Screen Culture and Micro-Cinema

 

Screen Culture and Micro-Cinema: The Age of the Small Screen

Introduction

Screen Culture Theory studies how digital devices — phones, tablets, and laptops — have reshaped cinematic aesthetics and spectatorship. Micro-Cinema refers to short-form, independent, or DIY film practices designed for mobile and online viewing.

Core Concepts

• Cinema now exists across multiple screens and scales.

• The smartphone is both a camera and a theater.

• Attention economy reshapes how stories are told and consumed.

Key Points

• Portable Aesthetics: Vertical framing and bite-sized storytelling define micro-cinema.

• Participatory Viewership: Audiences are producers — posting, remixing, reacting.

• Intimacy and Access: Personal devices encourage emotional proximity to characters.

Examples

• Tangerine (2015) — shot entirely on iPhone, redefining realism.

• TikTok film essays and short dramas — democratize storytelling.

• Modern Love Hyderabad (2022) — designed for digital streaming, merging TV and cinema grammar.