Mirror system displaying text on glass plate in front of lens — talent reads directly into camera. Standard for interviews, news, hosting.
You know the drill: the actor or presenter looks directly into the camera, but where does the text come from? A teleprompter is an optical construction of a mirror and display — usually a monitor or tablet — that reflects the text onto a semi-transparent glass plate positioned in front of the lens. The light from the text reaches the talent's eyes, while the camera films through the glass plate. The gaze remains on the optical axis, creating a seamless illusion of direct address.
On set, it works like this: the text scrolls on a laptop or iPad, and a technical assistant controls the pace — not the machine, but always a person reading along with how the talent speaks. Too fast, and the actor loses their train of thought; too slow, and it appears artificial. For long takes, you need patience and an operator with a feel for the rhythm. The mirror itself must be precisely aligned before each shot — if it's three centimeters off, your talent will be reading past the lens, and the whole illusion breaks. At the same time, you must ensure that no light reflections from the glass creep into your image; therefore, anti-reflective coatings or matte surfaces are standard.
Where does it become critical? With extreme focal lengths — very wide or very narrow lenses — the imaging problem intensifies. In close-ups, the talent can't read the text evenly, their eyes dart around. Readability on the prompt monitor also becomes difficult under harsh backlight. Many DoPs therefore combine the teleprompter with classic script memorization — the prompt is a safety net, not a crutch. You can tell: talents who truly memorize appear more present, more flexible, their eyes are more alive.
In documentaries or more authentic dramatic scenes, the teleprompter is deliberately avoided — the audience senses the machine. For news broadcasts, commercials, and explainer videos, it is indispensable. Important: keep the font large, use short lines, and clear sentence structures. A teleprompter script looks different from a book — pauses are planned, breaths are accounted for. Without this rhythm, it sounds rushed or deadly monotonous.