A brief history of texting and emails in film

published 17 August 2014

Throughout our lives, a fair amount of important(ish) knowledge is conveyed via the power of messaging. But on screen, it's not always the most compelling activity to watch.

Filmmakers have struggled to involve texts and emails without making us all yawn. When has an insert of a phone screen ever actually resembled an actual phone screen?

But recently, thanks to TV shows like Sherlock and House of Cards and films like The Social Network and The Fault In Our Stars, things have improved tenfold.

Video extraordinaire Tony Zhou has created a nifty montage that shows just how much things have progressed and it's a rather captivating watch...

A Brief Look at Texting and the Internet in Film from Tony Zhou on Vimeo.

As Content Director of Shortlist, Marc likes nothing more than to compile endless lists of an evening by candlelight. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.