EXPLAINER
Camera Prompter
A camera prompter puts your script directly over the lens using angled glass, so your eyeline is exact rather than nearly right.
What a camera prompter is
A camera prompter is a beam-splitter rig: a sheet of half-mirrored glass sits at forty-five degrees in front of the lens, with a screen lying flat below it. The camera sees straight through the glass; you see the screen’s reflection floating exactly where the lens is.
That is the whole trick, and it is why broadcast presenters appear to look you in the eye while reading.
Camera prompter versus a screen beside the lens
- Camera prompter: perfect eyeline, needs hardware and mirrored text.
- Screen under the lens: near-perfect eyeline at normal distances, costs nothing.
At two metres or more, the angle between a screen just below the lens and the lens itself is small enough that viewers cannot tell. Sit further back and the autocue teleprompter on a laptop gets you most of the way there.
Why camera prompters need mirrored text
The image reaches your eye after bouncing off glass, which reverses it. Prompting software flips the text so the reflection reads correctly.
Reading directly from a screen needs no mirroring. Turning it on by mistake is the most common first-time setup error.
Camera Prompter FAQ
Can I build a camera prompter myself?
Yes. A tablet, a phone-sized sheet of beam-splitter glass and a hood are the whole build. The glass quality is what separates a clear image from a ghosted one.
Does a camera prompter work with any camera?
With most, provided the lens fits through the hood and the rig supports the camera’s weight. Check the mounting plate before buying.