Hi guys,

I'm shooting an informational presentation video from a non-profit educational organization.

I will be filming two academics presenting 2 pages of script each (3 pages in terms of production) to the primary camera for a 4 minute video. I will be using two camera's switching between multiple shot compositions so we can shoot this paragraph by paragraph.

They will likely have little to no experience speaking to camera. It's a fast turn around job and the two presenters will only have around 2 hours of free time each for filming, including arrival time and departure.

As I'm relatively inexperienced working with amateur presenters for such large chunks of script i was wondering if anyone here thinks i will have enough time with the talent and/or if i should push for a reschedule (not ideal)? Can you provide any tips/advice for making this flow smoothly as possible and perhaps putting my presenters at ease?

Many thanks!

Note: I won't be using a teleprompter and will not be able to get hold of one in time.

You may be lucky and have everything go smoothly but be prepared with printed bold text 72pt. on cue cards. You should have about 10 pages with someone moving the paper sequentially out of the way. Rest the paper on the lens hood and be about 8 to10 feet away from your subject. The paper needs to be above the lens and as close as possible to it. Print your text about 8" wide on 8 1/2 x 11 paper and cut into 2 or 3 sections. Keep 2 or 3 complete sentences on each card with natural breaks to have time to move the cards out of the way. It will be almost as good as a teleprompter.

I usually use a teleprompter but this method has saved many frustrating shoots.

You may be lucky and have everything go smoothly but be prepared with printed bold text 72pt. on cue cards. You should have about 10 pages with someone moving the paper sequentially out of the way. Rest the paper on the lens hood and be about 8 to10 feet away from your subject. The paper needs to be above the lens and as close as possible to it. Print your text about 8" wide on 8 1/2 x 11 paper and cut into 2 or 3 sections. Keep 2 or 3 complete sentences on each card with natural breaks to have time to move the cards out of the way. It will be almost as good as a teleprompter.

I usually use a teleprompter but this method has saved many frustrating shoots.

Brilliant! Thanks for this Pete, hadn't thought about that. I often forget what people did before teleprompters were so common!

You could try the i-Prompt Pro app for iPad. You probably will have to set it near the slowest speed. It is not perfect, but if you can mount it close to the lens you may get away with it. I have used it once myself in a pinch.