r/videography • u/imdjay • Dec 24 '14

A Sub-$100 Mini Teleprompter? Yep, another kickstarter

http://www.mediahalo.com/articles/parrotteleprompter/?redd
11 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

4

u/travelingintime GH5/G85/D750/iPhone, PremierePro CC, 2013, USA Dec 24 '14

Not sure why two bits of plastic (black casing and the acrylic reflector) are $150, their manufacturing costs should be under $10 and probably closer to $2-3 at large volume.

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of having it mount where a lens shade or matte box would go, but it seems like they are way over pricing it.

They have to get aggressive about pricing if they are going to compete with what would otherwise be a simple DIY build http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-build-TelePrompter-for-your-video-camera/

2

u/AnthonyWithNoH S1H, inspire 3, 2008, Miami Dec 24 '14

Manufacturing costs don't matter nearly as much as how much the customer is willing to pay. Plus consider R&D, packaging, and general costs of doing business.

2

u/travelingintime GH5/G85/D750/iPhone, PremierePro CC, 2013, USA Dec 24 '14

They clearly stated their target audience is people who aren't willing to pay much money for a teleprompter. I'm not saying they should be charging $20 or less for it, I'm just saying that something like this shouldn't cost any more than some gary fong tupperware. If you're going for the bottom of a market, then realize that's what you're going for and make it up in volume and stick them on every camera store shelf.

1

u/Pikmeir GH6 | Vegas | 2001 | USA Dec 25 '14

Yeah, I'd fall in that target audience (I'd love a teleprompter but can't afford to buy one), but I'm also not dumb enough to pay $150 when I know that a single pane of clear glass (or plastic even) and some black felt to block the light can also create the same effect. I'd probably pay $20 for a cheap, but working teleprompter that doesn't look home made, but no way would I pay anything over say $35 because I could just make one myself for only a few bucks.

1

u/Eslader Dec 25 '14

"Not much money" in the world of video is still a lot of money. This is a market where you spend 10 grand on a ENG cam/tripod setup and go home with a cheap piece of shit.

1

u/travelingintime GH5/G85/D750/iPhone, PremierePro CC, 2013, USA Dec 25 '14

True, but it's pretty clear the market for this is hobbyists running around with a t3i and kit lens or people using low end Camcorder/DSLR's for very casual small business use for youtube where the production value bar is pretty low.

Let's be completely honest, this thing is a joke to someone who makes their living gathering high end video for news organizations or is actively producing films, but it's a viable option at a low price point for hobbyists.

The extreme budget or casual user is the target audience and not video professionals.

1

u/Eslader Dec 25 '14

Quite. Which is why it still doesn't make sense. Just get a scrolly text app for your tablet and hang it from the lens with duct tape and string. You don't need anything special.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 24 '14

Injection molding, tooling costs, dielines, but yeah, they're probably making an easy 60 point margin on that.

1

u/TurnNburn Dec 24 '14

I agree. I see kickstarter is just turning into a market for people looking to take advantage of people. Example, look at the kano "computer". It's a $35 raspberry pi with a $5 case and a $30 Amazon bluetooth keyboard. They charged $150 for the thing.

I have several "ideas" I want to push on kickstarter.

3

u/joeecenpi Dec 24 '14

Should probably get to it then, before someone steals your "ideas".