How to use a Teleprompter

I know you’ve run into this… your client tries to wing it on camera, they get frustrated, embraced, and the shoot rapidly goes down hill from there. You’re left with a mess to deal with and you try to make it look good in the edit room.

For long form videos you need to get your client on a script. It saves time , keeps frustration low and nothing gets left out of your production – which saves you a lot of reshooting.

There are three keys to getting good results with a teleprompter. The first is distance. If you get up to close to the glass your eyes will be darting back and forth as you read. So move the camera back about 8 feet.

Second is font size. Too small and you can’t read it and too big and well you can’t read it either. Set it at a size that’s easy to read but small enough so that your reader can scan a full line of text at a time.

The third key is practice. Reading from a teleprompter and coming across naturally takes some getting used to. The more you, or your client, practices using a prompter, the more natural they’ll become. Also, and this is big, edit the script to their way of speaking. As your client practices, you’ll catch things that just don’t sound right. Make contractions of”is not” to isn’t – that kind of thing, according to the way they naturally speak. The whole goal here is to get a natural look and feel and NOT look like you’re reading.

I travel a lot to film my clients so I need something light, small and efficient. Ikan corporation have come up with an iPad based teleprompter called the Elite iPad Teleprompter Kit.

The Elite iPad Teleprompter consists of iPad mount, 30/70 prompter glass, lens hood, and 15mm rail system. This system is ideal for small to mid-size cameras as well as DLSR cameras.

I purchased the Elite Prompter software for my iPad for $9.99. Now this is Professional teleprompting software and has all the bells and whistles you need for any situation. It’s super easy to use and you can edit and set markers from within the software itself. You can mail yourself a script or download from your dropbox or Adobe Story account which is cool!

I also recommend the Elite Remote – this bluetooth remote lets you pause, adjust the speed and jump to preset markers on the script.

Elite iPad Teleprompter combination is easy to travel with and gives me everything I need in one package. I didn’t want yet another screen to cary and since I already travel with my iPad, I save on weight and cost of the system.

If you have an iPad already, download Elite Prompter from the apps store. Then check out the entire system over at iKancorp.com. If you already have a rail system, you can get the Elite Prompter minus the rails and save some money. But if you don’t already have a rail system, iKan’s rails system – called Elements – is the best I have seen.

I hope this was helpful, leave me a note below if you have any comments or questions. If you haven’t done so already, give me your name and email address and I’ll keep you posted on news and developments. Until then, I’m Perry Lawrence for small d film school. Chow.