30. 04. 2026 Charles Callaway Documentation

Teleprompter Tips, Part 1

Welcome back to our continuing series on budget-friendly methods for making video tutorials. On this episode we’re going to start a 2-parter on Teleprompters. I’ve previously described Teleprompter hardware and setup, but today I want to talk more about usage recommendations now that I’ve been using one for several years.

Also remember that a teleprompter was part of my mobile recording platform. One reason for that is a teleprompter provides a stable platform for both the camera (smartphone) and the reader (tablet). It also makes sense to turn it into a power and data hub to simplify things even further.

Components in a Teleprompter Hub

First let’s look at the individual devices and connectors:

Teleprompter: Sits atop the tripod and holds the smartphone (“camera”) and tablet (“reader”) for the script. An angled pane of glass reflects the script to the user while maintaining a clear view, a frame holds the camera in the right position, a flat surface holds the reader, and a box and shroud keeps light out so you can easily read the script.
USB-C hub: Connects principally to the USB-C port of the smartphone, and provides a PD port for distributing power (from a battery or a wall wart), HDMI output for connecting a monitor to mirror the camera (I just use an external HDMI monitor), and some additional USB ports for a microphone and providing power to the reader and monitor.
The reader: Typically a tablet, it rests below the glass. It should have the script loaded beforehand, but while in use it only needs power and optional Bluetooth set up if you want to connect a scrolling device.
The rest: Connect to the hub and also sit on the tripod.

Not that “the rest” aren’t important, they just don’t play a part in the recommendations below.

Tripod Hardware Set Up Tips

The optimum difference for our low-budget, tripod-based teleprompter is about 2.5-3 meters. In a home studio you may only get about 2 meters, but here’s why you’d want 2.5 even if you have to squeeze it into a corner and shoot across the room:

When it’s closer it’s easier to read the script, but someone watching is more likely to see your eyes move as you read the script.
Farther than 3 meters and you’ll have to get a larger reading display than a tablet will have.
In between you’ll have the best tradeoff between readability, minimized eye movement, and camera perspective.

Once you get your tripod in the right spot, take a moment to think about all those thousands of euros/dollars you’re putting on top of that thin cylinder of aluminum. Make sure you bought something better than the cheapest possible, and put some sandbags on tripod legs to keep everything from tipping over.

I have a few more tips from my own experience for you while setting everything else up:

If you see light leakage behind or around the reflecting glass, don’t hesitate to add your own shroud: You just need a bit of dark fabric thrown on top of the prompter if you don’t want anything more permanent, even a jacket will do. You want it to be both dark behind the glass to keep the contrast with the text strong, and also to keep out reflections from the light to your sides.
Get some rubber or other non-slip material to put under the reader to keep it from sliding off and falling to the floor. Other solutions to keep the tablet on the tray include large clips or a very big rubber band.
There are three basic ways to control the speed the text scrolls: single speed scroll, dynamic speed pre-programmed into the script, and device-controlled with something like a handheld bluetooth device. The third option is difficult to do unless you pay a lot of money for the software integration. If you use a web browser to scroll your script, there has been a Web Bluetooth API in the works for years now, but it still isn’t a standard. So I’ve gone with a variant of the second solution where I can insert pauses into the script itself.

Note that if you go for the single speed option, you’re going to have to adjust your timing as you speak, so make sure you practice that ahead of time.

Script Writing Tips

You can read just about anywhere that the kind of voice you use to speak is not the same as what you hear when someone reads out loud.

In fact, speaking uses a slightly different grammar and vocabulary, and you need to write your script to reflect that, or else your viewers will notice the lack of authenticity. The easiest way is start rewriting is to read the script out loud.

You should then either listen to yourself, or record yourself and watch the playback. If it doesn’t sound odd at all, then congratulations, you already know how to write for speaking. Everyone else, start rewriting the parts that sound strange. Then record and listen to yourself, rewrite the odd parts, and so on until you don’t hear anything that you need to change.

So some other tips on writing specifically for teleprompters:

Write in single sentences: If you write paragraphs, you’ll completely lose yourself because you’ll only see a mass of letters. Writing in separated sentences keeps vital “black space” around the words so you can make them out more easily while reading.
Write pauses into your scripts: Especially if you don’t have dynamic control of scroll speed while speaking, you can add fully or partially blank lines where needed. As I suggest below, you should read your script in the Teleprompter each time you rewrite it, and here I’ll suggest you should insert pauses as part of that rewriting process.
An aside on pauses: The more important a break point is, the longer the pause should be (although we’re talking tenths of seconds here) so use longer pauses when for example you change topic.
Add other types of notes into your script: When is a good time to look away on purpose, when you can look away because you’re going to use B-Roll, what to emphasize, how many items are in a list, when to slow up or speed down, etc. Any aid you can give yourself ahead of time will make it easy to read while you’re doing the final recording.

Readback/Display Tips

Beyond writing and rewriting, there are still a number of things we can do to improve our reading.

Use all capital letters instead of mixed case. If you’ve ever caught a glimpse of a teleprompter in a television studio while they’re showing something behind the scenes, you’ll see there’s always a large shroud, and the text is always in all caps.
Use as narrow a column of text as you can to minimize sideways eye movement. Changing parameters like column width, font size and line spacing always have an effect on scroll speed, so be sure to fix these parameters before you make any other changes like pauses that will also change scroll speed.
Use color schemes like you would have font changes in markup. You won’t notice Italics or Bold on a Teleprompter, but you will notice colors and shapes. So have a color for emphasis, a color for “slow down here”, etc.
Practice, practice, practice: Even besides the iteration for rewriting, practice two days before you record, the day before you record, and several times the day you record. At this point you shouldn’t be trying to rewrite, but you should be trying to nail how long you pause, when you should look away, and what color schemes you can still add.

When it’s time to record the final take, here are a few tips just for that:

You should keep the text you’re actively reading where the camera lens is (it’s not necessarily in the center). If you want, put a small white ring-shaped sticker around the lens so you can see it faintly through the glass.
Try to read the rest of the text peripherally, without letting your eyes drift to the top or bottom of the glass (because you’re faster or slower than the scroll speed). Note that just as you may be able to see eyes move left to right while reading, you can also see them moving up and down.
If you find yourself going too fast and you need to slow down, try to do a half-second pause between sentences where no part of you moves for that time. That way it will be much, much easier to post-edit.
Give yourself plenty of time. If you start getting nervous and in a hurry because you’re running out of time, it will be noticeable.

How many takes should you do for the final recording? From the point of view of audio hardware you’ll want as few takes as possible, even all in a single take, since tone and background noise in a room even over the course of minutes.

As a “voice actor” however, you might find it better to do a large number of short takes, so that you can rest your mouth, do a quick preview of the next section, focus better, etc.

I prefer a single take (actually, multiple single takes), but try out each approach to see if you like one better.

Speaking Tips

And when it comes to actually speaking and showing your face on camera?

You should treat your voice and face as if they are worthy of acting classes. And you should make that investment before you start making videos, not after.

For instance, you should know:

How fast or slowly you can speak
How long you can talk at a fast speed
What you can drink to help clear your throat
What facial expressions, posture and gestures look good on you

Pick up a book, read a blog, or watch some online videos about voice recording and podcasting. Try standard acting tips and learn about communicating with an audience. Record yourself and critque what you see. Watch critically how other people do it.

That said, don’t actually be an actor, or you’ll look it. Know what already works for you, don’t try to create things that work for you. But also know that the more time you spend in front of a camera, the more natural you will get at it.

Once you know what works for you, try to make your recording environment (including equipment and scripts) match that.