SELF-TAPE READER / IPHONE
Scriptmate is the self-tape reader that plays the other lines in your headphones and waits for yours, so you get a real scene on camera and a recording with only you on it. Rehearse the sides, then tape them without leaving the app.
4.1 on the App Store
HOW IT WORKS
01
Open the PDF or scan the paper pages, then tap your character. Your lines are marked for you.
02
Every other character reads in its own voice, so the cues are easy to tell apart on the day.
03
Run the scene with the reader. It answers when you finish each line, the same way it will on the take.
THE READER PROBLEM
Every self-tape needs someone saying the other lines, and each way of getting them has a catch. A friend has to be free when you are, and sitting next to the camera they can end up louder than you on the file. A recording plays on its own timing whether you are ready or not. A silent prompt on screen keeps the audio clean, but you read the cue instead of hearing it.
A self-tape reader app takes care of the timing. Scriptmate also takes care of the sound: the reader is audible to you and absent from the recording, so you react to a voice the way you would in the room, and casting hears only your side of the scene.
ON THE TAKE
Wired or Bluetooth headphones keep the reader in your ears only. No headphones? The iPhone earpiece is the quietest option, and the speaker is there when you want it loud.
Record with the iPhone's microphone, a wired headset, a Bluetooth microphone or an external one. The microphone you pick also listens for your cue.
Cue detection keeps running while you record, so the reader comes in when you finish your line, not on a timer you have to hit.
Front or back camera, a countdown before the take, and recording locked to landscape. Takes are saved in the app, ready to save to Photos or share.
IN YOUR EARS, NOT ON THE TAPE
With headphones in, the other character's lines play only in your ears. The camera microphone records your side of the scene and nothing else, so there is no reader to turn down afterwards and no voice louder than yours on the file. Your own lines stay hidden while you record, so you play the scene instead of reading it.
HOW READERS SOUND ON TAPE
A self-tape reader has to do two things at once: give you a cue you can play off, and stay out of the recording. Here is how the usual options manage both. We make the app in the first column, so weigh this with that in mind.
| Feature | Scriptmate | A friend in the room | A recording you play | A silent prompt app |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You hear the cue | Yes, in your headphones | Yes | Yes, if it plays aloud | No, you read it on screen |
| The cue on the tape | No | Yes, and it can be louder than you | Yes, if it plays aloud | No |
| Waits for your line | Yes, it listens | Yes | No, it plays on its own timing | Depends on the app |
| Reacts to your read | No | Yes | No | No |
| What it takes | An iPhone and headphones | Someone free when you are | Recording every other line first | An app with a prompt mode |
FROM THE APP STORE
4.1 out of 5 on the App Store
“I drop my screenplay in, and a second later I'm running lines. That's pretty much it. No setup, no fiddling, no fifty menus to dig through.”
rusty.m. App Store review
“Importing screenplay PDFs is really straightforward, and the app doesn't try to do too much. It stays focused on what matters. I've been using it to rehearse with my movie sides and it's made the process so much easier.”
Ellilav. App Store review
A self-tape reader app reads the other character's lines while you record an audition on your own. The useful ones wait for you to finish each line and keep the reader off the recording, so casting hears only you. Scriptmate does both on iPhone, and you rehearse the scene in the same app first.
Import your sides into Scriptmate, tap your character, and rehearse until the scene sits. Then put headphones in and record in the same app: the reader plays the other lines in your ears and waits for yours, and the tape keeps only your side of the scene.
Not with headphones in. Wired or Bluetooth headphones keep the reader's lines in your ears, so the camera microphone records only you. Without headphones you can play the reader through the iPhone earpiece, the quietest option, or through the speaker, which is loud enough to bleed into the recording.
Yes. Cue detection keeps running during the take, using the microphone you choose, so the reader comes in when you finish your line rather than after a fixed pause. If you take a beat or paraphrase, it holds until you are done.
Yes. Before you record, pick the iPhone's microphone, a wired headset, a Bluetooth microphone or an external one. The same microphone records the sound of the take and listens for your cue, so the reader keeps working with it.
No. Recording is locked to landscape, so a vertical tape cannot go out by mistake. If a brief asks for portrait, record that one in the iPhone's Camera app and use Scriptmate to rehearse it first.
They are saved in the app, on your iPhone. From the player you can save a take to your photo library, or send it with the iPhone's share sheet to Mail, Messages, Files or any app that accepts video.
Scriptmate Pro includes unlimited self-tape recording, and the first seven days are free with everything unlocked. After the trial it is $69.99 a year or $9.99 a month, and you can cancel in your App Store settings. Scriptmate runs on iPhone with iOS 16 or later.
Rehearse the demo scene, then record it. Your own sides are free for seven days.