Mirrored output for a glass rig
If you use a beam splitter, the text reverses correctly so your eyes sit on the lens. This is the single biggest difference between a video that looks presented and one that looks read.
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Explore apps Zen Teleprompter · reviewed
A teleprompter for YouTube that does not watermark your take
Most people find out a free teleprompter watermarks the export after they have recorded the take, not before. Zen Teleprompter is built around the parts of a shoot that actually waste time: the eyeline, the pacing, and getting the take off the device.
the situation
What actually costs you retakes
Almost none of it is the script. It is the small mechanical things that only show up on playback.
- Your eyes track across text beside the lens, and a viewer reads that as "reading" within about two seconds.
- The scroll speed was set by guessing rather than by a timed read, so you spend the take fighting it.
- A notification lands mid sentence on the device holding the script.
- You discover the watermark, or the export limit, after the good take rather than before it.
- The video is thirty seconds over and you only find out in the edit.
why this one
What this does about it
All shipped behaviour, from the app as it stands today.
Runtime before you shoot, not after
Pacing tells you how long the script actually runs at your reading speed, so a nine minute script does not become a twelve minute video you have to cut back.
Record from the front camera and trim in place
You do not need a second app to top and tail a take. Cut the fumbled opening and the walk back to the tripod without leaving the script.
Three ways to run a script
Because a piece to camera, a walkthrough and a long explainer do not want the same behaviour from a prompter.
One script library
Everything in one place rather than in notes, a doc and a message to yourself. Cues live with the script they belong to.
Takes stay on the device
Nothing uploads to us. A script for an unannounced video is exactly the kind of document you would rather was not sitting on a vendor server.
Be honest with yourself
When something else is the better tool
This is a prompter and a capture tool, not a production suite.
- You need a full edit: multi track, colour, music beds beyond what is in the app. Take the take into a proper editor.
- You want a remote to control scroll from across the room. Not something this does.
- Your workflow is on Android or a Windows desktop. This is iPhone and iPad.
- You need a team to review scripts before a shoot. There is no collaboration here, and no account to hang one on.
If you are recording yourself talking, on Apple hardware, and want the eyeline right, that is the case this is built for.
how to start
A shoot that does not need six takes
Most of this happens before the camera is on, which is the point.
Write it to be heard, not read
Short sentences, contractions, one idea per paragraph. If you run out of breath reading it aloud, the sentence is too long rather than your lungs being weak.
Frame the shot, then place the text
Not the other way round. The prompter should sit as close to the lens as the rig allows, and everything else follows from where the camera is.
Set the size from where you will actually stand
Stand there and read the first line. If you squint, it is too small, and squinting is visible on camera.
Time a real read-through and set the pace to that
Rather than to a speed that felt right while sitting still. Most people set it too fast and then spend the take chasing it.
Record thirty seconds and watch it back
Before committing to the full take. Audio problems and eyeline drift are invisible until they are permanent.
questions
Zen Teleprompter for this
Does it put a watermark on recordings?
No. Recordings made in the app come out without a watermark. If you are comparing prompters, record ten seconds in each and export it before you write the script, because that is the only way to find out reliably.
Does it work with a glass teleprompter?
Yes. Mirrored output is built in, which is what a beam splitter rig needs so the text reads correctly in the reflection.
Can I edit the video afterwards?
You can trim a take inside the app, which covers cutting the start and the end. Anything beyond that belongs in a real editor.
Do my scripts get uploaded anywhere?
No. Scripts and takes stay on the device. Optional iCloud sync rides your own Apple ID and is off until you turn it on.
Try it
Zen Teleprompter
Mirrored glass mode, front camera takes, and no watermark on the way out.
other situationsBuilt for
Built for
a job, not everyone.
Freelancers and solo consultants
Client logins and your own business details, on your devices, with nothing shared.
Read itPeople who travel a lot
Passports, cards and codes in a vault that opens in aeroplane mode.
Read itEmployees and contractors at companies
Your own work logins, in a vault with no console for anyone to look into.
Read itConference and keynote speakers
Know the runtime before you walk on, and keep the talk off a server.
Read it