Teleprompter request

[SPARC]

Hi All.

Looking for some teleprompter software that is cheap (as in free) and can use dual monitors. I want to be able to use the VGA port on my laptop to display the prompting screen to the subject and also be able to control the teleprompter off screen by a second person.

I'm working on a training video and I don't want the subject looking down and reading off a bunch of papers. There is a lot of material to cover so we don't want to get into memorizing hours of lines, don't have time for that.

Since I do this training as a volunteer I don't want to be spending a couple hundred bucks for software that has no other use to me and the organization does not have the money to purchase it either.

Thanks for any help or suggestions you may have.

[Ricardodude]

Word and use clone for the second monitor :P

[toxicvarn90]

I have terrible memory, especially when I have to say long lines. So I'm thinking of building my own one way mirror like newscasters have.

But where do I buy one and how should I make the frame so it would fit on the camera without putting weight on it on one side?

[Apocalypse WOW!]

isn't a one way mirror a window?

[toxicvarn90]

No...one side of the glass is reflective while the other side is see through.

I just want to know of the cheapest possible way of displaying text on the camera lens just like they do in TV studios.

[WesScog]

Do you mean like a teleprompter?

Why don't just write them down on poster boards, and have someone hold them up off camera each time you need to recite your next line?

[toxicvarn90]

Teleprompter....thanks for reminding me I had that word on the tip of my tongue.

I've used boards before but they always seem obvious when I look off camera.

But thanks for reminding me of the word...I found out what I needed here: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/878248/teleprompter_diy/

[Scott]

No...one side of the glass is reflective while the other side is see through.

I just want to know of the cheapest possible way of displaying text on the camera lens just like they do in TV studios.

I believe what you're talking about is actually called a two-way mirror.

A one-way mirror is just the common mirror.

[DeviousTom]

yeah first of all that's a 2 way mirror

second of all.. with memorizing lines I think if you really apply yourself you can easily memorize it

the other option if improvisation.

[Crosius]

Teleprompters:

DIY video (http://www.creativitytospare.com/?p=19)
Instructable tutorial (http://www.instructables.com/id/Teleprompter-DIY-for-50.00/)
Another page (http://www.bluesky-web.com/prompter.htm).

Teleprompters use glass and critical angle reflection - no need for a half-silvered mirror.

[Roel]

I've used boards before but they always seem obvious when I look off camera.


this is very obvious,

keep them close to the camera or at the piont where youre suposed to look at

[PreacherMike]

Anyone interested in a self-contained, portable teleprompter?
http://videopreacher.blogspot.com

Let me know what you think...

Mike

[BROKEN Productions]

or buy a mini lcd screen and feed the report throught that

[ThetaWorks]

We really need some kind of decent teleprompting system. We have virtually no money; but we do have a 1998 laptop computer which can run Prompt! 7. The free version seems pretty good except for the very small filesize limitation. We position the old laptop just below the camera lens. If your shot isn't too close and your lines of text are short, viewers can't easily tell that the onscreen talent isn't looking directly at the lens. Is anyone here using the paid version of Prompt 7? Is it worth the $50 - or are there better options?

Thanks!

[Vaughn Whynot]

get them to remember there lines?

[stefanocasadei]

just use any document writing program and make the font HUGE. then manually slow scroll.

[yourmindsinnerworkings]

yeah.. its also just as easy to use GIANT flash cars held just over the camers

[ThetaWorks]

We never seem to have an extra person available to manually scroll a text editor or hold cue cards. I've never seen an auto-scrolling text editor; I guess that would be just another name for a basic teleprompter :)

[sonnyfromda02]

Use Power Point and set the mouse click option to advance frames.

[BinBinProductions]

We never seem to have an extra person available to manually scroll a text editor or hold cue cards. I've never seen an auto-scrolling text editor; I guess that would be just another name for a basic teleprompter :)

we had that in Kid News, they had a program on the macs that had teleprompters that were hooked up to tvs.

[HunnyBunchFilms]

Just use cue cards. Manually scrolling the script is a pain in the ass.

[Steve Nelson]

We have an awesome teleprompter system here in our studio. I forget the program, but I believe it lets you automatically or manually control the prompt speed. And then a cable feeds the laptop it into a rig that we attach to our camera lens, which acts as a monitor...cloning what is on the laptop. The LCD is backwards and underneath the lens facing the ceiling. A transparent mirror reflects the image in front of the camera lens so the host can read it accurately and look straight into the camera. I'll have to take a look at it when I go up there in a little bit, because that sounds like the craziest thing I've ever heard and I want to figure out how it reflects the image without shining the reflected light onto the lens!

[Stuipdboy1000Productions]

http://www.cueprompter.com/

[Skycarl]

I would like to see on one of the shows how IndyMogul would
suggest an easy and inexpensive way to set up a
Teleprompter without using an extra laptop.
I think a teleprompter would be a great asset to have for
someone shooting by themselves and don't have a person
flashing cue cards behind the camera.

[trspballer7]

you could memorize your lines! but it is hard to do that for a news report or something...

[Skycarl]

Well, since my memory is as fined tuned as a broken radio and sharp as the handle
of a butter knife, memorizing lines is not an option lol. But doing a report or a
documentary type project would be prime examples of needing one. And since I
can't afford a laptop in the near future, I am hoping for some ideas or a show on it.

[ClayOgre]

Dunno if this helps, but I can remember back in the day running the teleprompter in school. It was nothing more than a camera on a stand. We had this sort of "conveyor belt thingy" with a speed control and we put pieces of paper with the dialog on it and watched the show to make sure that we kept up with the dialog.

If you could get a cheap surveillance cam and an old black and white TV, you could maybe make one. The only thing is, you'd have to make some way to reverse the text, since it would be reflected in the TP mirror. Either print it out reversed to start with, or have some way of "reversing" the input to the TV electronically.

[mesystudios]

At school the text is on the computer backwards, runs to a small LCD screen mounted right under the camera lens and then there is an angled piece of glass over the camera lens that reflects the words up. All of this is surrounded by a fabric cover to make the glass dark I guess.

I drew a rough picture to show you how it kinda works.

[datdude1988]

It's simple. You install this software right here named Prompt!...

http://www.movieclip.biz/prompt/PromptPClite.zip - For Windows

http://www.movieclip.biz/prompt/PromptMacOSXlite.sitx - For Mac

http://www.movieclip.biz/prompt.html - Tutorial On How To Use It

Then you connect your PC to a TV with the capability of connecting a VGA cable. Place your camera over your tv so it looks as if you're looking at the camera but you're actually reading the teleprompter.

Easy as a pornstar.;)

[blizzardjd1014]

I think it would be great if there was a BFX episode that showed you how to make a telepromter, because I know I don't like to memorize lines for a short film.

http://www.wfmz.com/vtour/tourpix/teleprompter.jpg

[IdealistProductions]

Hmm, I would say make a picture with all the text in it, take it into a photo editing program, reverse the picture, and then buy yourself a 1 way mirror (not sure how expensive they are), and just set it up on an angle, with your camera on a tripod behind it.

There might be easier and cheaper ways, but this is all I can think of for now.:D

[ugman77]

it would be cool, but for shorts you dont want to do that because you dont want your actors looking directly into the camera

[IdealistProductions]

Yeah, I would only think it would be good for videos like on WHATTHEBUCKSHOW and sxephil, where your supposed to be looking directly into the camera.

[neckstab]

Here's a quick DIY method and then my long-winded opinion of when and when not to use it.

• Borrow a laptop
• Cut and Paste your dialogue into a word processor. In MS Word you can make the background black and the text white.
• Use at least a 72pt (1 inch tall letters) sans-serif font like arial black or bold.
• Use the auto-scroll feature on your mouse (most PC's have this)
• Some laptops allow you to HDMI or S-VIDEO cable out to a bigger TV too. (S-Vid cable is $3)

If your reading news, giving a speech or reporting a journalistic story, this could come in handy.

HOWEVER, ugman77 and IdealistProductions have great points....

If you truly want this because you don't want to learn lines then I recommend NOT USING IT. Good cinema consists of a combination of 3 things, regardless of genre.
Writing, directing and acting. Acting is very important. Comedy or drama. DeNiro and Pitt for example are constantly using subtext to sell their characters. (Sayin something without sayin it) "She is the hottest girl in school..." If you roll your eyes during or after this line it means an entirely different thing.

Also knowing your lines well, means you really know what's coming next and can reflect that in body language as well as voice inflections. Another trick to acheive believability is saying dialogue while simultaneously doing something else, like eating or fidgeting with something, shuffling cards, etc. DeNiro, Pitt, Sellars, Brando, Jack Black (extreme case), John Ritter, Jerry Lewis....the list goes on, all do this.

The thing that many young filmmakers miss in the beginning is this delicate art. The art of acting. Most of us know something or another about technology and technique having studied our mentors or by just being fans. Unfortunately, the true craft that is acting is sometimes left out of that mix. That balance of the 3 mentioned things is really important. In fact, mediocre writing can actually be dwarfed in some cases by great performances ie: Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) and every Cheech and Chong movie except Corsican Brothers (They must have used a TelePrompTer...) It's a hell of a lot harder to dial up a good short film on the old youtube then it is a bad one. Acting is usually the missing component.

The craft of acting should be held high. It's hard when all we hear about is 20 mil for this and 20 mil for that. I have to admit I hate "MOVIE STARS" but look at someone like Forest Whitaker or Daniel Day or even good stand-up comedians. They actually become the characters and we forget who they really are for 2 hours... That is a magical thing. And to me, that magic is worth rehearing and memorizing a few lines.

[darao80]

The Cheapest way i can think of is to simply write all the lines on to a number of sheets of paper and then show them to people, put the only reason for someone to need a teleprompter is if there doing a live show which i presume your not doing, if the person has alot of lines then split up the shots so they can have a break or another way is record all the lines on a tape or mini disc then put one headphone in your ear and put a hat or something over it

[Vaughn Whynot]

Yeah, I would only think it would be good for videos like on WHATTHEBUCKSHOW and sxephil, where your supposed to be looking directly into the camera.
they don't use those tho
its all off the top of there heads

but yeah why not just use a computer
or memorize the lines
like the old times lol

[darao80]

well i just thought of another way which might be a little expensive but really portable. So get a little screen (i dont no where) but maybe like a little potable DVD Player and make all the lines on to a dvd that you can play. Then get a hot/cold shoe (no actual electricity is gonna go through it) and screw it or glue it (hey that rhymes) on to the bottom of the dvd player then slide it in,plug it in, and play the dvd and the lines will come up to whoever is looking at the camera

[IdealistProductions]

they don't use those tho
its all off the top of there heads

but yeah why not just use a computer
or memorize the lines
like the old times lol

Well its the same concept, looking directly into the camera and stuff.

[darao80]

here (http://www.metacafe.com/watch/878248/teleprompter_diy/)


Your Welcome

[BinBinProductions]

My suggestion, use Notecards, they are cheap and small, and you can take them anywhere.

they don't use those tho
its all off the top of there heads

but yeah why not just use a computer
or memorize the lines
like the old times lol

I'm pretty sure, Buck uses notecards.

[Skycarl]

here (http://www.metacafe.com/watch/878248/teleprompter_diy/)


Your Welcome

Yes, excellent link,, thank you.

[GarebearProductions]

I just watched Kip Kay from Make Magazine take a stab at making a DIY teleprompter (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hNhIEDMm9o) on YouTube. It looked pretty cool but I think the BFX build team should build one. Erik and his crew are usually pretty creative and keep the budget tight.

There is also free teleprompter software online at... freetelepromptersoftware.com (http://www.freetelepromptersoftware.com) so you can mirror your text, move it at a pace that suits you, etc.

There are also several designs for a teleprompter there but I haven't really taken a look at them.

Hope Erik and his crew take a look at this because I think it could really come in handy.

[theN]

He made one? Why does erik need to make one...?

[GarebearProductions]

a lot of times theres improvements. for example, the snorri cam; it was featured twice on indy mogul. The first time it was good, but when they made it again it had improvements and was a lot better.

And not everyone watching indy mogul is gonna watch kip kay/make magazine. So it would be reaching the whole indy mogul audience then.

[GarebearProductions]

freetelepromptersoftware.com
its called google smart one.