Here's an overview: I'm sitting in my usual spot, speaking to the camera. The dark object at the left is a floodlight umbrella, and you can see the digital recorder sitting on my laptop. (We record the audio separately from the video, and stitch them back together during the editing process.)

This next shot is taken over my shoulder, showing what I am looking at - my teleprompter. The video camera isn't visible here, as it is hidden under the dark teleprompter cover, behind the glass panel.

I've heard from some viewers that they are disappointed to hear that I use a teleprompter. Not sure what to say about that; I don't actually use it for all the videos. When I have a specific list of points to get across - like during the David's Choice videos, which this one is - I definitely need it to avoid getting lost along the way, but when the content is more 'storytelling' and 'rambly' (like the long video about visiting Ito-san the carver) I just set the camera up, hit record, and go for it ...

In the next shot you can see the 'control centre'; my lapel mic is plugged into the digital recorder, and the script notes also appear on the screen of my laptop (which mirrors to the teleprompter). The notes are actually scrolling at this moment, and if you look at the resulting video later, you might perhaps be able to see me reaching out now and then with my right hand to tap the keyboard to adjust the scrolling speed - it's never possible to just 'set and forget' it, because my speaking pace speeds and slows as I move along, and I always need small adjustments to keep the text in view. I make these videos totally by myself, so as there is nobody else to do this job for me, I have to 'sneak' it, hoping that the viewers won't notice ... :-)

This one of course, is shot from the other direction, from behind the camera ...

During a break, I lifted the cover of the teleprompter to show Cameron how the video camera sits just behind the glass screen. I can't see it while recording, but I know how high it is, so it's fairly easy to keep my view steadily into the lens ...

And these days ... we have to ensure that our mascots are present! If I forget to include one of these guys, I'll be hearing about it from the viewers!

So what's the topic of this next video? It'll be #6 in the David's Choice series, and will feature the little item you can see on the stand next to me in that last photo ...

Coming soon!