Local Teleprompter Company used by Obama, HBO and More

I started my company after I found my growth as a teleprompter operator limited by freelancing for other companies since 1991, and via the encouragement of a few mentors who also felt I could do better for myself and provide them with better service and equipment than what was being offered in Chicago. The company began in August 1999 with a complete pool of equipment, and growth was so sudden I had to buy more gear by November!

Why did you choose the area of work that you did? 

I fell in love with television production at my high school (which has a TV studio and related coursework), and pursued that as a career after getting a degree in TV and Film Production in college because I really enjoy working as a team with other creative people. 

I had initially wanted to be a Director and freelanced after college in a wide variety of production roles on video shoots. Various mentors and others in the industry kept pushing me to work as a teleprompter operator because of my communication and computer skills. Communication is vital for a teleprompter operator because they work not only with the production team, but also with the people who is using the teleprompter -- and that can vary from a factory worker to a CEO or political figure. Computer skills are necessary because scripts often need "adjustment". 

Sometimes script changes are just a word or two, sometimes it's almost a complete rewrite. The ability to accurately and quickly get those changes into the teleprompter (often instantly) is vital -- plus I'm a good listener and not afraid to offer an opinion if necessary.

What does your business offer?

My company offers the rental of teleprompter equipment and seasoned operators for a wide variety of events: TV shows, corporate video and conferences, bands and singers, politicians, etc. 

The use of teleprompters is more common than people think -- and your readers have probably watched shows that used our equipment on HBO, OWN, HGTV or A&E, or seen them in use during Obama's victory speech in Grant Park in 2008.

What's something interesting about your business your customers might not know? 

Technical proficiency is one thing, but the ability to work with a huge variety of talent is another. I have a special ability to make almost anybody comfortable with the teleprompter -- being in front of a camera or speak in front of a crowd isn't always the easiest thing. 

A lot of the people we teleprompt are not comfortable at public speaking, and it is very rewarding to provide the correct tips and guidance to those who don't do that kind of thing every day and watch them pull it off and feel great about their performance. 

Perhaps the hardest person I've gotten to trust me was Vice-Presidential candidate Joe Biden -- he had had a bad experience a couple of DECADES prior but after 20 minutes with me I managed to get him back on track ... at least for the rest of the campaign.

What's your most popular product or service?

We have two teleprompters that really get a lot of "oohs" and "aahs". The first is our Mini Camera-Mount -- which is just 4.5 lbs but offers a 10", full-color display. It's popular because cameras have gotten a lot smaller in the last decade and DSLRs and professional camcorders can weight just a couple of pounds. 

It's a perfect match for the smaller tripods that go with those systems. The second is our DayBrite monitors that are used in Camera-Mounts (for video shoots) and our Executive Speech Prompters (for speeches/conferences). The DayBrites are four times brighter than normal monitors and so they are great for outdoor events, like video shoots on golf courses, or speeches at stadiums.