An app for the Padcaster Parrot teleprompter
The Parrot is a light, phone-sized teleprompter for travel and mobile shoots. Reframely runs in your phone's browser inside the Parrot and fixes the most common problems people have with its app.
Step by step: set up a glass teleprompter rig
- Lay the screen under the glass. Put your phone or tablet face up in the tray, under the angled glass. The camera sits behind the glass and films straight through it.
- Pick your rig in Reframely. Open the sliders and choose Your rig. Tablet or Phone in a glass rig mirrors the text, so it reads the right way round in the glass.
- Turn the brightness all the way up. Beam-splitter glass passes only part of the light, so the reflection is dimmer than the screen. Full brightness and a darker room keep the words crisp.
- Check it through the camera. Look at the camera’s screen, not the tablet. If the hood’s edge shows in a wide shot, zoom in a little or widen the side margins. Then pair a clicker or your phone and press play.
What Parrot users report
The Parrot Teleprompter app averages 3.0 out of 5 on the App Store (App Store). Reviewers like how simple it is when it works. The complaints:
- Dropbox sync not working, and no clear list of supported file types.
- On iPhone, the Bluetooth remote counts as a keyboard, so the on-screen keyboard disappears while editing.
- The remote working only with the Parrot app.
How Reframely helps
- Import files directly from the phone: Word (.docx), text, Markdown and RTF.
- Edit from the other phone. Open Reframely as the remote and tap Edit script, so the keyboard on the phone in the rig doesn't matter. See why the keyboard disappears.
- Map the Parrot remote in Clicker setup, or use your second phone instead.
Set it up
- Put the phone in the Parrot and open Reframely, then tap Open prompter.
- Choose Your rig → Phone in a glass rig in the sliders menu. Keep sentences short; a phone screen fits few words per line.
- Pair a second phone as the remote with the code, or pair the Parrot remote and test it in Clicker setup.
Parrot and Parrot Pro
All Parrot models put a phone under a small beam-splitter in front of the lens. The phone is close to you, so shorter lines and larger text read best. Choose Phone in a glass rig; if you use a small tablet in a larger Parrot, choose the tablet preset instead.
Editing on set
The phone in the rig is awkward to type on, and a paired Bluetooth remote can hide its keyboard. Edit from the other phone instead: open the remote, tap Edit script, change a line and save. It updates on the prompter straight away. You can also send a script from a laptop with the send-to-Reframely bookmark.
Mounting on a DSLR or mirrorless camera
Use a short lens or a zoom at its wide end, and close the shroud. If the frame shows the Parrot's edges, zoom in slightly. Lock focus on your face before you start, because the scrolling text can confuse autofocus on some cameras.
Questions
Does the Parrot remote work with other apps?
A reviewer reports it works only with the Parrot app. Test it in Reframely's Clicker setup: if its buttons appear, you can use them. If not, use your second phone as the remote.
Can I film with the same phone that shows the script?
The phone in the Parrot faces the glass, so film with your camera behind the glass, or a second phone, while the first phone shows the script.
Sources
Last updated .