Since the day I started YouTube I wanted a teleprompter. Four years later, in 2021, Leeventi reached out and asked me to test their Teleprompter 4.0, a simple, cheap tool that makes a video maker's life much easier.
What a teleprompter does
A teleprompter is a screen that reflects text in front of the lens, so you can read while looking straight into the camera. The viewer thinks you're speaking from memory, just like on TV news or at live events. (Sometimes you can still tell someone's reading, usually when the prompter scrolls too slowly.)
How the Leeventi 4.0 works
In the video you see the unboxing and assembly. The camera sits behind, you put your phone underneath with the text, and it reflects onto the screen while you keep looking into the lens. It's a very simple principle.
The reflective screen isn't actually glass, it's plastic, so be careful not to scratch it. It comes with two bases and supports, all moulded plastic. Honestly, it's something a 3D printer could make. Probably the only part a printer can't do is the transparent screen, and a piece of real glass might even work better.
Verdict
It was €39 on Amazon at the time, and I'd been using it for a couple of weeks and loving it. I planned to use it mostly for bullet points right in front of the camera, so I don't lose track of what I'm saying, which happens to me quite often. I said "easy" too many times in this video, but that's exactly what it does: it makes your life very, very easy.