how to use a teleprompter on iPhone for reels and shorts

a teleprompter app for iPhone scrolls your script up the screen while you talk to the camera, so you can film a reel or a short without learning the text by heart. there are three ways to set one up. the text can run over the camera on the same phone, sit on a second phone or tablet next to the lens, or reflect off a glass mirror rig right in front of it.

which one fits depends on the camera you film with and how much your eyes can move without it showing. after that, most of the result comes from the script itself and from two settings, speed and text size.

say you run a Spanish lessons account and film two talking reels a week at your desk, between online classes. the account is made up, and the rest of this guide uses it for every example.

the short version

• a phone app with a camera overlay is the quickest setup. a second screen by the lens lets you film on a better camera.
• write short lines you can say in one breath, and leave the shot notes out of the prompter text.
• at a typical 150 words a minute, a 30-second script holds about 75 words and a 60-second one about 150.
• put the text as close to the lens as you can and stand far enough back that your eyes barely move.

three kinds of teleprompter setup on iPhone

they differ in where the text sits, which camera records and how much gear you carry.

a teleprompter app with the camera on the same phone

many teleprompter apps open the front camera and scroll the text on top of the preview. you prop the phone up, press record and read.

the text and your face share one small screen, and the camera sits at the top edge, so lines further down pull your eyes away from the lens. keep the text in a narrow block near the top. depending on the app, you may also get fewer camera settings than in the built-in Camera app.

for the Spanish account, this works on a busy weekday. the phone goes on a stand next to the laptop, the front camera is on, and there's one take before the next student logs in.

a second phone or tablet that shows only the text

here one device films and another shows the script. you film with the main phone's rear camera or a separate camera, and a second phone or a tablet sits right under or beside the lens with the text scrolling on it.

on most phones the rear camera gives you a better picture than the front one, and the prompter screen can be as big as the device you have. you lose the preview, though, so frame the shot and check focus before you start. put the prompter as close to the lens as it'll go, with the line you read from at the edge nearest the camera.

a mirror rig in front of the lens

a mirror rig, also called a beam splitter, is a sheet of special glass held at an angle in front of the lens. a phone or tablet lies under the glass and shows the script. the glass reflects it toward you, and the camera films through the glass from behind.

because the words sit right over the lens, your eyes point straight into it. the reflection comes out reversed, so the app has to show the text mirrored. a rig costs money, takes a few minutes to set up and takes up room on a small desk. it pays off when you film a lot of talking videos, or long ones where every glance away shows.

for the Spanish account, a rig makes sense once the two weekly reels grow into a weekly long video as well. until then, a second phone by the lens is enough.

how to write a script that reads well off a prompter

a prompter script is the spoken half of your reel script, broken into short lines.

if you write scripts in two columns, like in the reel script template, copy only the "I say" side into the prompter. shot notes like "text on screen: ser / estar" scroll past at the same speed as your lines, and you end up reading them out or tripping over them.

here's a 30-second Spanish reel as it goes into the prompter, one line per breath:

• you've studied Spanish for a year, and you still mix up ser and estar.
• here's the question I give every student.
• will this still be true next week?
• if it will, it's usually ser.
• soy alta, I'm tall.
• if it could change by tomorrow, it's usually estar.
• estoy cansada, I'm tired.
• most students get it in two weeks, some in two days.
• there are exceptions, but one question covers most sentences.
• save this for your next lesson.

a few rules make a script easier to read on the fly:

• one breath per line. if you run out of air halfway through a line, split it in two. the line break also shows you where to pause.
• write numbers the way you say them. "two weeks" reads faster than "2 wks", and "two days" is quicker to take in at speed than a digit squeezed between words.
• use contractions. "it's" and "don't" sound like talking, while "it is" and "do not" sound like reading.
• cut the words you'd never say. "furthermore" and "in addition" look fine typed and sound stiff out loud. "and" or a new line usually does the job.

read the script out loud once before you film. a line you stumble over at your desk will trip you up on camera too, so rewrite it now.

how many words fit in 30 and 60 seconds

a common rule of thumb is 150 words a minute, about 2.5 words a second. it's also the default in the script timer. at that pace, a 15-second script holds about 38 words, a 30-second one about 75 and a 60-second one about 150. the Spanish script above has 77 words, which comes to about 31 seconds at that pace.

your own pace can be quite different. if you talk at 120 words a minute, those same 75 words take about 38 seconds. at 180 words a minute they take 25.

paste your script into the script timer to count the words and seconds at the pace you set. then read it out loud once with a stopwatch and compare. if the timer says 30 seconds and you took 36, set the timer to your real pace and trim the script from there.

speed, text size and eye line

set the speed to your talking pace

start at about 150 words a minute and do one test read. if the text runs away from you, slow it down. if you keep waiting for the next line, speed it up. change it in small steps, since a jump of 30 words a minute feels big when you're the one reading.

some apps measure speed in words a minute, others use speed levels, and some follow your voice. the test is the same in all of them. you should be reading the line at the marker without hurrying or waiting.

pick a text size you can read from where you stand

bigger text lets you stand further back, and the further you are from the screen, the less your eyes move as they follow a line.

stand where you'll film, start the scroll and check that you can read the line without squinting. if you catch yourself leaning toward the phone, make the text bigger.

keep the text near the lens

hold an iPhone upright and the front camera sits at the top center of the screen. text near the top is closest to it, which is why the reading line on a camera-overlay app belongs up there. with a second screen, place it so the line you read from sits as close to the lens as you can get it, above, below or beside.

distance helps here as well. from about two meters (six feet or so) away, a few centimeters between the text and the lens is hard to spot. at arm's length, the same gap shows up as eyes looking slightly off.

film a ten-second test and watch it back. if your eyes look below the lens, move the text up or take a step back.

common teleprompter mistakes

raising the speed to fit a long script

a prompter set faster than you talk, say 75 words of script squeezed into 25 seconds when you normally need 30, makes you sound rushed, and viewers hear that before they hear the tip. cut a line instead. in the Spanish script, the line about two weeks or two days is the first one to go if the reel runs long.

reading every line in the same flat voice

when every line has the same tone, it sounds like reading. say the hook once from memory before you start, so the first line comes out like talking, and let the line breaks set your pauses.

a notification over the script

a message banner in the middle of a take covers the line you're on. turn on Do Not Disturb or a Focus mode before you start. if your teleprompter app doesn't keep the screen awake, check that the phone won't lock halfway through a long script.

one take for a long script

if you trip at line seven of a 60-second script, starting over from line one wears you out. pause the scroll after each part, keep the camera rolling and cut the mistakes out when you edit.

wide lines on a big screen

a tablet in landscape fits long lines, and long lines make your eyes sweep across the screen. make the text bigger so each line is shorter.

FAQ

can you use a teleprompter with the front camera on iPhone

yes. teleprompter apps with a camera overlay record from the front camera and scroll the text on top of the preview. the front camera sits at the top of the screen, so keep the text in a narrow block right under it.

do you need a mirror rig for reels

no. for 30 to 60 seconds of talking, a phone app or a second screen near the lens is usually enough, especially if you stand back a little. a rig helps most with long videos and tight framing, where small eye movements are easier to see.

how do you not look like you're reading

stand further back and use bigger text, so your eyes barely move. set the speed to your talking pace, and if the script runs long, cut a line. rehearse the script once out loud, and the lines start to sound like your own words.

what speed should a teleprompter be

about 150 words a minute to start, then adjust after one test read: slower if the text runs away from you, faster if you keep waiting for the next line.

where to start

take your next talking reel, copy only the spoken lines into a teleprompter and read it once at 150 words a minute with a stopwatch running. if it runs past the length you want, cut a line before you film.

read next: reel script template with structure and example, batch content creation for a week of content in a day.