Modern Family will air an episode taking place entirely on a computer screen later this month, titled “Connection Lost.”

Modern Family Films Entire Episode With Apple Products

The episode, directed by Modern Family creator Steve Leviatan and co-written by Community writer Megan Ganz, takes place entirely on the computer screen of Claire Dunphy, played by Julie Bowen. Furthermore, it was filmed almost entirely on Apple products, including iPhones, iPads and MacBook Pros, which were provided by Apple for production.

Shooting the episode proved difficult, as actors were first tasked with holding the iPhones or iPads themselves while filming so as to provide an authentic feel. Eventually, production abandoned that idea and had camera operators hold the devices while actors held onto the operator’s arm, creating the illusion that they were holding the phone. Other problems arose when production design had to re-create Apple’s Yosemite interface so that it would look good on TV.

“I was building the assets for Yosemite back when Yosemite was still in Beta,” revealed motion graphics artist John Brown.

Brown also ended up making a few changes to Apple’s existing apps, including tweaking FaceTime to enable simultaneous calls.

Modern Family “Connection Lost” Will Air Feb. 25

The Apple brand will be present throughout “Connection Lost,” with characters using FaceTime and iMessage to communicate, but Leviatan claimed the episode was never meant to be a 30-minute commercial for Apple products. “There’s no product placement or anything,” Levitan insisted.

In fact, Levitan said that he was inspired to write the episode after a FaceTime conversation with one of his daughters. “I have two daughters at college, and we do a lot of FaceTiming,” Leviatan added.

In “Connection Lost,” Claire, stuck at the airport, tries to track down her daughter Haley (Sarah Hyland) in a series of video chats with various family members. The episode will air Feb. 25 on ABC.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.