Texting, Calls, Zooms, and Screens: How to Format Modern Technology in a Screenplay

For decades, the accepted rules of screenplay formatting changed very little. They didn’t need to.

Scene headings, dialogue, transitions, and action lines have remained remarkably stable since the studio era. What hasn’t remained stable is the way people communicate. Any discussion of modern technology screenplay format inevitably runs into a problem: most of the foundational screenwriting books were written before smartphones, encrypted messaging apps, video conferencing, and social media became integral to everyday life.

Open almost any produced screenplay from the 1980s or before, and a phone call meant a landline.

Today, a thriller may hinge on disappearing Signal messages, a romantic comedy or a date can unfold through missed or misinterpreted text exchanges, and a courtroom drama might turn on a single DM “He’s lying” notification from a smartwatch. Yet there is still no universally accepted industry standard for presenting these moments on the page.

That uncertainty leads many writers to overcomplicate the screenplay formatting. They reproduce phone interfaces, invent elaborate formatting conventions, or interrupt the rhythm of the script to explain technology instead of dramatizing it. The most complex current dialogue formatting conventions are dual dialogues depicted in two columns.

Professional readers rarely care whether you imitate the appearance of a cellphone screen. They care whether they can understand and follow the story without slowing down.

The best formatting is almost always the least noticeable. Its job is to make modern communication feel invisible and readable, while preserving clarity, pace, and screenplay momentum. Make your point once, and move on.

Related: How to Write Text Messages in a Script — Formatting Explained

Now, if your screenplay contains a sequence when one character is driving and chatting on speakerphone while receiving a text from someone else and responding to a social media post about a third person while on a Zoom call, things can get sticky pretty quickly. But only if you let it. The online wars about “correct” formatting of modern technology communications or “bibles” are largely based on personal preference and avoidance of actual writing.

There are no established formatting laws – even with simple telephone conversations. The general rule of thumb is to format these scenes as close to dialogue parts in a traditional screenplay as possible.

All a reader needs to know is who is speaking (or otherwise communicating), on what device, and from where? That’s it.

Consider these two examples:

INT. MIKE’S CAR – DAY

Mike drives like a maniac on the freeway. His concentration is interrupted by an incoming call on his carphone. He accepts the call.

MIKE
Yo, Mr. Watson. ‘Sup?

MR. WATSON
(on speakerphone)
Mr. Davidson? It’s Reg Watson,
the Courthouse Clerk. Where are you?

Mike gulps. He totally forgot.

MIKE
Ummm. Well… I’m ten minutes away. Traffic is insane.

MR. WATSON
I hope you’re not driving without a license. Again.

MIKE
No, sir. I’m a law abidin’ citizen…

Mike’s smartwatch chimes with an incoming message.

MIKE
Can I put you on hold for a second?

MR. WATSON
You can’t miss your court date.

Mike puts Mr. Watson on hold before he answers. He opens the smartwatch message. “Accept video call from Mom?”

He presses YES and he enters a chatroom. A tiled Zoom screen pops up with a half dozen smiling faces. Mike’s mom waves furiously.

MIKE’S MOM
(on screen)
Hi, Mike. I finally figured out how that smartwatch works.
Best present ever. The book club ladies are so envious.

MIKE
I can’t see you, properly. You’re like ants.

CUT TO:

INT. MIKE’S MOM’S LIVING ROOM – DAY

A bevy of women gather for their book club meeting. Most of them are only there for coffee and cake.

MIKE’S MOM
I can log on the giant smartTV if you like.

MIKE
That’s alright mom. I’m kinda busy.

MIKE’S MOM
I’ll let you go. I just wanted to thank you for the watch.
Love you.

MIKE
I love you too, mom.

Mike ends the video call.

BACK TO:

INT. MIKE’S CAR – DAY

He pulls into the Courthouse parking lot. His phone bings with a social media message. “Reminder: Becky’s Birthday. Shall I send her a gift?”

Mike panics. He keys in “No.”

MIKE
Who’s Becky? Oh, right. Sister.

Mike opens his texting app and types Becky’s name. “Happy birthday, Becky. I bet you thought I forgot? xxx”

He chuckles and hits send.

He remembers Mr. Watson on hold and presses the speakerphone button again. The line’s dead. Ooops!

Related: How to Write Text Messages in a Screenplay

The Principles Behind Modern Technology Screenplay Format

Formatting technology is less about following rigid rules and more about applying the same storytelling principles that govern every screenplay page. Readers should never stop to decipher your formatting. This was a simple example. Some telephone conversations use intercutting to denote two seperate locations every time. Others set up the two locations and use INTERCUT in the transitions field. Other conversations state the location of the main speaker in the scene heading and simply state that the caller is on the phone – once, until the conversation ends.

Now for another example:

INT. ROBERT’S KITCHEN – DAY

Robert’s in the middle of serious bread making. There are bowls and baking trays everywhere. He kneads the bread dough with his hands. The phone rings. He wipes his hands with a paper towel and answers.

ROBERT
Hello.

FEMALE VOICE
(on phone)
Robert Kane?

ROBERT
Who’s asking?

FEMALE VOICE
I’m Becky White from White Real Estate.
I have a very interested buyer in your neighborhood.

ROBERT
I’m not selling.

FEMALE VOICE
They’re willing to pay a premium.

ROBERT
Still not selling, Bye.

Robert hangs up.

Note the simplicity in the way those scenes are formatted. We never see Becky White so we don’t need to cut to where she’s calling from.

Related: How to Format Text Messages in Your Screenplay

Clarity Always Wins

Professional readers move quickly. Whether they’re reading for a production company, agency, management firm, or competition, they are evaluating dozens of scripts every week. Every unfamiliar formatting decision creates friction. If the friction is too great, they skim through to the end.

If your audience spends time figuring out how to read a text conversation, they aren’t absorbing what or why that exchange matters.

This is why produced scripts often differ in presentation while achieving the same result. Aaron Sorkin, Christopher McQuarrie, and Greta Gerwig each approach page design differently, but every choice prioritizes readability and engagement.

Technology should work the same way.

Story Dictates Format

There is no prize for accurately reproducing an app interface in your screenplay. Ask a simpler question instead: What information does the audience need at this moment? Then figure out how to best deliver it.

Sometimes that requires displaying every message.

Sometimes only one sentence matters.

Sometimes the audience doesn’t need to see the message at all — they only need to watch a character’s reaction.

The screenplay should communicate the dramatic effect.

Consider how scenes might play out by focusing on the story more than the technology. Mike’s phone call to the Courthouse would play differently if he was driving over the state line or if his mother sent him a DM from her smartwatch because she was bored – or kidnapped, or vacationing on an exotic island.

Related: Screenplay Format 101: Text Messages and Emojis

Think Like Production

Remember that the screenplay is a production document.

A director, cinematographer, editor, production designer, and visual effects supervisor may all interpret the same scene differently. Your formatting should leave room for those creative decisions rather than dictating exactly how a phone screen must appear.

David Fincher’s The Social Network contains enormous volumes of digital communication, yet Aaron Sorkin rarely clutters the page with technical presentation. The emotional objective remains front and center.

Likewise, Aneesh Chaganty’s Searching and Missing unfold almost entirely through digital interfaces, but the underlying scripts remain remarkably readable because every technological element serves narrative clarity.

Even in Screenlife films like Ronan Corrigan’s LifeHack, where the majority of action takes place on screens, the drama dictates the formatting.

by Staff Writer

From our in-house editorial team.