An upcoming episode of the ABC comedy "Modern Family" takes place only online and was shot almost entirely with iPhones and iPads.
The episode, titled “Connection Lost,” takes place in an airport terminal where Claire Dunphy, played by Julie Bowen, searches frantically for her daughter, Haley, played by Sarah Hyland, via phone and computer interactions. It is set to air Feb. 25.
Inspired by the short film “Noah,” the episode reflects how many modern families communicate today,
co-creator Steve Levitan told The New York Times.
“Everything was shot on the iPhone 6 or new iPads,” he said, “with one or two small scenes shot using MacBook Pros.”
The episode created production challenges. Scenes were recorded simultaneously to create the appearance that the actors were communicating on FaceTime. The actors held onto the arms of the camera operators to make it appear as though they were controlling the phones as they moved around, show editor Tony Orcena told the Times.
Apple provided iPhones for the production but won’t receive product-placement compensation for the episode,
Levitan said, according to The Associated Press.
He said the idea came to him while he was communicating with his college-age daughter on FaceTime.
"I had emails open, some websites ... then my daughter showed up. I could not only see her, but I could see me, and there was something going on behind me, my wife or somebody," Levitan said, according to AP. "I realized on that screen, you could tell so much about my life."
Twitter users had mixed reactions to the upcoming "Modern Family" episode.
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