Presidential Prompter set up for Michelle Obama
A great tip for the Presidential Teleprompter
Tips for the Presidential Teleprompter
Working the Presidential Teleprompter (AKA) Speech Teleprompter at the SYTA conference has been a blast. Very nice people, who raise money to send kids around the country on trips around the world! The load in was the night before the event, but due to a mix up, the stage was not yet prepared.
I came in, set the presidential teleprompter up in a corner, ran my cables, and prepared to return a little early the next day to finish the set up.
When I returned in the morning, we had a very minor problem. Well not so much problem as inconvenience.
The lectern was dead center and all the way forward on the lip of the stage. This looks nice and clean, however, where is the Presidential Teleprompter to stand? I moved the lectern back a foot and a half, placed the mirrors on the sides at an extreme angle.
The problem with this is, while the talent can read the words, they are very close, and so they are turning their heads and bodies at very strong angles, which looks rather odd.
Presidential Telprompter
The solution was simple, yet elegant. Since the stage was raised four feet, the Presidential Prompter is not tall enough on its own to sit on the floor. The stage manager pulled out some empty cases, drapped them with cloth, and we set the prompters several feel in front of the stage, at an easy angle, on top of the cases.
This way the Presidential Teleprompter could easily be read, without causing an unnatural left and right turn by the talent.
So, if you are using a Presidential Teleprompter, please keep into consideration some space in front of your lectern to place them.
Our Presidential Teleprompter can also be used in a two lectern set up.
Interrotron Mark III