Make it easy on yourself

It's so much easier to get a good result when you use the right tools. Here are three pieces of equipment that will help any studio teleprompter shoot:

1. Light It Right

The biggest secret to producing a professional-looking video is using a professional lighting system. Using proper lighting elevates the perceived quality of any video - it removes the 'amateur' label almost instantly.

While it is possible to get professional results using cheap floodlights from Home Depot, it is a lot easier if you use a system specifically designed for video production.

The kit of choice would be one using Lowell Lights. But for video producers on a budget, this light kit from Skaser.com, is a good substitute (and much less expensive).

These cool lights can give you Hollywood quality lighting, but without the heat problems quartz and incandescent lights create.

You can run these cool lights for hours, and your studio won't heat up, your talent and crew remain cool, and there is no risk of fires or burns.

2. Look Mum . . . No Wires!

The quickest way to lose your audience is with poor audio. In the past, the only way to get good audio was using wired XLR systems, but thankfully times have changed and now you can produce great results with wireless equipment at an affordable cost. Here's the system I use:

It’s the Sennheiser Evolution G3 100 Series. This package includes a camera mounted receiver, body-pack transmitter with lavalier mic and a standard microphone transmitter (allows any handheld mic with a 3-pin XLR connection to be used wirelessly).

Note: If you intend using this system outside the US, be sure to check that the model you order operates on a frequency compatible with your country.

3. Purpose Built Hardware

You already know what using a teleprompter can do for your performance, or you wouldn't be reading our blog. And since this post is about making sure you have the right tools for the job, it will be no surprise that I include a link to what we think is one of the better hardware offerings on the market.

PrompterPeople have been in the business for many years and produce quality hardware designs which just keep getting better.

 Professional teleprompter hardware is not cheap, but for those with the budget, it's like the difference between flying long haul business class and economy versus DIY solutions.

I've owned the model pictured above and can personally recommend it.

Shameless plug: virtually all the teleprompter hardware companies produce their own software. They figure they have to. But the reality is that they all . . . well, suck. That's why PromptDog was created as a standalone solution.

So don't be fooled by these 'bundled' offerings . . . several of the hardware options are top class, but unfortunately the same cannot be said of the software sold with them!