Here's advice for the fourth piece of video equipment you should buy (after camera, lights and audio equipment):
One of the pitfalls of reading off a teleprompter (especially if you are not a professional actor or trained spokesman) is that it makes you look like you're reading - not talking from the heart.
If someone came to your office to sell you printer toner and started reading his pitch off index cards - what would you think?
But looking into the lens is the good part of a teleprompter. It forces the camera subject to stare directly into the viewer's eyes.
Here's a tip that I got from Award-winning director Errol Morris. Ok, I saw his movies and read about how he did it.
See the above hyperlinked article for a detailed explanation. Morris uses a teleprompter to show a live feed of the himself (he's asking the questions) that is seen by the on-camera talent. Your CEO - instead of seeing text on a prompter, sees a friendly face - a tv producer, a director of marketing, whoever can engage the CEO in conversation. You'll need a cheap consumer camera on the interviewer to provide the feed to the teleprompter.
Now the only hitch is that the pre-written script is out the window. However, the untrained on-camera talent is now having an organic conversation with the viewer.
So the final product looks like this example Wheelhouse produced last year (I am a Principal at Wheelhouse) for the Bank Street College of Education Graduate School. Click on pic.
What I like best is that it's really suited for web viewing. All the participants are looking right at the viewer - speaking with immediacy and unscripted candor. It shows.
Send me your thoughts.
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