How To Read Lines For Video With Your Own DIY Teleprompter
Reluctant to invest a bunch of money in a pricey teleprompter for your video content creation, but intimidated by memorizing all your lines? Not to worry, you already have your own DIY teleprompter!
There’s a nifty little setup hack that will help you navigate this bottleneck and have you running through your script so smooth the local TV network will want to poach you. This simple and savvy trick requires a little bit more setup and tweaking to get it dialed in, but once you’re good to go, creating video and reading those lines will be smooth sailing.
Keep forgetting your lines? Video content marketing on a budget? Try out this DIY teleprompter before you go out and buy new equipment.
Right. To get started, you’re going to need a camera (hopefully you knew that already), plus a tripod, a stool, a stand or tabletop (to prop your laptop on), and a wireless mouse. Ready? Let’s start setting up.
The Setup
When you’ve got everything you need, you'll want to set up your camera so the lens is slightly above your eyeline, almost tilting down.
Next, line up your prompter (aka your laptop) below your camera lens. You'll want this pretty darn close, so that it's almost in the shot… but don't let it be in the shot. Use a stool to prop it up, then pull out those old textbooks or encyclopedias you have lying around to adjust it to that perfect height. If you're doing this often, you may want to invest in one of these cool laptop stands.
Okay, so now you've got your camera on your tripod with the prompter right below… Next, you'll want to open up the document with the text you’ll be reading from. Size it up so your text is easily readable, but not so much so that you're having to scan five lines just to read one sentence. If you do that, it’s going to force your eyes to dart up and down as you scan (which will be pretty noticeable to your audience).
To give yourself more space on your screen, also make sure to minimize or remove any toolbars up top.
Lastly, get that wireless mouse set up next to you (but out of the shot). This will work best if you're shooting mid-bust and up. I like to keep my mouse right by my side, so I can scroll along through the text at my own speed.
Practice and Make Adjustments
Now try out a few test runs by reading the first paragraph or two. How’d you do? If you can tell that you're reading or if you’re looking too far down, make some adjustments to the positioning of your prompter or size of your font. Afterall, you want to create video content with as much ease as possible.
Here’s what my setup looks like!
Now I'm not going to lie, this setup is going to take a little bit of time and tweaking to get just right. Video creation should be a painless process so easing your way with some preparation, will benefit you in the long run.
And once it's all set up, it's done! You'll be able to get through scripts with little to no cuts, which will mean little to no editing… which we like because it saves us tons of time so we can work on more scripts and create more quality videos!
X Marks the Spot
I assume most of you won't be shooting from a studio space, so here’s one more trick that will save you quite a lot of time in the long run.
Take some masking tape and mark off the spots where your equipment has been set up (and snap a few reference photos while you’re at it). That way, when you set up the next time, you’ll know exactly where to put everything. Not only does this speed up your setup process, but it’s good for the continuity of your videos, streamlining the look and angles so one looks the same as the next.
You’re All Good to Go!
And that's it! With a little bit of positioning and practice, you'll be churning out those scripts in no time. Now go out there and wow your friends with your video marketing prowess.
If you like what you’ve heard and you want to learn more about how to create video for Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, or TikTok then don't leave without signing up for my * newsletter * to gain more "quickie" video tips, course content and exclusive video coaching offers that will give you the confidence to do it on camera.
