4 Easy Ways to Read a Script on Video Without a Teleprompter

How do you read a script on camera without a teleprompter? I am going to tell you exactly how to pull it off right now…

To watch the tutorial visit my YouTube Channel

Does creating a high-quality video reading from a script and not having a teleprompter AND not having to memorize that script sound too good to be true?

Well, I will tell you – Over 50% of my videos are scripted and read from a teleprompter. I have learned how to do this naturally and rely on a teleprompter for those videos where the details are so important that I need to deliver them succinctly.

But that also means that a large percent of my video is NOT read from a teleprompter and I will tell you 4 tips on how I do that.

No. 1 – Write your script in “Parts” or “Scenes”

Writing your script in “Parts” or “Scenes” will allow you to reference and deliver 3-6 solid sentences at a time AND break your video up into manageable pieces. This way you don’t have to memorize an entire script and you can use the “Scenes” as reference points to jog your memory and deliver lines off the top of your head that are close to what the script says but do not have to be exact. Recalling and reciting small chunks is totally doable.

Doing this also means you can take as many cracks at it as you need before moving on to the next scene. You can simply have your script nearby, reference it, place it back down out of the shot and deliver again… and you can do this as many times as you need. Often times my 30-minute video recording is what turns into a 5-minute video.

No. 2 – Shoot for the edit

This simply means that you can film yourself in a way that will help make it easier when you edit your video later. One fun way I do this is by recording a single clap before I deliver a “Scene” and then double clapping after I have delivered a take that I am happy with. Then when I am looking at the audio or wav form of my video clip in my timeline, I know that any part where I see 1 clap that is followed by 2 claps that is the end of a usable clip.

No. 3 – Use B-Roll

B-Roll is footage shown over top of the original clip. This can be used to cover up mistakes like a Bandaid or you can plan ahead of time to use B-Roll in your video and rest easy knowing that part of your video can be read straight from the page.

Watch the video version of this article to see an example.

No. 4 – Shoot it in 4k Resolution

Now, this may sound scary or simply like video jargon, but the good news is most modern cameras and smartphones (and even some webcams) have this capability.

Shooting in 4K and delivering your video in 1080P will allow you to jump-cut within your frame without losing quality AND let you hide your mistakes with those cuts. It’s kinda like magic! Check out the video version to see how I hide the part where I itched my nose right in front of you. Using my 4K footage I made that clip look like this.

Those are my top 4 tips for creating a video using a script and not having to use a teleprompter! If you like awesome tips like these that help you make better videos, then check out my video “How to Write a Great Video Script”.