A Brief Look at Texting and the Internet in Film

Main ideas / lessons conveyed

• Filmmaking often requires problem-solving: When filmmakers face a “stumbling block” (like depicting texting), they must invent a visual convention that works on screen.

• Traditional ways of showing texts usually underwhelm audiences:

  • Cutting to phone inserts can make viewers yawn.
  • Common workarounds include:
    • Characters not texting at all
    • Characters reading messages aloud
    • Plot excuses that keep phones from working

• A new convention has emerged for onscreen text messages: Over the last several years, filmmakers increasingly show text messages directly on screen using a standardized, readable design.

• This shift is part of how film form evolves: The speaker notes the convention appeared in various places (including different countries and genres), reflecting ongoing changes in cinematic language.

• Why filmmakers adopt onscreen texting (3 reasons):

  1. Saves money: Instead of shooting many close-ups of phones, filmmakers can create the onscreen text using tools (example given: After Effects).

  2. Artistically efficient: Onscreen texting avoids slowing scenes with long phone-on-screen shots, and it supports faster/cleaner shot-reverse-shot composition.

  3. Elegant design (example: Sherlock):

     • No bubble around the text (bubbles get outdated faster)
     • Consistent font and styling across seasons
     • White text instead of multiple colors for different people
     • The film/show doesn’t explicitly tell who’s sending/receiving—audiences infer from content, boosting engagement
     • Text appears near the phone but floats independently, rather than looking physically attached to the device

• Even with Sherlock-like solutions for texting, the internet itself remains hard to depict:

  • Filmmakers have many attempts, but there’s still no universally “good” method for showing the internet clearly, cheaply, and effectively.
  • Existing approaches vary in quality and practicality (some are costly, others inefficient).

• “Desktop film” is highlighted as a promising direction:

  • These films depict action occurring directly on the computer screen.
  • The speaker argues this resembles how people consume information daily and can support different tones:
    • Emotional resonance
    • Mysteriousness
    • Experimental styles

• Animation and experimental design have long explored internet representation:

  • Examples mentioned (as categories/approaches rather than step-by-step instructions):
    • Stylized “online” spaces (e.g., Superflat-like visual language)
    • Message board posts presented as intertitles
    • Separate green “online worlds”
    • Animated environments embedded in phones
    • Physical spaces/rooms where people chat
    • Asian live-action directors experimenting with similar concepts

• Why experimentation matters:

  • Even failures are useful because they encourage trying new techniques.
  • The speaker emphasizes a “level playing field”: new creators may have as much opportunity as major Hollywood productions to find solutions.

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Methodologies / “instruction-like” elements presented (implicit approach)

While the video is more commentary than a step-by-step guide, it lays out an implicit “method” for solving how to depict texting/internet on screen.

A) How to depict texting effectively (the proposed convention)

• Use onscreen text message overlays instead of frequent phone insert shots.
• Optimize cost:
  • Avoid filming numerous close-ups of phones
  • Use compositing/VFX tools (example mentioned: After Effects) to generate the text display
• Improve cinematic pacing and readability:
  • Keep text on screen long enough to read, without forcing slow, phone-centric shot structure
  • Combine action and reaction within the same frame when possible
• Design for longevity and clarity:
  • Prefer designs that don’t become obsolete quickly (e.g., avoid speech bubbles that may age poorly)
  • Maintain consistent typography and styling across episodes/segments (font and color choices)
• Drive engagement through inference:
  • Don’t always explicitly show who is sending/receiving
  • Let the audience infer meaning from message content
• Make the text appear visually independent when appropriate:
  • Position text near the phone while making it float independently, rather than looking physically attached to the device

B) How to approach depicting “the internet” more generally

• Test multiple experimental approaches, including animation-based form factors.
• Accept trial-and-error:
  • Some methods will be inefficient or fail—but attempts still advance the search for better conventions.
• Aim for accessibility and creativity (a practical “level playing field”):
  • Limited budgets can become an advantage for inventing new solutions.

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Speakers / sources featured (identified)

• Tony — host (“Hi my name is Tony and this is Every Frame a Painting.”)
• Andrew Kramer — mentioned and shown as “this guy: –Andrew Kramer here for Video Copilot.net”
• Video Copilot.net — referenced as the source context for Andrew Kramer
• BBC Sherlock — referenced as an example of the convention
• Twitter — referenced as a place where earlier examples were found
• Amara.org community — credited as the subtitle provider (“Subtitles by the Amara.org community”)