A radio ad for Holiday Inn in the style of Tony Hart

Here’s a short ad I did at ITN to trail the Coca Cola 2013 Christmas ad

The good news is that being free iPad apps you can just download them and try them out. In no particular order:

dv Prompter

Listec Promptware PLUS

visioprompt

Prompter Duo

Mirror Prompter

On Air

Prompterous  (this was free when I downloaded it, but notice they charge for it now)

Just a health warning. These are no substitute for a professional prompting system operated by somebody who knows what they’re doing.  Professional operators control the speed better, can find text and make changes rapidly, and have a sixth sense as to where they need to be in the script if things go awry.

Having said that if you’re  on a low budget, or just want to practice these are ideal.

It’s easy to import text by cutting and pasting from a Word doc. Text can be easily edited.  Font size can be increased , and you can get the  traditional white text on black background.

I’ll look at each of them in more detail later, considering control of scroll speed, camera mounting and general ease of use.  If you do want to camera mount the iPad there’s more kit to buy.

The importance of some  of the features may depend on what you actually want to use a prompter system for. I’m considering it for the  presenter to camera , but others use it for live conference presentations, lyrics for songs etc.  As the technology is easily available now, no doubt there’ll be lots of other uses found for it.

But for the moment let’s be glad this feature is available free, and any budding TV presenters can practice at home using one of these apps, rather than on their first job or at a casting session.

Miller Brothers link

It looks cheesy now and it did at the time, but that was the style they wanted. Probably the biggest single earner I’ve done, and there were spin offs such as a radio campaign and VO on some follow up ads.

The agency  bought me an Armani suit which I still have to this day, although the trousers seem to have shrunk and don’t  fit too well around the waist.

I remember it was shot in May. At the casting I turned up in the jumper I’m wearing in the commercial. I think it was one of those occasions where I got the job because I had the right clothes!.  I’ve always had a soft spot for this ad because it ran for several years, so I knew there’d be some repeat fees  from it in January to pay the bills.

Willy, Willy, Henry, Steve,


Henry, Dick, John, Henry Three;


One two three Eds, Richard Two,


Henrys Four Five Six, then who?


Edwards Four Five, Dick the Bad,


Henrys (twain), Ed Six (the lad);


Mary, Bessie, James ye ken,


Then Charlie, Charlie, James again


Will and Mary, Anna Gloria


Georges four, Will Fourth, Victoria


Edward Seven next, and then


Came George the Fifth in nineteen ten


Ed the Eighth soon abdicated


Then George the Sixth was coronated

After which Elizabeth


And that’s all folks until her death

Promo for the Discovery Channel and Discovery Science. Scanning the Skies (audio only)

Based at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, the Discovery Channel Telescope is 4.3-meters tall and weighs over six tons, making it the fifth-largest telescope in the continental U.S. The telescope is a joint $53 million project between Lowell Observatory and Discovery Communications that took nine years to construct.

I came across this gem on YouTube recently and was really pleased to see it. For some reason I never saw the commercial after it was completed so over 25 years later here it is.

We shot the indoor writing sequences during the day then went on to a  night shoot to get the rain sequences. I was drenched after the first take, and stayed wet the rest of the night. I remember being very cold, wet and tired, and about 4 am  being perked up by a stiff whisky. Also during the day I had to endlessly nibble Romany biscuits, then after the camera cut, spit  out into a handy bucket.  After several takes the bucket was a horrible mix of chewed biscuits, paper hankies, and water.  Can’t believe how young I looked then!