In this video, we're going to talk about how to use a teleprompter. So right now I literally have a teleprompter rolling here. And hello back there, you can see a little bit behind the scenes of what it looks like on this set. You know, not only the teleprompter, but also the whole setup. But what you see here is literally a device called the teleprompter that is sitting on the the camera. So we're gonna break this up into two parts. The first part we're going to talk about some good tips and strategies around how to actually read and use the teleprompter this way, but also then the gear we use. And so we want to make sure to provide a nice behind the scenes shot. So you can see with context what the setup looks like. And so to talk about the first part, we're going to talk about how to read off a teleprompter. So we have words scrolling down right now, but I'm actually not doing this scripted. Oddly enough, we're doing this off the script, not technically using the teleprompter. However, let me talk about some key pieces that you need to know. One is you got to make sure that you practice beforehand. And so you want to be able to read word for word, the script before you even loaded into the app or the teleprompter in reading it, because you want to make sure that there's no typos that it's one thing to transfer, like the thoughts and a head to paper. But then when you actually speak it, it's going to sound different, it's not gonna sound natural all the time. And so you want to definitely fix those typos and read it out. I mean, there's a reason why for movies or shows, they do what they call a table read, meaning they just set all the actors down settled people down in a room with the directors with the a lot of the crew members. And they literally read word for word like the scene action, and the dialog, and walk through the different episodes or the movie to get people kind of in, in the groove for what's going to happen for the actual shoot. And so I would recommend a version of that table read for yourself, you don't need to go print it off, but you can just go read the script. And so when you do that you get comfortable, you make sure the pacing and the language the grammar is right. And then as you sit down to get it recorded, what I would recommend is putting it to a tablet, there's a lot of great apps now from phone to tablet, but a tablet is a bigger screen, you can see a lot more on a tablet like an iPad, when you load it into an app, the app has a lot of different settings that you can use, which is great. One setting you'll need to make sure to do, especially as you place the iPad down is you need to turn it on Mirror Mode, the mirror mode basically makes it so you can swap the text and that can be mirrored against the mirror of the teleprompter. I'll show you like visually what that looks like in a second. But by doing that, you can actually read it from left to right. And then another key part is you want to make sure that you put the pacing, right. So when you talk to a teleprompter tucked in read off a teleprompter, you don't want to make sure it's too fast that you're feeling rushed that some words go past as it's scrolling. And, and you can't actually read it in time. And so you're speeding up, you're slowing down, you got to find the pace that works well for you. And don't I mean, I tend to talk fast, but kind of be aware of what's comfortable and what people can understand. And so you'll find that I speed up and I slow down, kind of based on preference, but you want to have that pacing, right. And then another thing you want to make sure you do is as you put the text in the teleprompter that you give enough spaces, you don't want one big heavy paragraph to read through because then it's like you're feeling rushed. And so add some nice spaces and nice breaks. And as those breaks happen, don't move too much is actually just a little a little hacking, because what happens if the space ends up being too big, then it could be an awkward pause as you collect your thoughts or get ready for the next paragraph. So right here I can go like you want coverage on major media publications. I'm reading the script.
And then you keep reading the next paragraph, you know that pause can be awkward and long. And so you don't want to move in between. So that way in editing, you can trim out that fluff and have the flow work a lot better gives a lot more opportunities for the editor, even if that's you. So beyond some tips around how to approach the reading of a teleprompter. There's some great solutions when it comes to the gear. So we're using a little bit more of a bigger setup in here as you can see some of the behind the scenes but a teleprompter can simply begin on your phone. Like I said, there's plenty of apps even free apps out there that you can download to your phone and allows you to put your phone in front of the camera maybe it's above the lens around the lens or maybe your phone is actually that camera and the text goes over top the screen that you're looking at and you can literally do teleprompter stuff scripted stuff from your phone. One thing I love is actually having a bigger screen Unlike an iPad, or whatever tablet you want to use and download an app, I'll recommend a few apps here in the description of this video. And you can customize add all of the text in there and think of a teleprompter kind of like the scrolling credits at the end of a movie, it literally moves about that pace, so you can read it in time. Another important part of the teleprompter is actually having the mirror or the class that you put it on, because there's a device that you put, and I'll once again provide some recommendations in this description. And the workbooks with this lesson is to have the device of the teleprompter placed in front of the lens of the camera. So that way, when you place the the iPad download and grab it, grab it off the Okay, so what I just did is I pulled the iPad off of the teleprompter device, so you can see the device from the behind the scene shot back here. And with that there's glass in front of the lens. And this image here, this teleprompter image here is being reflected. So I can read it. And you also want to make sure that there's a good coverage and black around the lens. So that way, there's no leaking light through, there's no glare, but there's usually a little rig, you got to put around the camera and even if it's your cell phone. So that way you can reflect this, this text for the teleprompter. So let me show you a few little tips, most teleprompter apps look the same, they'll have a black background, you see how this is can't read. Now, because it's backwards, it's because you need to be able to mirror it. So the mirror is off. Now you can read it normally. Right? Scroll through it, there's even a start button down here. So you can practice the pacing. This paste theme has worked works well for me, sometimes people need it faster. So you can make it faster. scroll this up, slow it down. Stop it, and then you'll need to scroll up to the top of it. But I do recommend though, is read through it. First, this pasting, let me go to the top this way actually. And then there's an option often with these apps that you can go in and edit. And I would give enough lead room meaning just like put a bunch of spaces at the beginning of the script. So that way, when you hit start, there are some blank space for you to get ready and sit down and ready to present. So as it scrolls through, though, even these some of these paragraphs can be a little bit long. And so make sure you add some good breaks into here. You good space, save it, hit start and see there's some lag time it gives me time to like hit record, sit down, do those things and kind of get ready for that first sentence. And then as I see, there it is, I sped it up a little bit as it comes up though. It scrolls through. And then when you're ready to put it underneath the teleprompter, you do the mirror mode. You can also adjust the size of the text
as well, the script font and some other settings. But simply speaking, those are the basic functions of a teleprompter, there's also different settings you can do to have it adjust automatically based on the pace that you're delivering. It hears your voice, your pacing, you can have like a remote that changes the pacing as well. If you need to adjust that to on like a professional broadcast level with teleprompters, they often do that to have a dedicated teleprompter person who's adjusting the speed for the person who's talking to the teleprompter. But yeah, it can be as simple as that. Even if you start with like most people have their phone or an iPad or something like that, where they can get the free app. And you can literally put it right above the camera and read it from there. But that does kind of lead me to the next point is watching the eye movement or the eyeline, if you do that, then your eyes tend to be above or below to the side of the lens. And depending on how close you are to the camera or far away, it can look a little awkward and off like what is that guy looking at? Like why is he looking that way. Another thing too, which can be an issue sometimes and is really seeing the eye movement. It can be pretty obvious if you if you're too close to the camera and you have to read big text and you say your eyes are scanning and you're reading the text and you feel a little like little tight little a little scripted that way and so make sure to make the text small enough, easy, easy to read. But keep an eye for the person's eye movement as they read through it. I would recommend it based on a specific type of video. I think sometimes you can lose authenticity. Unless it's such a well written script. Obviously scripts are very much necessary for for brevity or if you have talent who actually memorizing the words, but if you're reading word for word off a script and you're not comfortable or familiar with it yet, then it can feel very, very inauthentic. And so I would definitely be selective which with the types of videos and focus more on just giving yourself a clear outline and structure for videos first, but if secondary you end up going to script it, then teleprompter is definitely a great way to go so that way you can get to the point. So that's it. Those are some key tips and strategies for getting started with a teleprompter and using scripts in your videos.
