Teleprompter with PMW-EX1?

basspig

basspig

Veteran
I may be shooting an educational video in a few weeks, and we need to use a teleprompter. My client found one rental for $125/day and he asked me if it will work with the EX1. Good question. What I wonder about is how the prompter is supported/mounted?

We have a Manfrotto 375B, and a 501 fluid head. Do we need any additional gear to install the prompter?
 
That totally depends on the prompter size/weight as to whether your tripod can handle the total weight--the EX1 isn't the issue. I bought a 11" prompter from the Prompter People and it works perfectly with both my Vinten 10 and my Sachtler Soom. But some of the older prompters are monsters---so make sure your client isn't renting the older 15" versions with heavy counterbalancing involved.
 
I have an EX-1 that I use with a Prompter People DV-9. I also have their HD tripod. If you look at their website you can see a metal mount that comes with the prompter and connects between the tripod and the camera. Kinda like a set of rails. It's worked fine for me and You should have no problem with a setup like that on your tripod.

The thing about the quality of tripods is their smoothness of pan/ tilt. If you have a teleprompter mounted so someone can read off of it, 99% of the time it's locked in place. So other than the ability to hold the weight, tripod quality doesn't really count.

http://www.prompterpeople.com/dv-9.php

More importantly,
If your client is willing to go $125/ Day you might consider investing about a grand or so in a teleprompter, and after a 5 day shoot, it's over halfway paid for.
 
Thanks guys. Helpful info. This is going to be a one-time shoot, as far as I know. We're not even sure if it will happen or fall through.
 
Just a thought here,
Don't underestimate the value of cue cards.

One of the recent shots I did using my teleprompter, I had a professional Hollywood actor slash Motivational Speaker and we ended up using cue cards.

For some reason some people have a problem following moving text, it's either too fast or too slow, and even when I give them a scroll wheel mouse so they can control the text scroll speed themselves, It just doesn't work.

With a cue card the text is static so it's easier for some people to read.

And by cue card, I mean printing out the text in a large font size on standard 8 1/2 by 11 printer paper and having someone hold that paper near the camera and very quietly change the pages. The text on paper is about the same size as the text on a standard teleprompter monitor.
 
Another prompter idea....

Another prompter idea....

Mark:

Just back from Israel doing a documentary. Used an EZP Stealth teleprompter from Barber Tech in CA (www.BarberTVP.com). Eddie Barber did the research for me on the proper adaptor to make his unit fit on the 77mm lens of the EX1. The whole thing weighs about 2 pounds, similar to a wide angle lens. I use a Miller DS20 and it was no problem balancing the rig.

Holds a single sheet so have helpers to change pages as needed. Lets the talent look straight into the lens. Did an earlier shoot with cue cards and had a lot of distracting eye movement.

The EZP Stealth comes in a nice case. Best thing is it does not require fancy mounting rails and did not appear to stress the camera at all.


Dave McCallister
 
Upon some reflection on the subject, I cam up with the "brilliant" idea of making cue cards with a hole in the center, that surround the camera lens. I think that may well do the trick and it eliminates the issue of having a trained teleprompter operator who knows how to anticipate the speaker's pace so they feel comfortable speaking. I think I'll suggest to my associate that he buy some card stock and prep it that way. Or maybe we can make an easel with a hole in the center, and pieces of paper with holes to fit, that rest on a ridge at the bottom of the easel tray. For our purposes, this could be a piece of corrugated cardboard, spay painted black (I'm a very practical person who saves money on things that Home Depot can often supply for less).
Thanks for all the interesting feedback and links. I think it stimulated some ideas.
 
I did a shoot where the director wanted to reduce the talent's eye travel by backing the camera off and reducing parallax.

Unfortunately the point at which the eyes seemed to line up with the lens was also beyond the point where the talent could see the cue cards.

Sometimes the only solutions are to have talent that can: memorize lots of lines in a short period of time; shoot great remarks off the cuff and stay on-topic and on-time; read off a teleprompter and make it sound spontaneous.

We opted for the teleprompter.
 
basspig said:
Upon some reflection on the subject, I cam up with the "brilliant" idea of making cue cards with a hole in the center, that surround the camera lens. I think that may well do the trick and it eliminates the issue of having a trained teleprompter operator who knows how to anticipate the speaker's pace so they feel comfortable speaking. I think I'll suggest to my associate that he buy some card stock and prep it that way. Or maybe we can make an easel with a hole in the center, and pieces of paper with holes to fit, that rest on a ridge at the bottom of the easel tray. For our purposes, this could be a piece of corrugated cardboard, spay painted black (I'm a very practical person who saves money on things that Home Depot can often supply for less).
Thanks for all the interesting feedback and links. I think it stimulated some ideas.
Click to expand...

Nice idea, but what happens when you have to go to the next page? Maybe you can cut a vertical slit below the lens hole?

We've used cue cards several times in the past, when we didn't have a teleprompter handy, and it worked fine. We just printed the text in a large font on regular size paper, and have an assistant hold the papers right over the lens. You can use a manilla folder behind the papers to give support, and just be quiet when turning pages. I think this technique also makes the talent's eyes look bigger, because he/she is looking just above the lens.
 
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