Reading from a prompter without looking like you're reading
Viewers notice two things: eyes darting side to side, and a voice that sounds recited. A browser prompter can fix the first and help with the second.
- Keep the column narrow. With Text width around 50 to 70%, your eyes barely move from line to line, so on camera it looks like you're simply talking.
- Put the reading line near the lens. On a laptop the webcam sits at the top of the screen, so move the reading line up to roughly a quarter of the way down. Your gaze stays close to the camera.
- Let the text follow you. Change speed while you talk with ↑ and ↓ rather than racing to keep up. Pausing with Space for a beat feels natural on screen.
- Rehearse once out loud. Phrases that look fine on paper can be hard to say. If you trip on a sentence twice, rewrite it shorter.
How fast should a teleprompter scroll?
Relaxed presenting usually lands around 120 to 150 words per minute, and energetic explainer videos often go faster. Speed in ClipLime is set in words per minute and converted into a scroll rate for the text size and width you've chosen, so a 140 wpm setting stays roughly 140 wpm even after you make the text bigger.
The estimated running time next to the start button uses the same speed. To plan a script that has to fit a slot, such as a 60-second Short or a 30-second ad, check it first with the script timer.
Using it with prompter glass, a laptop or a phone
Beam-splitter glass reflects the screen, so the text has to be reversed. Turn on Mirror text (or press M while prompting); some rigs also need Flip upside down.
On a laptop or desktop, open the prompter in full screen on a second monitor placed just below your camera, or turn off full screen and keep it in a narrow browser window next to your recording app. ClipLime's webcam recorder and screen recorder run in another tab.
On a phone or tablet, tap the text to pause, drag it to move, and use the on-screen buttons for speed and size. Some phones don't allow web pages to go full screen; the prompter then fills the browser window instead.
Want to check your framing? Show my camera behind the text places a mirrored live view under the words. It's only a preview: nothing is recorded or sent anywhere.
Controls while you record
Everything works from the keyboard, so a wireless keyboard on your desk acts as a remote:
- Space play or pause, Home back to the start, End jump to the end.
- ↑ / ↓ faster or slower, ← / → (or − / +) smaller or bigger text.
- Page Up / Page Down jump back or forward half a screen, handy with presentation clickers that send those keys.
- M mirror, F full screen, Esc exit.
With a mouse or trackpad, scroll to nudge the text, drag it to move it, or click the progress bar at the top to jump to any point. The controls fade away while the text scrolls and come back when you move the mouse.