C300: Teleprompters - what to use?

anatusa

anatusa

Veteran
Hello

i filmed 1 short clip yesterday and actor had issues remembering the words that he was supposed to say...... had to make a tons of cuts, and will have to re film tomorrow - so i decided to get Teleprompter.....

or maybe there are some other ways? what do u use for that kind of things?

what Teleprompters would u recommend? anything to keep in mind before making an order?

also does it works with Ipads only ? or laptops could be used as well some how? dont have an ipod my self..... also any special soft to use?

Regards
 
Many prompters work with a 45˚ piece of glass that reflects a LCD screen driven by a computer. Some models replace the LCD screen with an iPad instead.

For quick and simple stuff, I dislike bringing an entire prompter setup into the field with me, especially if I'm not sure if it will be needed or not. Heavy, awkward and time consuming. Instead, i use an iPad rigged JUST above the lens supported by a Delkin Fat Gecko iPad mount on a Noga arm. I use the "Teleprompt+" app that costs about $15 and it works great. For how lightweight the iPad solution is, you don't feel bad throwing it in the bag just in case someone can't remember their two sentence cameo.

I had an old ikan prompter and sold it because it was so obnoxious to use. If the shoot calls for a real prompter setup, and involves a close up, for instance, use the right tool for the job, but I've been quite happy with the iPad solution for many instances.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=fat+gecko+ipad&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=
 
I'm planning to use an iPad for a shoot tomorrow, rigged near the lens, but what I'm going to do is use VNC to make it mirror what's happening on a laptop and then get that laptop to use one of those free teleprompting sites so that an operator can control the speed of the text. I think some of the iPad solutions come with companion remote control apps but this is very once off so I'm not looking for a solid long term solution.
 
AirDisplay is a very simple app that let's you mirror your computer screen onto iPad or Android over wifi. Another great alternative if you're less savvy with the software side of things.
 
I am a professional teleprompter operator (whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?????). In my experience, when talent is close enough to cam, you can see, though it is slight, the difference between when they're looking right in the lens like they're supposed to vs looking above or below. In wider shots I think the eyes are too small in frame for it to be discernible. I would always vote on a lens-through-the-glass system. I am used to high end gear (it exists even in prompter world!) that I know no one here will go for. Cheapest stuff I've seen that I'd recommend would be from Prompter People. They make really nice, simple, easy to set up rigs for probably any type of cam you can think of. It comes with a software call Flip Q, but it's the lite version. To upgrade to the pro version (which you pretty much have to), I think it's another hundred bucks. These systems are probably (I haven't priced em, I subcontract on almost 100% of my gigs so I have gear provided to me and have no idea what it costs to buy) in the $1000-2000 range. If you do a lot of video work where corporate types are talking in to the lens, or commercials where spokespeople or actors are doing the same, it might be a worthy investment. Can make the day go much faster. Don't let the "oh Joe's just an office worker. He has no experience reading off a prompter" excuse stop you. . .I work in that situation all the time. They all pretty much do fine with it after a few tries.
 
Agreed, Josh. I didn't want to discredit the usefulness of a professional system (and operator!). By all means if you're being hired for "into the lens" stuff, use the right tool for the job. I've used AutoCue and its a fantastic solution. Just to be clear, I'm recommending my iPad setup as a backup solution just in case you end up needing something to cue people - something to save your day from coming to a grinding halt!
 
I second the Teleprompt+ recommendation, though it can be a bit wonky connecting over Bluetooth...but for the jobs where I've been camera op AND teleprompter operator, it's actually doable.

In my experience, I haven't been able to adequately "fake" the teleprompter with the iPad above or below without it being rather obvious. I have an actual chassis setup now, but I do agree it can be a pain to setup. However, if getting professional results was easy, then we wouldn't have so much crap on YouTube.
 
i faced the shooting like that twice this month and it was a pain! the actor was suppose to speak in English and its not his native language........ we had to re do the shoot today....

so i think i need to get something proper!

We tried to put a the words under the lens but its visible .... the eyes were almost closed
 
Any recent development in this space? Looking to invest in a teleprompter solution (with C300) so trying to figure out what to do
 
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