
Short film set entirely on a teen's computer screen - packetbeats
http://www.fastcocreate.com/3017108/you-need-to-see-this-17-minute-film-set-entirely-on-a-teens-computer-screen
======
billybob255
Am I the only one that doesn't really like it? I see all these websites
talking about how amazing it is, but it's just, eh. Everything pre-
chatroulette was alright and realistic but then a third of the movie is wasted
time jumping around dick shots until he magically hits upon a girl who has a
quick speech talking about how fake Facebook is.

The bond between those two parts doesn't really work for me. And it seems like
he just ran out of ideas for concluding the Facebook paranoia/break up scene
so he cheated with the speech.

It's like a bunch of people see this movie is completely on a screen and it's
this hard hitting revelation that relationships are now on screen and so this
movie perfectly encapsulates a young person's relationship.

~~~
discostrings
I think this format has a lot of potential, but it's also really hard to do
well.

To me, this film felt much more like a stylistic proof-of-concept than
something that's been realized. Having Noah change the status in Amy's account
served the plot but not the story--it was a quick shortcut that got the film
to the length that those who created it wanted, but it struck me as
unrealistic.

This had a higher level of production behind it than The Scene, but The Scene
--at least what I watched of it--did much more exploration. Granted, they're
about different things, but this seemed much more glib. I think it was really
more about how to execute the idea than about the content, where I feel The
Scene explored the content better. I don't think either of them got it right,
but I really appreciate the attempts. I'd love to see more exploration of this
sort of thing.

~~~
rapind
Agreed. The status change seemed very unlikely.

It really got me to cringe during the mouse hovers on the buttons though. That
was pretty great.

------
cclogg
Is this how people actually use their computers? I only watched the first
couple of minutes, but it seems kind of odd. I did grow up with internet (25
now) but I don't use Facebook, so maybe I'm out of touch... but seriously do
people just open tabs or flash games and porn while talking to someone via
video chat? What's the point of video chatting then?

I will say though, the way he didn't really pay attention to her in Skype is
similar to what I experience in person... with regards to people texting. I
make a conscious effort myself to not text while with another person, and if I
do text, I make sure to pause if they talk to me.

~~~
krenoten
Maybe it was more of a way to demonstrate that she didn't mean nearly as much
to him as the electronic status he shared with her.

Or maybe the younger generation does multiplex much more than we've been
accustomed to (I'm also 25 and don't use facebook).

~~~
philangist
I think the'generational gap' here is fascinating. I'm 18 years old and I
browse the net like this, as do most of my male friends from conversations
we've had. The only difference for me is that I don't have porn up while
talking to friends.

~~~
kiba
As a 22 years old, my online life is a lot slower paced than in the movie. I
also don't play video games(that often), I chat on IRC a lot, and don't use IM
speak.

~~~
runn1ng
You use IRC.

No offense, but that alone puts you into a small minority.

------
awjr
Well I really didn't expect to end up watching this all the way through. Worth
every second. Be aware this is NSFW but I'm not sure if the film would have
lost anything if the NSFW clips had been left out.

~~~
jack-r-abbit
Really unfortunate about the NSFW part! This could have been a great tool to
show kids about the darker sides of social media and the skewed perceptions
you can have with digital communication... and stuff like that. But I don't
really want my kids to see a bunch of dicks. The Chatroulette part could have
been just as powerful without actually showing dangling cocks and jerking off.

~~~
jack-r-abbit
Too many replies all bashing me for the same opinion to reply to them each so
I'll just reply to myself and address them.

I don't think making a PG edit of this video would be any different than the
radio edits they make to songs or tv edits they make to movies so the FCC
doesn't kill them. Anyone who enjoys the edited version but would still like
to check out the original is free to. I would never tell an adult what they
can and cannot listen to or watch. Have at it. But I do like to keep a certain
level of appropriateness for my kids. If you want to show this to your kids..
have at it. You're free to do as you feel is best for your kids.

There will come a day when the sex talk happens. It will probably come sooner
than I would like but I'm not blind to the reality that kids find out about
stuff from friends before their parents. But I don't think the sex talk needs
to be wrapped into a more general talk about the dangers of the internet and
digital communication. There are more things to worry about on the web than
cocks. I'd like to address those things with my kids without cocks. There will
be plenty of time for us to talk about and look at cocks when it is important
to the subject at hand. IMO, it is not that important for this topic.

The creep factor of Chatroulette could still be portrayed without actually
showing the cocks. The creator chose to show them. Fine. That was his/her
choice to make. That just limits the audience a bit.

I don't think of it so much as "sheltering" but more like waiting for the
appropriate time and way to talk about certain subjects.

As mad as everyone got at me for having an opinion (one that I am certain is
not unique)... I can only imagine how angry you'd get if I treated your
opinions the same way. I feel like some of you want to come to my house and
force me to show the video to my kids.

~~~
gw
The video has nothing to do with the "dangers of the internet", whatever that
means. Moreover, I don't think anyone cares whether you shelter your kids
and/or teens from sex (err, sorry, I meant "wait for the appropriate time and
way to talk about sex").

I think people perceive that as being a facet of modern suburban parenting
with a historically lopsided set of priorities. You may disagree with them,
and that's fine, but to accuse them of wanting to come to your home and force
you to show the video is a truly bizarre overreaction.

------
kawsper
Seems a bit like "Welcome To The Scene" but less interesting.
[http://www.welcometothescene.com/](http://www.welcometothescene.com/)

Notice that there are two seasons, you can access the first one here:
[http://www.welcometothescene.com/download.php](http://www.welcometothescene.com/download.php)

~~~
Claudus
Yeah, I thought the same thing...

And of course, there's also "Welcome To Teh Scene".
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scene_%28miniseries%29#Paro...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scene_%28miniseries%29#Parody)

------
jka
For anyone who enjoyed this and might like to look at similarly themed pieces
(impact of social media / internet communication on relationships) - the
following might be of interest:

* Catfish [movie, USA] - [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1584016/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1584016/)

* Black Mirror [series, UK] - [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2085059/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2085059/)

Both a little on the bleak/dark side, forewarning!

~~~
keypusher
The first video I remember in this style was "The Website Is Down".

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8_Kfjo3VjU](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8_Kfjo3VjU)

~~~
moreentropy
Great stuff. Came to post that one.

------
aroman
As a 17-year-old, this hit disturbingly close to home. Absolutely brilliantly
executed, and definitely worth the 17 minutes.

~~~
solistice
Did you start checking facebook as well whenever he got a new message?

~~~
aroman
No but I did check my phone when he got a text :)

------
josefit
What surprised me most is not the movie but the realization of how much
communication overload has changed over time.

I am old enough to have lived the same situation depicted here on two
different communication media: IRC chats and BBS + CB radio before that.

The difference is that i experienced communication overload in a time
1990->2000 when such experience marked you irrevocably as a geek.

Today this is open to the masses.

------
greenyoda
The early part of the video gives some insight into why his girlfriend broke
up with him: she's trying to have a conversation with him on Skype, but he's
barely paying attention to her while playing with that game. It's almost like
he lost interest in what she had to say a long time ago, and she finally got
tired of it.

~~~
psyklic
She didn't break up with him. His paranoia/out-of-touchness convinced him that
she did.

------
aleksandrm
There's a similar short-film that I thought was more thought-provoking --
[http://vimeo.com/channels/staffpicks/42857970](http://vimeo.com/channels/staffpicks/42857970)

------
cratib
reminds me of "The Sceen"
[http://www.welcometothescene.com/](http://www.welcometothescene.com/)

~~~
billybob255
Be sure to check out Season 1

[https://technutopia.com/](https://technutopia.com/)

------
MattyRad
Things I liked: Excessive porn may decrease a man's desire to engage women,
exposure to sexual situations may be occurring at younger ages, the attention
span of younger generations may be decreasing. (I use the term "may" because I
don't actually know the extent to which these things could be harmful.)

Things I didn't like: Noah was a scummy person for whom I had no sympathy (not
paying attention to his gf, lying, breaking into her account, having no sense
of subterfuge at that, using chatroulette), the girl's obnoxious and clichéd
speech at the end, and the numerous exaggerated aspects. And I would argue a
lot of this video is exaggerated, like the ridiculous music- "cuddle jams"
played immediately when Noah starts feeling down.

Overall, I'm not a fan of the video.

------
thrush
This is a pretty negative portrayal (obviously) of the dark side of social
media. I think that it should be taken that people should be careful about
getting too sucked in rather than thinking that social media is "evil". A lot
of good and amazing things have come from Facebook (maybe chat-roulette not so
much). For example, the Soccer Goalie story is pretty moving
([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpOvYWd4KW4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpOvYWd4KW4)).
Granted this came directly from Facebook, there are other similar stories out
there if you look.

~~~
stephengillie
I don't understand how this shows the dark side of social networks. It does
show the ugly underbelly of human interaction, but that side is no uglier for
the technology used. The guy was lonely, his gf was worried about something
else, so he became insecure & impetuous and decided to move on, as young
people are wont to do. Only today it's happening through websites and webcams
instead of phone, telegraph, snail mail, or message-in-bottle.

------
litmus
made me want to rewatch Antonio Campos's Afterschool, the first feature-length
film I came across that tackled the youtube generation. That film is slow-
paced to the point of irony given its subject (this video is Crank by
comparison), but its basically similar to what you would imagine if this kid
was a couple years younger and at boarding school, and if the camera followed
him beyond the screen.

~~~
flipp
Yes! I thought of Afterschool too. One of my favorite films.

------
jafaku
What's so crazy about it? I don't get it.

------
novalis
That was surprisingly good, 'weak' start but tied it well in the end. If you
are reading the comments to check if it's worth the time, it slides well
through the time it takes. And it will speak to you, because it does what a
good short should do. It makes you think.

------
hawkharris
Brings this to mind:

The More You Multitask, the Worse You Get at It

[http://priceonomics.com/the-more-you-multitask-the-worse-
you...](http://priceonomics.com/the-more-you-multitask-the-worse-you-get-at-
it/)

------
electic
Genius, loved it.

------
chrislipa
rooofl, you're hell-banned. Looking through your comment history, I don't see
why.

~~~
ISL
One of roofl's two visible comments would appear to insult HN. Perhaps that
pulled in some downvotes or a direct hellban by the mods?

------
jspark
Good demonstration of sensory overload looks like

------
joyeuse6701
I enjoyed it, I think if this film was out when I was a teen several years
back it would have been enlightening to parents about typical teenage computer
use and how much it differs from their own.

------
fluxon
welcometothescene.com - web series starting in 2004. So much for "entirely on
a computer screen" being unique.

------
shocks
Reminds me of
[http://www.welcometothescene.com](http://www.welcometothescene.com)

------
psbp
Why would you bookmark chatroulette?

~~~
tvararu
I've seen people bookmark Facebook and Youtube as well, even though they can
get to them through their browser's version of Speed Dial or by simply typing
the first letter of the link in the address bar and pressing return.

~~~
aroch
I understand the mouse is being used as a standin protagonist, but why bother
bookmarking something and then not using the bookmark if you're using the
mouse anyway

------
pimpl
Does Facebook really work so fast in the USA? :D

~~~
josephpmay
It depends on your ISP, time of day, computer resources, etc.

------
brianobush
interesting to view into a new generation's issues from a gen-Xer POV.

------
swang
What the hell was that line about not wanting an Asian roommate?

------
MrBra
I love the clicks and keypress sounds.

Oh and I liked the film itself.

