If you are using a camera as your webcam, you know how frustrating it can be that you're not looking directly at the camera when you're recording. Well, I've got a solution to solve that, which I'm going to show you in this video. Hi, there, it's James here from Riverside, the platform that allows you to record in studio quality, remotely. Subscribe to this channel for three videos a week on how to take your recording to the next level. Let's get into this video.
I've been on so many podcast recordings, where I'm looking slightly to the left right up or down of the camera, so I can look at my guest or myself to monitor my own video. This is frustrating because it looks so unnatural on my recording. But this problem went away when I bought this Glide Gear teleprompter for around $120 and utilized the Riverside.fm app. So, I'm always looking directly into the camera when I'm recording. The teleprompter is usually used for reading scripts, so it reflective glass panel to show what's on your phone, or iPad that the camera shoots directly through. You might think that this is a little bit overkill, but these are the small upgrades that can make a difference in your show having that professional touch.
The setup for this is really quite easy. Before you start, make sure you've got an Elgato Cam Link, or similar, so that you can use your mirrorless, or DSLR camera as a webcam. Watch this video if you haven't taken this step yet. The teleprompter attaches to the top of a regular tripod, and if you don't have one already, any low cost tripod from Amazon will work fine for you. You then screw in your camera to one side of the glass and then cover it with the fabric hood, which will keep the light out to avoid any reflections. To see how we set up our lighting to get this look in the Riverside videos, watch this vid that we've linked in the top right corner of the screen. Also, make sure you have the Riverside.fm app installed in your phone, because we're going to use this as our virtual view finder.
The first step is to joint your studio on riverside.fm on your laptop, using Chrome as normal. Ensure you're happy with your camera and microphone settings. Then invite yourself via email, or copy and paste the link. Open the link on your iPhone, using the riverside.fm app. Check your settings and join. Once you've joined on your phone, mute your microphone and turn off your video. You can see your other camera on your phone at this point. Place your phone onto the teleprompter and check you're happy with its positioning. Invite your guest to join the studio. Once they join, you can see yourself and your guest on the teleprompter and you can be looking directly at them as well as into the camera. Then, you'll be ready to record your show.
So, this super simple setup using $120 teleprompter and the Riverside.fm app can make a huge difference. Let me show you what it looked like before I had the teleprompter. Yeah, so that's just how I came up with that number. And when I asked people they were fine with it. And here's how it looks in my recordings now I'm using this teleprompter. The batch discount, maybe four or five, give them a 10% discount off that price. You can see that a teleprompter can make your recordings more engaging and high quality. As you're looking directly at your guest while recording in 4K quality, it also doubles up as a handy monitor to check your composition. Simply join the call with your Riverside.fm iOS app and place it onto the teleprompter to achieve this look.
Have you got any other creative solutions to look in directly at the camera when recording? Let us know in the comments below. We're going to be producing a bunch more videos on this YouTube channel about podcasting, video interviews and more. So if you want to learn more about starting and growing your podcast, make sure you subscribe to the channel and turn on notifications so you don't miss and upload. Thanks for watching.
