How do they film phone conversations?

Question

How is the scene of two people talking on a phone shot in a film or TV series? For instance, if person A has to call person B, the scene can be taken in either of two ways. Ask person A to act like person B is on the line and speak all their dialogue. Have two cameras rolling simultaneously so that both person A and person B can talk as if a real conversation, which can be later edited.

Answer 1

Generally, each scene will be shot separately. The actor being filmed speaks their lines, and someone off camera will read the other side of the conversation. The scene of the other actor on the phone may be shot on a completely different day (usually shot be needs for set/location) using the same method. In post, the two sides are pieced together with EQ for the phone being added as needed for whichever actor is off-screen for any portion of the conversation.

For a scene where the person on the other end of the phone is not seen, the actor's side still follows the same method as above but the other side is done in a studio and added in post.