How Hollywood Is Making Texting Look Dramatic

We all increasingly rely on non-verbal forms of communication—email, IM, texting—to let people know what's going on in our lives. That's great for us, but it's causing headaches in Hollywood when it comes to creating drama.

The problem is that TV and film have to remain topical to keep our attention, but it's difficult to make a text message—a few paltry letters on a little electronic screen—particularly gripping. The Wall Street Journal has a wonderful article which takes a look at the techniques used by filmmakers to ensure modern communication is as gripping as classic dialogue:

In the past year, films aimed at teenaged audiences have been experimenting with how to integrate characters' constant texting into storylines, with varying degrees of success. In "LOL," a 2012 box-office flop, the main character, played by pop star Miley Cyrus, posts Facebook updates ("Status: Boyfriend") that were displayed on the screen in a big, cartoonish font as she typed.

The texting seen in "Disconnect" and other coming films adheres loosely to a convention credited to the BBC's "Sherlock," featuring a wired Sherlock Holmes in modern-day London, and more recently, Netflix's hit series "House of Cards"... "Sherlock"... depicts texts on screen as white subtitles in a Helvetica font.



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