leading measure” predicts what will happen.
13. Most firms seek to adapt total quality philosophy because of
threats to the organization’s survival.
14. A corporate culture that supports change is a prerequisite
for successful TQ implementation.
15. Traditional management practices can be traced to Frederick
Taylor’s scientific management era.
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. A good balanced scorecard should contain
a. lagging measure only.
b. leading measures only.
c. both lagging and leading measures.
d. neither lagging nor leading measures.
2. Two U.S. consultants that worked with Japanese managers
during Japan’s efforts to improve quality in the 1950s were
a. Juran and Crosby.
b. Deming and Crosby.
c. Deming and Juran.
d. Juran and Crosby.
3. Which of the following is not considered a core principle of
total quality?
a. a focus on customers and stakeholders
b. a process focus involving continuous improvement and
learning
c. a goal of achieving the highest quality that is technologically
possible
d. company-wide participation and teamwork

3. 4. Which of the following is not an element of total quality
infrastructure?
a. Information management
b. Human resources management
c. Purchasing management
d. Process management
5. All of the following are core leadership skills except
a. empowerment.
b. vision.
c. intuition.
d. a through c are all core leadership skills
6. The leadership skill of _____ requires the ability to look at
one’s self and then identify relationships with employees and
within the organization:
a. vision
b. intuition
c. self-understanding
d. value congruence
7. Which type of process drives the creation of products and
services, is critical to customer satisfaction, and has a large
impact on the organization’s strategic goals?
a. value-creation process
b. support process
c. outsourced process
d. supplier process
8. Process management consists of
a. design, installation, and improvement.
b. design, control, and improvement.
c. design, control, and standardization.
d. analysis, control, and improvement.
9. Which of the following terms best describes kaizen?

4. a. concurrent engineering
b. continuous improvement
c. innovation
d. statistical process control
10. A company’s value system and its collection of guiding
principles is known as its
a. mission statement
b. corporate culture
c. strategic plan
d. vision statement
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Hints for the Final Film Critique:
Start from the beginning and re-watch the film if you have not
seen it recently.
o It is beneficial to watch the film more than once. This will
help you become more
familiar with the film and help you to better use the film as
examples of the
technical elements in your paper. Watching a film more than
once can also help
you to see some of the nuances that you may have missed in a
previous viewing

5. of the film.
Discuss narrative other elements of storytelling.
o Remember that every film is telling a story. How does the
screenwriter tell the
story? Consider whether or not a film is told in real time,
episodic in nature, or is
the narrative cut in pieces? Is the narrative chronological, also
called linear, or
non-linear? Does the film use literary elements such as
symbols, metaphors, or
irony in the telling of the story? Is the film meant to be an
allegory or a satire?
How does dialogue affect the story? Does plot or character
drive the film
forward? Is the story told in flashback? How does the use of
flashback affect the
film?
Discuss acting and character.
o How does acting style affect a character? Did any roles in the
film appear to be
miscast? Did the star persona distract from the character that an

6. actor was trying
to portray? Was the actor able to disappear into the role? Were
you, as the
audience, able to forget the actor who was portraying the
character and focus on
the individual character? How does the actor use dialogue to
reveal his/her
character? How does the screenwriter use dialogue to reveal the
motivations of a
character? Does how a character moves give you an impression
of the type of
character he/she is? How does the costume affect the way you
view a character?
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Discuss cinematography and visual style.
o Be sure to consider the techniques the filmmakers use to
establish a visual effect
for the audience. A filmmaker`s visual style choices are as
important to telling a

7. story and communicating emotion as any other aspect of the
film. What was it
that drew you to the film in the first place? How does the use
of color or lack of
color affect you as a viewer? Does color play a significant role
in the film? How
does the film make you feel when you see it? Does the camera
movement affect
the feeling of the film? For instance, what does rapid camera
movement depict?
How does the director use space to convey the setting? For
example, a narrow
focus can give the impression of tight spaces. Is there a
difference between
watching a film in widescreen or full screen? How is a scene
composed? On
what does the director want you to focus? What is prominent in
the foreground
and what is still visible in the background? A film is a series of
pictures kind of
like a moving photo album. Which pictures stand out in your
mind? Why? How
do special effects affect the way a film is perceived?

8. Discuss film’s major types of shots and shot sequences as well
as tempo and mood.
o The type of shots and shot sequences used in a film can affect
the overall tempo
and mood of the film. The film editor often works with the
director to create the
finished film. How does the type of shots used in a film affect
the look of a film?
Does the arrangement of shots give the film a certain pace?
What is the rhythm
and pacing of the film? Did the film seem to slow down in
areas? Did the various
cuts between scenes give the audience a certain perspective and
create a mood for
the film? How do the shot lengths reflect what is going on in
various scenes?
How do the shot sequences of a film establish the mood?
Discuss music and sound.
o Be sure to consider that, similar to visual style, filmmakers
use sound and music
strongly affects an audience`s response and interpretation of the
film. Be sure to

9. consider what roles sound and music play in different parts of
film as well as how
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they affect the overall presentation of the film. How does the
music indicate the
mood of a film? Can you tell what may happen in a film based
on the music
playing? Think about key musical themes. Which stick out in
your mind? Are
there certain things that you think of when you hear specific
music? What kind of
emotion does the musical score of the film produce? Are sound
effects and
automated dialogue recording (ADR) important to the film?
How? How does the
sound mix affect a film?
Discuss directing style.
o The director provides the overarching vision and look of the
film. How does the

10. director approach the subject matter of the film? What patterns
and techniques
does the director employ in the film to set the mood of the film?
Does the director
fall into the auteur theory of filmmaking in which the director is
the author of the
film imprinting it with his/her own personal vision? Does the
director
demonstrate a technical competence within the film? Is the film
well-made?
Does the film have a distinguishable personality? In other
words, without seeing
the credits, is the audience able to discern who the director is
based solely on the
style of the film? Looking briefly at the director's body of
work, is there a
specific theme or idea that is being repeated from film to film?
How does this
interior meaning manifest itself within the context of this
specific film? Is the
director working with actors that he/she has worked with
previously? How did
the director shape the story? What point-of-view does he/she
use within the

11. film?
Discuss potential societal impact.
o Remember that a film need not only be for entertainment
purposes. A film can
impact the audience in numerous ways. Did the film address a
controversial
societal or political issue? Is the film an allegory for a societal
or political issue?
How did the film portray this issue? What was the director
trying to say about the
issue through the film? Is the purpose of the film simply to
allow the viewer a
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sense of escape from daily life? Has the film been censored for
content or
language issues?
Discuss genre.
o Remember that different genres of film have different

12. purposes and audiences.
Be sure to define and analyze the appropriate genre of the film
and its purpose.
Consider whether the movie you are discussing falls into the
genre of sci-fi,
drama, action, war story, horror, romantic comedy, etc. Did
you, as the audience,
have certain expectations of the film based on its genre? What
are some of the
conventions of specific genre films? Does this film break from
certain
conventions of the genre?
Use specific examples from the film. This helps to reinforce
and support your ideas
about the film. It also gives the reader a frame of reference
when discussing how the
various elements are used within the film.
Be sure to cite everything. All films used as well as your
textbook should have in-text
citations as well entries on the reference page. The in-text
citation for a film should be
the director’s last name and year of release: (Spielberg, 1993).
The director should be the

13. main citation as the film is being used as an example of the
director’s work instead of
using information from the film as research. Please format the
reference entry for the
film as follows:
Spielberg, S. (Director). (1993). Schindler’s list. [Motion
Picture]. USA: Universal
Pictures & Amblin Entertainment.
If you choose to use information from a special feature on the
DVD, the in-text citation
should include the producer(s)’ name(s) along with the director:
(Lustig, Molen, &
Spielberg, 1993). The reference entry should be formatted as
follows:
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Lustig, B. (Producer)., Molen, G.R. (Producer), & Spielberg, S.
(Producer & Director).

14. (1993). Voices from the list. Schindler’s list. [DVD Special
Features]. USA:
Universal Pictures & Amblin Entertainment.
Check your formatting and grammar. Do you have a title page
and header? Is your
paper double spaced? Are paragraphs indented? Did you
proofread closely to eliminate
spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors?
Review the week 5 rubric. Have you discussed all of the
necessary elements?