How to read a script without looking like you're reading
People notice reading when your eyes sit away from the lens and move along long lines of text. Put the line you read as close to the camera as you can, keep the text narrow and large enough to read at a glance and let it follow your voice so you never chase it. Then rehearse once and speak as if you were talking to one person.
Put the text next to the lens
Every centimetre between the text and the camera shows as a look away. On phones, Followline puts the line you read right next to the front camera, in portrait and in landscape. On a Mac it opens right under the webcam. You can set the distance of the reading line from the camera in the prompter settings.
Keep the lines short
Long lines make your eyes sweep from side to side, which viewers see as reading. Choose a narrow text width so each line is a few words long and a text size you can read without leaning in.
Let the text follow you
With a fixed scroll speed you either chase the text or wait for it, and both show on your face. Voice following moves the text as you speak, so you can pause, slow down or add something of your own.
Write for speaking
- Use short sentences and the words you would say out loud.
- Put notes like [smile] or [pause] in square brackets. Followline shows them but doesn't wait for you to say them.
- Mark the start of each new thought with a new paragraph, so you know where to breathe.
Rehearse once, then record
- Read the script aloud once without recording, to find the sentences that don't sound like you.
- Change those sentences.
- Record. If you stumble, say the sentence again and carry on; the clean take keeps your last reading.
- Look at the take report: your pace, where you stopped and what you skipped.
With a teleprompter glass
A glass teleprompter puts the text directly in front of the lens. Turn on the mirror in Followline's prompter settings and the text is flipped for the glass.
Questions
Where should a teleprompter be placed?
As close to the lens as possible, ideally directly under or around it. On a phone or laptop, that means the top of the screen, right under the camera.
How far from the camera should I sit?
Far enough that a narrow column of text barely moves your eyes. On a laptop, about an arm's length is a good start.
Does reading speed matter?
Speak at your natural pace. With voice following the text adapts to you, so there is no speed to match.