The latest iteration of the Interrotron–the new Mark III HD model–has become available. At this time The American Movie Company and its TeleprompterRental.com subsidiary are the only sources to rent the Mark III in North America.
The Interrotron was invented by Errol Morris, Academy Award winning documentary filmmaker. He found a novel way to get non-professional interview “talent” to relax, look directly into the lens, maintain correct eye-line and give a genuine, believable response.
Morris is credited with naming the device but actually his wife thought of combining the words interview and terror. The device prevented “terror” in his non-professional actors.
Unprofessional talent, children… those who had little or no comfort facing a TV camera found they could relax and give natural, effective performances in front of the Interrotron.
Basically, it’s two modified, improved teleprompters connected by video cable. Both have cameras which feed the signal to the other. Thus, the “talent” and “director can see each other “face to face” on the screens of the Interrotron units.
So, an unprofessional interview subject does not have to stare into the cold lens of a video camera. Instead he/she sees the face of the director/interviewer and the two have a simple, relaxed conversion. Each is able to read the facial expressions of the other, get all of the non-verbal cues involved in normal conversation.
The director sees his subject directly via the lens of the main camera. He sees the framing, focus, etc. at the same time he judges performance. Because the talent is relaxed and comfortable, the process not only goes faster but elicits a more realistic, believable, authentic response.
The American Movie Company refined the device and created the Mark II. And AMC has been renting this improved device with a trained technician in major cities all over the country for the last five years.
Now, in response to the many directors who have found he device gets them substantially better interviews, the new Mark III HD model has evolved and is now accessible to the industry at large.
