I read an article that says the Millennial generation, those born between 1981-late1990s, is turning away from traditional TV in record numbers. Is TV production following the same route? Is a TV show and MacBook going hand and hand?
Popular TV sitcom Modern Family will debut an episode on February 25 called Connection Lost. What makes this episode unprecedented is the entire story will be told through a character’s Apple MacBook Pro. Experts call this ‘screen capture’ film making. The episode starts as Claire (portrayed by Julie Bowen) on her MacBook. Her daughter Haley (portrayed by Sarah Hyland) gets into a confrontation with her, and can no longer be tracked. Now, MacBook apps and video chats has to be used to find her. Every character somehow has access to these apps and video chats. But why are pictures of Yosemite National Park used in the background? Is there some kind of message behind that?
Connection Lost is the brain child of Modern Family creator Steven Levitan and scriptwriter Megan Ganz. Levitan drew inspiration from his love of gadgets, particularly Apple gadgets. There was a similar real life incident between Mr. Levitan and his daughter that inspired this episode. His daughter and Haley are around the same age and in college. For over five years, Modern Family has pushed the envelope in prime time TV and has broken new ground. Now they’re breaking new technological ground. But the concept of a child (an adult child) getting lost has been done so many times. But if the story is told through a laptop computer screen, maybe it will work. Keep in mind one reason why Modern Family is an Emmy award winning show: the creative writing. So will Connection Lost be a history making hit? Or will Connection Lost be a history making embarrassment?