Sometimes the most cringe worthy moment in a movie can be the use of dated technology or even the boring action of typing on a computer or phone. Computers and cell phones have been able to some pretty magical things in movies over the years, and filmmakers are finally getting creative with ways to turn the ordinary and boring into something watchable. Gone (for the most part) are the days of reading texts out loud or having computer screens lay out some very literal instructions like “Press Enter to Blow up the World”. I might have exaggerated with that example but you get my point.
Tony Zhou of Every Frame a Painting has put together a funny and interesting video essay on texting and the Internet on film. He shows the new method of messages popping up directly on screen which seems like a pretty obvious style looking back on it now. We see the different variations over the years (I’m not a fan of the bubbles) and the effect of the technology.
Can you think of another way to show off texts in film and television?
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