The Teleprompter effect scrolls your script up the screen at a steady speed so you can read it while looking near your camera, instead of down at notes. It supports a reading line, mirror mode for beam-splitter rigs, and a background of your webcam or a shared screen so you can check how the overlay lines up before you record.
Before you start
- Your script, written or ready to paste. Short sentences and line breaks scroll more naturally than dense paragraphs.
- A camera and recording or call app running separately, since the teleprompter itself doesn't record or join calls.
- Camera or screen-share permission, only if you plan to use Webcam or Screen / Tab Share as the background — Solid Color needs neither.
Set it up
- Open the Teleprompter effect. The controls panel sits beside the preview on the Preview tab.
- In the Script tab, clear the placeholder text in Script Editor and paste or type your script. Use
**bold**and*italic*for emphasis. - Switch to the Playback tab and set Speed and Font Size to a comfortable starting point.
- Switch to the Display tab. Leave Background Source on Solid Color for a plain read, or choose Webcam or Screen / Tab Share to preview an overlay — your browser will prompt for permission.
- Turn on Mirror Mode only if you're projecting onto a physical beam-splitter rig; leave it off for reading straight off a screen.
- Select Go Fullscreen, then press the spacebar or select Play to start scrolling.
You'll know it worked when the script scrolls smoothly past the reading line and the Play button switches to Pause.
To leave fullscreen, press Escape or move your mouse and select Exit Fullscreen.
What each control does
| Control | Range | Default | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed | 0.5–5 | 0.6 | How fast the script scrolls. Low values give you time to breathe between lines; push it up only once you've rehearsed the read. |
| Font Size | 24–120px | 48px | Text size. Larger sizes are easier to read at a distance from the screen but show fewer lines at once. |
| Background Source | Solid Color, Webcam, Screen / Tab Share | Solid Color | What renders behind the script. Webcam previews your own camera feed; Screen / Tab Share previews a shared window or tab. Both require a permission prompt. |
| Background Color | any color | #000000 | Solid background color, shown only when Background Source is Solid Color. |
| Background Transparency | 0–100% | 50% | Darkens the webcam/screen preview so text stays readable, shown only when Background Source is Webcam or Screen / Tab Share. Higher values darken more. |
| Text Color | any color | #ffffff | Color of the script text. |
| Mirror Mode | on/off | off | Flips the script horizontally for beam-splitter teleprompter rigs that mirror the image back to you. |
| Show Reading Line | on/off | on | Toggles a horizontal guide line where your eyes should track. |
| Line Position | 0–100% | 50% | Vertical position of the reading line — lower it toward your camera lens for a more natural eye-line. |
| Line Color | any color | #ffffff | Color of the reading line. |
| Line Style | Solid, Dashed, Dotted | Solid | Line appearance. |
Playback Controls above the tabs hold the Play/Pause button and a reset button (circular arrow icon) that stops playback and returns the script to the top.
Common setups
- Reading straight to camera. Background Source Solid Color, Speed 0.6–1, Font Size 56+, Line Position 40–50. Large text and a slow speed keep your eyes near the lens instead of darting to follow fast-moving lines.
- Checking a webcam overlay before recording. Background Source Webcam, Background Transparency 60–70. The dimmed camera feed behind the text shows roughly how a composited shot would look without making the script hard to read.
- Beam-splitter hardware rig. Mirror Mode on, Font Size 60+, Line Position near the center. Confirm the mirrored orientation looks correct on your actual glass before a take — flip it back off if you're reading directly off a flat screen.
- Reading over shared slides. Background Source Screen / Tab Share, Background Transparency 70–80, Font Size 40–48. Share the tab or window with your slides, then keep the script light enough on top that the slide content stays visible.
Troubleshooting
The script won't scroll when I select Play. A short script that already fits inside the preview has nowhere to scroll to — add more lines. If you're pressing spacebar instead of clicking Play and nothing happens, your cursor is still inside the Script Editor textarea, where spacebar types a literal space instead of toggling playback; click outside the textarea first.
My camera or screen share prompt never appears, or scrolling stays on Solid Color. The browser blocked the permission request. Look for a blocked-camera or blocked-screen icon in the address bar and allow access there, then reselect Webcam or Screen / Tab Share from Background Source.
I see "Camera access denied" or "Screen sharing access denied" on screen. You or your browser previously denied that permission for this site. Open your browser's site settings for WebLight, set Camera or Screen Sharing to Allow, then reselect the Background Source option.
My saved script isn't there after I reload. Typing in the Script Editor alone doesn't persist anything — only scripts you explicitly named with Save Script are stored in your browser, under Saved Scripts. Anything left unsaved in the editor resets to the default placeholder text on reload.
Underlined text in my script shows up bold instead. This is expected with the current markdown handling — double underscores render the same as double asterisks. Use bold or italic for emphasis instead of underline.
The reading line is in the wrong spot for my camera. Line Position sets it as a percentage of the screen, not relative to your camera's physical location. Lower Line Position if your camera sits above the screen, raise it if the camera sits below, so your eyes land closer to the lens while reading.
Next steps
Use Countdown Timer to time rehearsal takes before you hit record, or LED Banner if you just need one short scrolling line instead of a full script.