Record video while reading the script
Put the words where your eyes already need to be. Set the speed, size the text for the room, and keep the take moving.
What it does
The script scrolls over the live camera view, so you can read while facing the lens. For a talking-head clip, the phone is both camera and prompter. For a webinar, camera or stage setup, the phone sits next to the lens and acts as the prompter.
It is not only for forgotten lines. It keeps your eyes from dropping to notes and keeps your pace from speeding up halfway through the take.
Settings that matter
Most bad prompter takes come from one of these four settings.
Scroll speed. Start near 1× for a talking-head video. Short clips usually need faster delivery. Long readings usually need slower delivery. Prompter lets you change speed during recording, so a small drift does not force a retake.
Font size.Arm’s length usually works around 40-56 pt. Across a room, go much larger. The app supports 24-120 pt.
Contrast. White on black is the clean default. Yellow on black is easier under warm lights. Black on white can work in bright rooms.
Countdown. Use 3 seconds when the phone is in your hand, 5 or 10 seconds when you need to step back into frame.
Rehearse mode scrolls the script with no camera. Use it once to check runtime and pace before making video files.
Starting points
Use these as first takes, then adjust by feel.
| Video | Scroll speed | Font size |
|---|---|---|
| Reels, TikTok, Shorts | 1.4× – 1.8× | 40 – 56 pt |
| YouTube talking head | 1.0× – 1.3× | 44 – 60 pt |
| Webinar or course module | 0.9× – 1.2× | 56 – 80 pt |
| Sermon or reading | 0.7× – 1.0× | 72 – 120 pt |
| Self-tape audition | 1.0× – 1.4× | 40 – 56 pt |
| Pitch or product demo | 1.0× – 1.3× | 48 – 72 pt |
Vlogs, Reels and short-form
Short video punishes a wandering opening. A scripted hook read straight down the lens holds the first two seconds, which is the only part of the clip most people ever see.
Use: Run 1.4× or faster — short-form delivery is quicker than you think, and a slow crawl makes you sound like you are reading.
YouTube and talking head
Long takes are where notes off-camera show most: the eyes flick down every few seconds and the viewer feels it without knowing why. A prompter keeps the gaze where it belongs for ten minutes at a stretch.
Use: Break the script into short paragraphs. A wall of text scrolls past the reading band faster than your eye can re-find its place.
Webinars, courses and lectures
Prop the phone under your webcam and read the parts that have to be exact — the definition, the disclaimer, the pricing slide — without a paper script rustling into the mic.
Use: Use Rehearse mode once at full speed before you go live. It tells you the real runtime, not the one you hoped for.
Sermons and readings
A passage read word-for-word while still facing the room. The text sits at whatever size you need, so you are not squinting at a printed page in low light.
Use: Yellow on black is the easiest theme to read under warm stage lighting.
Auditions and line rehearsal
Record a self-tape with your lines scrolling by the lens, or drop the camera entirely and use the app as a line runner until the words are yours.
Use: Rehearse mode saves nothing, so you can run the same monologue as many times as you like without filling your Photos library.
Interviews, pitches and demos
Product updates, investor pitches and internal announcements all have a version that must land cleanly. Read it once, properly, instead of re-taking it nine times from memory.
Use: Record the risky 30 seconds on its own. A short scripted clip cuts into an unscripted one far better than a re-shot ten-minute take.
Phone position
Put the phone at eye height. If it sits below your chin, the angle looks like a casual selfie no matter how good the script is.
With an external camera or laptop, place the phone directly under or beside the lens. The further the words sit from the lens, the more obvious the eye movement becomes.
Distance changes everything. At arm’s length, 44 pt can be fine. At two metres, you may need nearly twice that and a slower scroll.
Write for the camera
Text written for silent reading usually sounds too formal. For video, make the script easy to say.
- Short sentences.
- One or two sentences per paragraph.
- A blank line where you want a pause.
- The opening line written exactly.
- No words you would not say in real speech.
Prompter shows word count and estimated read time while you type, so you can cut the script before the recording starts.
Anything you stumble over in rehearsal is a rewrite, not a line to force through.
Keep the take alive
- Adjust speed instead of stopping.
- Keep reading through small stumbles.
- Record exact legal, pricing or definition lines separately if they need to be perfect.
- Rehearse the opening more than the rest.
Related: how to use a teleprompter without sounding scripted .
Set the phone up and read
Front camera, back camera, or rehearse with no camera.
iOS 16.4 or later · iPhone and iPad