Upcoming 'Modern Family' Episode Shot Entirely on iPhone and iPad Cameras

The upcoming February 25 episode of ABC's multiple Emmy-winning sitcom "Modern Family" will take place solely on a MacBook screen (via The Verge). The episode, being shot by director and series co-creator Steve Levitan, used an iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2 to shoot every scene.

The episode's story focuses on Claire Dunphy's (Julie Bowen) attempt to reach her daughter Haley (Sarah Hyland) by contacting various other members of the Dunphy/Pritchett clan via multiple forms of MacBook apps, all while stuck in an airport.

Modern Family
The show will not only use various chat apps like Apple's own FaceTime and Messages, but include references to everything from Reminders to the now-obsolete iPhoto. Levitan mentioned that the idea for the episode came from his own experience communicating with his kids in college through the vast array of chat software available today.

"I have two daughters at college, and we do a lot of FaceTiming," he said at a recent press event in Los Angeles. He was working one day with a number of emails and websites open on his machine, when a video chat from his daughter popped up. On the screen he saw his work, his daughter, himself, and his wife doing something behind him all at the same time. "And I realized on that screen you could tell so much about my life. So the original idea was from there."

The show has been a proponent of Apple-related gadgets in the past, with an early-series episode mostly dedicated to Claire's attempt to get Phil the original iPad. Apple was even reported to lend the show a slew of iPhones, iPads, and MacBook Pros for shooting the video chats and for allowing the show's editors to conduct post-production work once the shoot was done.

The episode has been so long in production - with motion graphics artist John Brown at the head - the team had been working on it since OS X Yosemite itself was in beta. "It was frustrating to be like, 'Act one, totally locked,' and then come in Monday and hear the FaceTime notification has changed," Brown said.

Besides a few slight liberties to the Apple OS X platform, including giving FaceTime the ability to handle multiple calls at once and a few aesthetic alterations to Yosemite's transparency options, The Verge reports the environment created by the episode "felt all too familiar."

The episode, entitled "Connection Lost" airs Wednesday, February 25 on ABC.

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...

Top Rated Comments

ButteryScrollin Avatar
132 months ago
From The Verge:

"DOES ANYBODY REALLY USE THE REMINDERS APP?"

I do, I know a lot of other people do.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jsameds Avatar
132 months ago
I'm sure they'll work in a scene that appears upside down for no reason just like facetime with my mom on her iphone 6 plus.

Maybe she's just in Australia and hasn't told you?
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jsameds Avatar
132 months ago
from the verge:

"does anybody really use the reminders app?"

i do, i know a lot of other people do.


"does anybody really use game center?"
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mono1980 Avatar
132 months ago
From The Verge:

"DOES ANYBODY REALLY USE THE REMINDERS APP?"

I do, I know a lot of other people do.

I do a lot. In fact, I made a grocery list on it and I can add items to my grocery list using Siri. It's pretty awesome.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brunosh Avatar
132 months ago
From The Verge:

"DOES ANYBODY REALLY USE THE REMINDERS APP?"

I do, I know a lot of other people do.

What? I use it almost every day!
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zachari Avatar
132 months ago
Oh my God I love Modern Family
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)