The advantages of using a teleprompter are endless. It elevates the need to memorize lines and can be a great way to work your way through large pieces of dialogue quickly. Here are a few reasons why you could use a teleprompter and some tips to make you a teleprompter pro.
Using a teleprompter can really be a huge help for someone to deliver a message. The biggest advantage of course is if you have a long script you are working on you don’t want to have memorize it. This is especially helpful if you need to speak directly into the camera. Using a teleprompter is going to be your saving grace. This allows you to craft your message to your audience exactly how you, the writer, would like it to be delivered. Unless you are a seasoned actor, it can be hard to memorize a long script and recite it back on camera and add feeling to it.
When using a teleprompter, you have the script rolling right in front of the camera lens and your actor can do say the script and deliver the message naturally while looking directly in to the lens. This is a huge time saver for you, your actor and the rest of the production team. No more spending hours trying to get the script right. You can just put it in the teleprompter, read it and be done!
I know I said you did not need to memorize the script when you are using a teleprompter, but being familiar with it is going to be very helpful. You want to read the script out loud many times before you actually start recording. Make sure you are reading it out loud when you rehearse. Getting your mouth to say the words warms up your body and gets your body in the right place to deliver your message correctly. Just reading the script to yourself is not really practicing the script. You have to say the words out loud, and your body will start to feel the natural pauses and movements that come from the lines. Think of it like practice for the big game.
Also, you want your recording to seem real and authentic even though you are reading it off of a teleprompter, so you want to make sure you are using the same inflection with your voice as you do in real life. You do not want to become a robot on screen and this can happen very easily if have not practiced the script a few times or if the script is not written ‘in your voice’.
The last teleprompter tip we have for you is, trust that the words will come. Think of it as a trust fall exercise. When you are doing trust falls, you need to trust that the person behind you is going to catch you. It is really easy to read the first line and know the next line is right there because you can see it. Do not start panicking that you are going to run out of words. Once you get to the bottom of the screen don’t slow down or pause, continue to speak naturally. Unless you have technical problems, the words will come. You need to remember the person running the teleprompter is watching and following what you are doing. Practice with them a few times and you will have it!
Teleprompters are made to make your life a lot easier. You no longer have to memorize long scripts or keep stopping to say “Line?”.
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Example of person reading a teleprompter:
