How to read a script while recording a video on Mac

Looking at a second monitor or a notes window makes you look away from the camera, and viewers notice. The fix is to put the script right next to the lens. This guide shows how to do that on a Mac with PromptStrip, from preparing the text to checking what ends up in the final recording.

Prepare your script

A script that reads well out loud is easier to follow on a teleprompter.

• Write short lines and sentences. One idea per sentence is easier to read at a glance.
• Write it the way you speak. Use contractions and plain words, and mark pauses with a line break.
• Check the length. The library shows the word count and an estimated reading time for each script, so you know how long the take will run.

Paste the text into a new script in the library, or import a .txt or .md file you wrote elsewhere.

Place the strip close to the camera

The closer the text is to the lens, the more natural your eye contact looks.

• MacBook with a notch: the strip opens out of the notch, right under the built-in camera. You don’t need to do anything.
• Mac without a notch: the strip sits just under the menu bar, at the top centre of the screen, close to the camera.
• External webcam: drag the strip to the edge of the display closest to the webcam. To put it back under the built-in camera, drop it near the top centre or choose Reset to Camera from the menu-bar icon.

PromptStrip opens the strip on the display under your pointer, so move the pointer to the screen you want before you start.

Set readability and speed

Open Settings to tune the strip for where you sit:

• Text size: 20–80 pt. Choose the smallest size you can read comfortably. Smaller text keeps your eyes closer to the lens.
• Visible lines: 2–4. Fewer lines mean less eye movement on camera.
• Mode: the vertical prompter for long scripts, or the horizontal ticker for one big line of text.
• Speed: 1–10. Start with the default and adjust it while you read with ⌃⌥↑ and ⌃⌥↓.
• Background and opacity: pure black blends into the notch. Lower the opacity if you want to see what’s behind the strip.

To give a single script its own size, speed or mode, open the Style inspector in the editor. Only that script changes.

Record your video

1. Open your camera app, for example QuickTime Player (File › New Movie Recording), Photo Booth or OBS.
2. In PromptStrip, select the script and press Start Prompting (⌘↩). The strip opens and counts down (3 seconds by default).
3. Start recording in your camera app and read.
4. Control the strip without switching apps:
   • ⌃⌥↩ pause and resume
   • ⌃⌥← rewind a few lines to retake a sentence
   • ⌃⌥→ skip ahead
   • ⌃⌥H hide or show the strip

PromptStrip never becomes the active window, so your camera app keeps focus the whole time.

What ends up in the final recording

• Camera recording (QuickTime movie recording, Photo Booth, a webcam source in OBS): only the camera image is recorded. The strip isn’t in the video.
• Recording a single window: the strip isn’t included.
• Recording the whole screen: the strip is visible like any other window. Press ⌃⌥H to hide it before you start, or record a window instead.

Summary

Put the script under the camera, keep the text small and the lines few, and control the pace with shortcuts. You’ll read every word while looking at your viewers.