Why does reading show on camera?
When you read, your eyes move along each line and then drop to the next one. The further the words are from the lens, the bigger that movement looks to your viewer. Written sentences are also longer than spoken ones, and read aloud they sound flat. So two things need fixing: where the words sit and how they are written.
What can you do with only the iPhone Camera app?
The Camera app shows no script while it records, so this is about where you put the words. Apple's steps: Record a video and Take a selfie on Apple Support.
- Open Camera, tap Video and switch to the front-facing camera.
- Prop the phone upright at eye level. The front camera is at the top edge.
- Put the script on paper or another screen just above the phone, as close to the front camera as it will go.
- Write it in short lines, with a line break wherever you would breathe.
- Read a line, look up at the lens, then say it. Step back, because small eye movements are harder to see from further away.
The limit: you still look away from the lens for every line.
How do you keep your eyes on the lens with a teleprompter app?
Cue shows the script in a card next to the front camera on the same iPhone that films you, and scrolls it while you talk.
- Open your script and tap Open Teleprompter.
- Drag the Move bar under the card until the card sits just below the front camera.
- Raise Size until each line holds only a few words.
- Drag the lime marker at the left edge of the card to the line where your eyes rest. That line stays bright and the lines around it are shaded, so your eyes do not run ahead.
- Set Speed to your talking pace. Before you record, tap the script to start and stop it and rehearse.
- Using a beam-splitter prompter rig? Open the Mirror tool and turn on Script mirror.
- Tap the record button and look at the lens, not at your own face on the screen. Change Speed during the take if you need to.
How do you make a script sound like you talk?
- Write short sentences and contractions, and put one idea on each line.
- Break a line where you would take a breath.
- Read the script aloud once before you record. Cut any line you stumble on.
- Check the length. The editor footer shows "N words, m:ss to read", counted at about 156 words a minute.
What if the script is long?
With filming in takes, the script waits at the start of each part, so you can reset your eyes and posture between parts. More steps in how to use a teleprompter on iPhone.
Questions
Where should I look when I read from a teleprompter?
At the text right next to the lens. The front camera is at the top edge of an upright iPhone, so the closer the reading card sits to that edge, the closer your eyes stay to the lens.
Does a bigger font help?
Yes. Each line holds fewer words, so your eyes travel less from side to side, and you can stand further back.
How fast should the script scroll?
At the pace you talk when you are relaxed. In Cue, rehearse by tapping the script, set Speed until the words arrive as you need them, and change Speed during the take if the text runs ahead or behind.
Do I need a teleprompter rig?
No. A teleprompter app on the phone that films you keeps the text next to the lens. With a beam-splitter rig, turn on Script mirror in the Mirror tool so the text reads the right way round.