I’m bothered by the «We’re not looking each other in the eyes» gap that we naturally encounter again and again in explanatory videos and video calls. The speaker looks at the screen, but not directly into the webcam – and thus past me as a viewer.

I consider it very beneficial when you look directly into each other’s eyes. It creates emotional closeness and establishes a connection.

The Solution: a Teleprompter

So it was clear to me: I need a teleprompter!

You can build one yourself with a bit of craftsmanship. There are various tutorials on YouTube for this.

Since I know and accept my craftsmanship limits, I started looking for a finished product and finally ordered this model.

The principle is simple: you screw the prompter onto a tripod. Then you place an iPad horizontally in the designated holder. Above this holder is a glass plate at a 45° angle, which reflects the image of the iPad forward.

Behind the glass pane, you attach a camera (in my case a Sony ZV-1) and cover it with dark fabric to prevent reflections.

Fixed installation and put into operation.

Rolling Scripts

In the simplest mode, I use the prompter to speak directly into the camera in an explanatory video. With the iPad, I have the option to display my text script and even automatically scroll the text before my eyes. For the viewer, this creates the impression that I’m speaking freely into the camera. Meanwhile, I see the prepared text quite comfortably in the mirror. If I position this optimally (with narrow text width), you can’t even notice that my eyes are following the text flow.

Teleprompter Apps

To display and scroll the script correctly on the iPad, you need a dedicated teleprompter app. Because: it’s essential that I mirror the script on the iPad so that it’s thrown onto my eye in a readable form via the prompter mirror.

I can recommend the app «Teleprompter Premium».

Here I can adjust the appearance of my script very precisely, adjust the scrolling speed, and even set it to a desired duration: the app then scrolls my script so that I’m exactly on time during recording.

The app also has a few other tricks up its sleeve: First, I can use it quickly even without the large teleprompter. I have the front camera of the iPad or iPhone. This films me while the script runs directly next to it in the app.

For use in the large prompter, I have the option to control the scrolling speed remotely via the app. Via a game controller, a keyboard, or via my iPhone, which is paired via Bluetooth. It would also work via the Apple Watch, but that’s a bit too fiddly for me.

The app is not only available for mobile devices, but also for the Mac itself. Scripts synchronize via iCloud. The Mac app also enables me to do the absolute king discipline: Zoom on the teleprompter – but more on that in the next post.