History Main / SplitScreenPhoneCall

* Used in ''RunLolaRun'' when Manny and Lola talk on the phone.

* Parodied in ''NakedGun 33 1/3''. One end of the conversation is in a phone box, the other in an apartment. In the background, a hobo walks past the phone box only to cross the split screen line and find himself in the apartment, which he then proceeds to burgle.

** ...whose use of this trope was parodied in ''DownWithLove''. The phone scene between Ewan [=McGregor=] and Renee Zellweger used the SplitScreen in a rather...uhm...[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything interesting way]] to imply that they were [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean directly interacting]].

* Done at least twice with Candace and Jeremy on ''PhineasAndFerb'', as pictured above.

* ''[[{{Ptitle36fwwzhk}} Looney Tunes: Back in Action]]'' has Bugs and Daffy do this when the former was planning to help the latter get his job back. And they even push one another.

* ''[[HowIMetYourMother]]'' uses this trope constantly and finds new ways to play with it.

[[quoteright:320:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MellowMushroom_2494.PNG]]

[[quoteright:350:[[PhineasAndFerb http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/CandaceJeremyPhoneCall.jpg]]]]

Is pretty much a DeadHorseTrope now, except when PlayedForLaughs.

Can extend to more than just two screens, thanks to things like three way calling and call waiting.

* The season 4 finale of ''DoctorWho'' has one of these; admittedly it's not a phone but a video conference, but still.

* ''Series/SuperMarioWorld'' did the parody version with Yoshi and Oogtar. ("Yoshi hear Oogtar ''too'' good! Who need telephone?")

* ''[[TwentyFour 24]]'' does this ''a lot’’.

* The ''[[LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies cartoon]]'' ''The Bear's Tale'', has a split screen phone call scene between Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks who are both using [[PayPhone payphones]].

* The MerrieMelodies cartoon ''The Bear's Tale'', has a split screen phone call scene between Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks.
** It was a cartoon made by [[TexAvery the Texan]]. And he really ''loved'' this trope. I personnally recommend ''Thugs with dirty mugs''.

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<<|CameraTricks|>>

* Used all the time in ''{{6Teen}}''.

* Used all the time in ''{{6teen}}''.

Is pretty much a DeadHorseTrope now except when PlayedForLaughs

Split screen is one of those Camera Tricks that were never really popular... except for depicting people calling each other on the telephone, that is.

'''Examples:'''

* The season 4 finale of ''DoctorWho'' has one of these; admittedly it's not a phone but a videoconference, but still.

* "A Call To Arms", Chapter 1 of ''[=~LG15: the resistance~=]'' plays with this effect a lot (including a bit at the end where the two cameras meet).

* [[TheMiddleMan The Middleman]] uses this a lot, to good effect.
* The Anime MartianSuccessorNadesico features technology that can allow free-floating 'screens' to pop up just about anywhere, and it appears that the caller has some control over the size and positioning of their image, so multi-way conversations will oftem involve multiple screens literally jostling for attention, the winner being the character with the best 'Screen-Fu' (generally [[LittleMissSnarker Ruri]]).
* The movie version of ''Bye Bye Birdie'' naturally did this a little in "The Telephone Hour." The original Broadway production split the stage into over a dozen areas for that number.
* There's one of these in Snatch. The director's DVD commentary reveals that in order to cut costs the two sides of the phone conversation between Cousin Avi and Doug the Head were shot at separate times on the same physical piece of film - which is why the timing is slightly off.

* Seinfeld had a few of these, and sometimes played with the concept with call waiting.

* Commonly done on ''TopGear'' when two presenters are in separate vehicles speaking to one another by radio or cell phone.
* [[http://www.cracked.com/video_17443_answering-phone-in-movie-can-be-tricky-at-first.html This Cracked video]] explains why it's scary to answer phone calls in movies.
** "Where was I? Where the hell did I go? Why was David Bowie there?"
* [[{{Ptitle36fwwzhk}} Looney Tunes: Back in Action]] has Bugs and Daffy do this when the former was planning to help the latter get his job back. And they even push one another.
* Taken to extremes on {{Glee}}, during a conference call between all the members of the Glee club that are in on Finn's BabyTrap.
* Also taken to extremes in one 1999 {{Arthur}} episode, where there was a '''4×4 split!''' Obviously, 16 people were shown on the phone at once in a single scene. Each screen also faded to black as each caller hung up. When Binky Barnes ended up being the last guy talking, some [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity Ensued™]].
* This trope appears in one episode of ''FamilyMatters'' involving Steve, Laura, Maxine, Waldo, and Eddie.
* RuthlessPeople has this trope twice between Carol and Chief Benton; first discussing to arrest Sam Stone and again after Sam was released from jail.

* The ''{{Roswell}}'' episode "I Married An Alien" is partly done as a ''{{Bewitched}}'' style sitcom; at one point there's a four-way split-screen as the real characters and the sitcom characters carry on separate phone conversations, until they get mixed up and start responding to the wrong conversation.
* Used in the [[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8120700435328990155# "Cheating"]] short shown on ''MysteryScienceTheater3000'', which gave it a ''ByeByeBirdie'' riff.

Real Life:

* Used in the "Cheating" short shown on ''MysteryScienceTheater3000'', which gave it a ''ByeByeBirdie'' riff.

[[PhineasAndFerb http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/CandaceJeremyPhoneCall.jpg]]