Once again, Tony Zhou is back with a well-edited and to-the-point video essay, this time tackling the portrayal of texting and the Internet in film. He looks at the good and bad, and isn’t quick to chastise, but instead applauds even the failed attempts because at least they are trying.
His most appreciated example when it comes to texting is BBC’s “Sherlock“, primarily for its simplicity and the respect it shows the audience. It also brings about the smartest thing he says in the entire piece, which is: “Cheap, efficient, elegant.” It’s a good reminder that when you’re trying to do some that seems complicated, take a step back and consider what would be the cheapest, most efficient way of doing something? Does it need all those graphics? Are you needlessly complicating the matter?
When it comes to the Internet he cites two specific instances that are worth a watch, the first is the wonderful short film Noah (watch at the bottom of this post), which I have Transformers: The Premake, but this is more on an experimental basis, but at the very least Lee uses actual, real world software and Internet examples, which Zhou smartly mimics at the beginning of his essay.
Check it out below and let me know about your thoughts on the matter, and, at the same time, perhaps we should also revisit the Men, Women & Children (also below) as the conversation clearly doesn’t end here.
