Voice-activated teleprompters: a script that follows your voice

How does a voice-activated teleprompter work?

It has two jobs: hear you, then find you. First, speech recognition turns what the microphone picks up into words. Then the app matches those words against your script to work out which line you're on, and scrolls that line into place.

The matching step is what separates a good one from a frustrating one. Speech recognition is never perfect, so the app has to compare a run of words with the script and decide where you are, even when a word is misheard.

Voice-controlled teleprompter, teleprompter with voice recognition, voice teleprompter, voice follow: these names usually describe the same idea, a script that keeps pace with your voice.

Why use a teleprompter that follows your voice?

• No speed to guess. You don't need to know your words per minute before you start.
• Pauses cost nothing. Stop for a breath, a laugh or a thought, and the text waits for you.
• Your pace can change. Slow down for the important part and speed through the easy one.
• No operator. You can record alone, with nobody at the controls.

What to look for in a voice-activated teleprompter

• On-device speech recognition. Your voice is processed on your phone, not sent to a server. It's more private and doesn't depend on a connection.
• Works offline. Useful on location, on a plane or anywhere the signal is weak.
• Waits when you pause. The text should hold still while you think, not drift away.
• Catches up when you skip ahead. Drop a sentence, and it should find you a few lines down.
• Ignores ad-libs. If you add a joke or rephrase a line, the script shouldn't jump around.
• Honest language support. It should say which languages it follows, and what happens in the others.

How voice follow works in Scrollglass

Scrollglass is a teleprompter app for iPhone and iPad, coming soon to the App Store. Its voice follow listens as you speak and keeps the line you're reading on the Eye Line, right under the camera, so your eyes stay on the lens. When you pause, the text waits. When you skip ahead, it catches up. Words you ad-lib don't move it.

It uses Apple's speech recognition on your device, so it works offline and nothing you say leaves your device. The first time you use a language, your device may need to download Apple's speech model for it. Planning to film somewhere without signal? Try voice follow once while you're online, so the model is already there.

Which languages does a voice teleprompter support?

It depends on the speech recognition behind it and on your device. Support isn't equal in every language, so check before you rely on it mid-take.

In Scrollglass, voice follow works in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Russian, Turkish and Dutch, depending on the speech languages your device supports. In Ukrainian and any other language, the text scrolls at a steady speed you choose, so you can still read any script. If a script mixes two languages, plan on steady scrolling for it.

When is steady scrolling better?

Voice follow is the easy choice for talking to camera. A steady speed is sometimes the better one:

• Exact timing. For a 30-second ad or a 60-second short, pick the length and let the speed follow. In Scrollglass, Finish in sets the speed so the script ends right on time.
• Loud rooms. Music, crowds or wind make any speech recognition work harder.
• Unsupported languages, or scripts that mix two languages.

Steady speed in Scrollglass is set in words per minute. Not sure what yours is? Try the words per minute calculator, or paste your script into the script timer to see how long it runs.

Tips for using a voice-activated teleprompter

• Record somewhere quiet. Less background noise means fewer misheard words.
• Do a practice run. You'll see how the text keeps up with you before the take that counts.
• Keep the script close to what you'll say. Ad-libs are fine. If you rewrite whole lines as you go, update the script.

More on delivery in how to use a teleprompter app.

Frequently asked questions