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Teleprompter for Jib Shoot – Problem?
Creative Cousins,
Has anyone captured on-camera talent with 30 ft. Jib? My question is… is my 10″ iPad Teleprompter going to be enough from that height/distance? Will the talent be able to see it?
Is there a larger, but light enough teleprompter available?
I’m shooting my Amira and weight is a concern even though our jib handles a 25-30lb payload, the weight of even our small iPad, clip-on prompter, hanging off the front, is a concern.
At this point, I hope to have the talent echo my delivery of the opening line and allow us to push in and cut to an MS on a second take.
Please help with any tips? Tricks? or Other methods?
Deeply appreciated,
CajunBob -
2 Replies
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My answer is out of left field, but based on you wanting them to echo your delivery, what you want to use isn’t a teleprompter but rather an ear prompter. This is a tiny digital audio player that feeds an inductive loop antenna worn around the neck under clothing; a tiny hearing aid sized receiver picks up the audio. The actor has a speed controller in their hand or sometimes under a foot. You just repeat whatever you hear. This will work in situations where a conventional prompter is not efficient or practical, such as long distance jib shots… The playback unit is usually controlled by the actor, feeding them a line at a time which they or you have pre-recorded. You could cheat and use a bluetooth earpiece and feed the lines off-camera as well, if you don’t want to buy the actual ear-prompter rig. Ear prompters are great for long shots where a screen just isn’t readable. You can also use them to give the actor/presenter a foreign language, just repeat phonetically whatever is on the tape.
If these are real actors, by the way, one of the most insulting things you could do as a director is give them a line reading. It’s one of the first lessons of directing school. Or should be.
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Hey Mark,
Great idea. And no, the talent is not an actor.
We’ve actually used tiny ear monitors to do just what you recommended.
That just might work.
Thank you!
Bob
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