Ooooh boy, that one took me a while!
The goal was clear quickly: I wanted to use my new teleprompter in daily video calls and thus bring more emotional closeness to my Zoom meetings by being able to look participants more directly in the eyes.
However, there were a few hurdles to overcome and I tried out several settings. I’ll show you my current and best solution in the following.
iPad as Screen Extension
The first challenge is to get the Mac’s image onto the iPad. While in the simple rolling script setting you only work with the iPad, this version is about seeing the current monitor image with my video call in the teleprompter.
At first I thought Apple had solved this for me. With the “Sidecar” function, it’s possible in newer operating systems to mirror or extend the screen content of a Mac to a newer iPad. So far, so good.
Unfortunately, there’s a problem: the image is mirrored. And no matter how I turn and rotate the iPad: it remains mirrored.
Mirroring the Image
So a solution was needed to mirror the image. In my case, it’s fortunate that I still have a small gadget lying around from the pre-Sidecar era: a Luna Display. This is a small dongle that wirelessly transmits the Mac image to the iPad.
The advantage over Sidecar: You can activate a teleprompter mode. When this is activated, the transmitted image is automatically rotated by 180°. This solves the problem.
My Setup
And this is what my finished setup looks like. At the bottom I have my Macbook, running Zoom, Teams, Meet or Skype. I move the app window to the top on the iPad as an external screen, which uses the Luna software to ensure the correct orientation. (The red Luna dongle is plugged into the Macbook on the left.)
As a webcam, I use the Sony ZV-1, which sits in the teleprompter behind the mirror. This camera has sensational autofocus and a very good image. It can also be used as a webcam via USB*.
Alternatively, I add software like OBS, mmhmm or Ecamm Live in between and incorporate it as a virtual webcam in Zoom and co.
The Rode VideoMic NTG on the boom serves as my audio input. This allows me to stand in front of the camera without a visible microphone. A lamp puts me in the right light and on the Streamdeck I can control various actions at the push of a button (mute mic, switch camera scenes, display overlays, etc.). If you want to know more about all the hardware, you can find more information in this post.
Eye Contact with Script
If I now have to give a longer speech in Zoom, I can also send my rolling script from the Mac to the iPad using Teleprompter Premium. I make the window transparent and place it over the Zoom image. This way I can bring my script directly into my video call and make a totally competent impression 🙂
With this, my goal is achieved: While looking into the camera of my teleprompter, I can simultaneously see my Zoom colleagues and my script. And while I comfortably speak into the camera, I can look my counterpart directly in the eyes!
* A word about the Sony cam: Since I own an M1 Apple Silicon Macbook, the USB connection unfortunately doesn’t work yet. Sony still needs to update the software. I made my connection via HDMI and an Elgato Camlink
