system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: why do movies and shows simulate phone/computer screens with poor quality apps rather than use the real thing?

Is it a copyright issue, or?
gpt
I shoot movies for a living and have shot countless phone and computer screens.

Usually the screen is shot blank and the interface is placed in digitally for several reasons. For one, screens usually don't photograph well. Either they are too bright or too dim or they flicker or the color temperature isn't right. Two, it can be a pain in the ass to get the timing just right for the action. Try texting an actor on set or call a phone and have it ring at exactly the right moment. It rarely works perfectly and ends up wasting a lot of time. Three, the distributor will want to change the language to whatever market they sold it to. So if they sell it to Germany they often want a version with a German language on screen.

So if we are going to digitally add a screen we need a designer to make one. If we are making one we might as well make it clear and easy to read. Why bother with distracting logos? The shots are usually a second or two long. You gotta be able to read it fast. Real interfaces often don't get the message across fast enough.