Teleprompter Guides

How does a teleprompter work?

A teleprompter shows your script on a screen just below the camera lens. A sheet of angled beam-splitter glass reflects the text towards you while the camera films straight through it, so you can read while looking directly down the lens. The text scrolls at your speaking pace, controlled by an operator, a remote or your voice.

True-Slate Guides · updated 1 November 2026

Teleprompter, autocue, prompter: the same thing

In the UK, people often say autocue, after the company that made some of the first British prompting systems. In the US the usual word is teleprompter, and on set you will often just hear "prompter". They all describe the same idea: a way to read a script while appearing to look straight at the audience.

The parts of a teleprompter rig

• A screen lying flat or angled below the lens. On professional rigs it is a dedicated monitor; on lighter rigs it is a tablet or phone.
• Beam-splitter glass set at about 45 degrees in front of the lens. It is partly reflective, so it shows you the text from the screen below while letting the camera see through it almost as if it were not there.
• A hood of dark fabric around the glass and lens, which stops light and reflections from behind the camera spoiling the picture.
• Prompting software that shows the script in large type and scrolls it.

Why the text is mirrored

Because you read the text as a reflection in the glass, the screen has to show it back to front. Otherwise it would appear reversed. Every teleprompter app worth using has a mirror setting for exactly this reason, and some rigs also need the text flipped upside down, depending on how the screen is mounted.

Who controls the scrolling?

1. An operator. In television, a prompter operator watches the presenter and adjusts the speed by hand, following every pause and ad-lib.
2. Timed scrolling. The text moves at a fixed speed you set in advance. Simple, but you have to keep up with it.
3. A remote. The presenter controls speed themselves with a hand-held or foot control.
4. Voice following. Speech recognition listens as you read and moves the text to match, slowing when you pause and catching up when you speed up. It gives one person the experience of having an operator.

Do you need a rig at all?

Not always. For a vlog, a video call or a quick piece to camera on a phone, you can place the script on the same device, close to the camera, and keep your eyes near the lens. The closer the text is to the lens, the less obvious it is that you are reading. For a professional look on a camera with a long lens, or when you are some distance away, a beam-splitter rig makes a real difference, because your eyeline is exactly on the lens.

Making it look natural

• Set the type large enough to read without squinting, and keep lines short so your eyes move less.
• Position the reading line, the part of the screen you read from, near the top, close to the lens.
• Rehearse once or twice so you know where the script is going. See our guide to practising with an autocue.

How True-Prompt does it

True-Prompt is a teleprompter app for iPhone and iPad. It follows your voice as you read, or scrolls at one of ten steady speeds with a countdown. It mirrors and flips the text for beam-splitter rigs, lets you set margins to suit your glass, and shows a reading marker, progress and time left. Everything runs on the device, so it works offline and your script stays private.

Common questions

Is autocue the same as a teleprompter?

Yes. Autocue is a brand name that became the everyday British word for a teleprompter. Both mean a screen that lets you read a script while looking at the camera.

Why is teleprompter text backwards?

On a beam-splitter rig you read the text as a reflection in angled glass, so the screen shows it mirrored. The reflection then reads the right way round.

Can a phone or tablet be used as a teleprompter?

Yes. A teleprompter app can display and scroll the script on an iPhone or iPad, either on its own near the camera or as the screen in a beam-splitter rig.

Related reading

• How do you use a teleprompter for YouTube videos?
• How do you practise reading from an autocue?
• All True-Slate guides