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Goodbye to the Normals Short Film Analysis

This is a short comedy film about a family, the Normals. The film

begins with a wide shot of a man, who we assume to be Mr

Normal arriving home and greeting his wife with a kiss. This

establishes their relationship to be a loving one, and connotesthat they are part of a normal family. And the location of a regular

attached house shows that they are an average suburban family.

The simplicity of the title card of the film suggests to the audience

that the film isnt going to be extravagant and over the top, but a

simple, stripped back film.

The next shot is a mid shot of a teddy bear. Straight away, the

audience will connect the toy to childhood and innocence. And

the fact that within seconds, Mr Normal removes the teddy

bear and sits in its place, we can see that there will perhaps be

a removal of childhood or an attempt to move away from

childhood within the film.

The directors choice of the high angle shot of the man and the low angle shot of the little boy (Magnus)

connotes to the audience their relationship. The man is clearly the dominant figure, which means hecould be Magnuss father. As the editor chooses to juxtapose these shots in a shot-reverses-shot

sequence we are able to see the dynamics of their relationship.

Although we can only see him from his midriff upwards, Magnus attire of a rucksack and jacket show

that he is clearly ready to leave somewhere, but seeing as neither of his parents were dressed similarly,

we can infer that he may be going somewhere alone. His short, clipped answers to his fathers

questions suggest a high amount of maturity which contrasts with the fact that hes a small boy.

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When the shot moves wider and we can see his whole

body, we see that Magnus now has a suitcase. Seeing as

the contents are spilling out of the sides; and that his

shoe laces are undone we can see that despite how

mature or adult he tries to act, he is still a child.

Going on holiday? Magnus father asks him. The

simple fact that his father asks him such a question in a

fairly serious tone suggests that Magnus is beyond his years. Although there is a hint of mocking within

his fathers voice which Magnus does not pick up on again reminding us that he is still a child.

Im running away. Magnus states matter-of-factly. Because Magnus is having such a grown-up

conversation with his dad about something which is generally deemed quite a childish act seems out of 

the ordinary.When asks where hes going, he simply replies, America. This is outrageous and implies

once again that although he seems grown-up he still has fantastical ideas that arent fully thought

through as many young children do. It also insight humour because of Magnus outlandish ideas, and the

fact that he is set on them despite how ridiculous they are.

Magnus and his

father begin to have

a conversation about

Magnus trip; the

shots have now

switched from the

mid-shots/close-upsthat were used in

their previous conversation, but now they have moved to wider shots.

However, when asked how long is going on his trip for, and he

replies, Forever, the shots suddenly go back into the close-up

shots. The seriousness of Magnus expression is humorous as you

dont expect children to say such things.

After asking him many questions and finding out that he has no solid

plans whatsoever, but also realising that he wont be able to stop him,

Magnus parents they let him leave. The low angle shot shows us how

vulnerable and little Magnus looks, denoting his childishness.

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The wide angle shot of Magnus running away, and him

becoming smaller on the screen, connotes how small he is in

the big, wide world and how easily he can be consumed by the

enormity of the outside world.

As Magnus gets to the end of the road, the camera cuts to a close-up

shot of him turning around in slow motion. This is what the audience

expect, they want Magnus to come to his senses and go back to his

parents. By zooming in on the little boy, we can see his smile.Which

lets the audience know that hes happy to go to his parents.

The look of joy on his parents faces is exactly what wed expect of 

them. The mid and two shot of them allows us to see their facial

expression of relief and happiness adequately.

His mum opens her arms, expecting him to run straight into her

embrace. The mid shot shows their relationship and also their

matching reactions.

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However, Magnus just runs right past them. As this is not what

most people would expect to happen, it has a very humorous

quality.