An app for LensGo TC7 and TC7S teleprompters
LensGo's TC7 rigs are built around phones, and the TC7S works best with two of them. Reframely is made for exactly that: one phone shows the script, the other is the remote.
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.
The TCQI app and the remote
The TC7 is sold with a Bluetooth remote and is meant to be used with the free TCQI app. TCQI is rated 1.6 out of 5 and its latest listed version dates from November 2021 (MWM). A buying roundup reports remote connection problems as common with the TC7S, and a slight glass tint (Markus Hagner Photography).
Set it up with Reframely
- Open Reframely on the phone in the rig and tap Open prompter.
- Choose Your rig → Phone in a glass rig.
- On the second phone, tap Remote and enter the code. The phones connect directly when the network allows, so commands arrive almost instantly.
- If you'd rather use the LensGo remote, pair it and map its buttons in Clicker setup.
The glass tint dims the text slightly. Raise screen brightness, and try the Amber color set, which some people find easier to read through tinted glass.
Two phones, one rig
The TC7 family is designed around phones, which makes a two-phone setup the natural one: an older phone in the rig shows the script, and the phone in your pocket is the remote. It doesn't matter if one is an iPhone and the other an Android phone.
- Put the phone you'll read from in the rig and set its screen timeout to the longest option.
- Open Reframely, choose Phone in a glass rig, and set a size where each line holds four to six words.
- On the second phone, open the remote and enter the code, or scan the QR code with the camera app.
Filming with a phone behind the glass
If your camera is also a phone, mount it behind the glass with its main (back) camera facing you, and set it to 1× zoom. Wide 0.5× lenses see the hood. Lock exposure on your face so the camera doesn't brighten and darken as text scrolls.
Short scripts read better on a phone
A phone screen shows only a few lines at once. Keep sentences short, break long paragraphs with blank lines, and use # headings so you can jump back for a retake instead of scrolling.
Questions
Do I need two phones for the TC7S?
It works best that way: one phone shows the script and the camera films through the glass. A second phone as the remote is optional but makes solo recording much easier.
Is TCQI still updated?
Its store listing shows version 1.5.0 from November 2021 as the latest.
Sources
Last updated .