Why A Teleprompter?

The need for Teleprompting arose from Broadcast Television's need for riveting eye-contact between the broadcast news anchors and the viewer.

News quality was often judged not just by content, but also by presentation. And there was no getting around that the home viewer could not help but be attracted to the news caster who spoke directly to them. Broadcasters realized early-on that the integrity (honesty, quality, credibility) of a news show relied on eye-contact with the viewer.

This rationalization was the old school belief that no one could lie to you if they were looking you square in the eye.  And while that argument would be hard to substantiate nowadays, the use of teleprompters had a decidedly positive effect on the overall quality of the presentation, if not the content, of news broadcasts over the years.

How Does a Teleprompter Work?

A Teleprompter is an electrical means for talent to be able to read lines, while on camera, and still maintain eye contact with viewers. Similar to using Cue Cards (but with the added benefit of maintaining talent eye contact with the lens), text is projected onto a front surfaced two-way mirror which is positioned in front of the camera lens. The talent sees the text, but the viewers see only the talent looking right at them.

Text is created and displayed using a Teleprompter Software package running on a computer. The software scrolls the text under the control of a computer operator for the talent to see on the Teleprompter.

There are three elements to a Teleprompter
1) Teleprompter Head which includes the Hood, Reflector, and mounting system for camera and tripod. We offer several sizes of monitors and a flat panel depending on your application and weight limitations.
2) Teleprompter Software which provides for creating, editing and scrolling the text to be read by the talent.
3) Teleprompter Interface which includes the computer on which the text to be read is scrolled.

Present day low cost teleprompters are designed for occasional use using smart phones, or tablet computers. Optimal display size for casual use is about 10", although I see television people using their 4" smartphone displays to prompt them while they are on the air during a remote (non-studio) segment.

Teleprompters are simple to use, once set up. You type in your script into a Teleprompter Application loaded on your tablet/smartphone. You can then edit your text and scroll it onto the device's display.

The tablet/smartphone sits on a platform under the Teleprompter reflector, which reflects the text into your eyes while you are looking through the reflector into your camera lens. You maintain what appears to be eye contact while reading the text that is scrolling in front of the camera.