Problem
A teleprompter glass setup places the reflected text too close to the lens axis, making the presenter's eye movement visibly track the scrolling text.
Solution
Root Cause / Diagnostic:
Placing teleprompter text too close to the camera lens axis restricts the reading focal plane, causing the presenter's pupil and saccadic eye movements to be noticeably registered by the high-resolution sensor. The narrower the text block, the more the eyes dart rapidly back and forth across the frame.
Actionable Fix:
1. Increase the physical distance between the camera rig and the presenter to at least 2.5–3.5 meters while zooming in with an 85mm or 100mm lens to narrow the viewing angle.
2. Adjust the prompter software text margins to 30%–40% width, concentrating text in a tight central column directly aligned with the optical center of the lens.
3. Record a 60-second rehearsal take and review at 100% crop on the presenter's pupils to confirm zero perceptible left-to-right eye tracking.
Pro Tip:
Matching the focal length to subject distance creates a narrower field of view where 2 degrees of eye movement across a prompter line becomes imperceptible on camera compared to a wide-angle setup.
Placing teleprompter text too close to the camera lens axis restricts the reading focal plane, causing the presenter's pupil and saccadic eye movements to be noticeably registered by the high-resolution sensor. The narrower the text block, the more the eyes dart rapidly back and forth across the frame.
Actionable Fix:
1. Increase the physical distance between the camera rig and the presenter to at least 2.5–3.5 meters while zooming in with an 85mm or 100mm lens to narrow the viewing angle.
2. Adjust the prompter software text margins to 30%–40% width, concentrating text in a tight central column directly aligned with the optical center of the lens.
3. Record a 60-second rehearsal take and review at 100% crop on the presenter's pupils to confirm zero perceptible left-to-right eye tracking.
Pro Tip:
Matching the focal length to subject distance creates a narrower field of view where 2 degrees of eye movement across a prompter line becomes imperceptible on camera compared to a wide-angle setup.