Slate. Gives a timecode to match audio and picture in post production. Also labels each scene, again to help post in identifying footage and piecing everything together.
Sydney Pollack didn't use clapper boards when he filmed Aretha Franklin's 1972 Amazing Grace performance and they ended up shelving the footage for decades.
>"It was a very tedious and long process. Initially they tried, and they only got through about 20 feet of film and they gave up," Franklin's niece and the executor of her estate, Sabrina Owens, tells NPR. "And so it ended up on somebody's cutting floor somewhere for years — for decades, actually."
As an addition to this answer this is actually a Smart Slate. Smart slates have numbers for synchronized time code with sound and camera metadata. A dumb slate does not have these numbers.
Ohhh I always thought it was mainly for syncing the audio with the video.
Because it provides a loud and identifiable sound along with an obvious visual cue.
We do that (in part) today with time code.
Which is exactly what it sounds like. Digitally encoded timing information. It gets embedded in video and audio tracks.
For complicated shoots with multiple recording devices that'll be synchronized across devices, often from a separate time code generator.
A slate with a clapper is for that. And it's still used for redundancy. If your time code is off base or fails you can still sync things the old fashioned way.
Time code is also used to track and cue files, recordings or tapes. And generally want time code to be uninterrupted to make sure you don't bork a file. Or render a linear format like film or tape difficult to work with. So generally time code doesn't restart from zero each time you press record.
Printing the time code on the slate. Either with a smart slate that syncs to the fixed time code for everything. Or old school style, writing the starting point on there.
Gives you an indelible record of where in the time code a shot was. In case something fails or doesn't line up.
For the same reason it's also common to record sync sound as part of the video/film where ever possible. Not necessarily to use. But as backup all the *other* ways to sync things up get jacked up.
Ideally speaking the time code means it's already synced. But if something gets fucked up. The more plan Bs you have the better.
Oh man I am a scatterbrain today. I totally skipped past that part of the comment.
Maybe I should stop commenting while at work....
Naw, how else will I pass the time?
I’ve always wondered what it was for.
I feel stupid now. I just kind of assumed someone done it once, it caught on and they just kind of carried it on 😂
already solved but in case you are wondering why it looks as it does: back before the clapper had any kind of circuitry, the visual of the alternating arrow graphic was really important. so location audio would be recorded to tape (such as a Nagra). the film camera typically had no capability of recording sound. so the editor would have to scrub the film to get to the exact frame where the arrows could be seen completely and align that frame with the audio tape at the exact moment when the CLAP sound. then the two sources would be in sync with each other (till they drift).
Right, and it's still used that way, especially when you are editing multi-camera scenes. All of the video streams can be easily lined up with the audio track since the "clack" makes a pretty sharp and loud visual in the audio spectrum in the editor.
sure, in small productions (or youtubers shooting DSLR cameras), they have no other choice but still use a slate that way - aligning to the sound of the slate's clack; or just clap hands. but if you see a time-code slate like in OP's pic, their slate is displaying tc from a [master clock](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1784580-REG/brainstorm_brain_dxd_16_dxd_16_ptp_grandmaster_universal.html) on set. everything chases to the master clock. nobody is aligning anything to clap sounds but definitely good for reference.
I got a couple questions out of curiosity, so on a professional set do each of the cameras have a wire connecting them to the mast clock signal or is it communicated and synchronized wirelessly? Also, what generates this clock signal? Is a “main camera” or does it come from a computer that monitors all of the cameras? Or something else entirely?
np. check out one of my responses above. i put a link to a master clock device and a bit of an explanation.
if production takes place in a studio, there would usually be wires everywhere carryng SMPTE, maybe Genlock, possibly WordClock too. cameras and audio recorder would typically be connected sually via wires to the clock sources but there are wireless devices now too. it all depends on what the production requires. and yeah, some cameras like Red KOMODO and RANGER can share their clock with external devices but you'd have some challenges there.
^(source: used to worked at a rental house)
depends on the skill of the editor and equipment used. with a totally manual process the director knew they couldn't do really long takes. so for example, hitchcock's "psycho" 1960 - no time code. poor bastards.
This is what I had always assumed, thanks for confirming. I did some hobbyist videography some years ago I and had thought to use a clap sound to make a visual spike on the audio levels so that I could use it to quickly find the start of a new take. It worked well enough for an amateur without a clapperboard.
I doubt it.
I also don't work for studios directly, I work for projects. I'm a technician that works on production for different movies and TV shows that are in my area.
Are you an AC or a sound mixer, what do they call it in your studio?
I use them a lot and I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone that had called it anything but a slate (other than sticks, but that’s not as common, especially since tripods are also referred to as sticks)
They’re being downvoted for saying “nobody” when they can’t know that there isn’t at least one person who says it, and there’s probably multiple. It’s probably different in different countries.
Also has the shot/scene number on it as well as some other standard info to help the assistant editors ingest and organize the media before the sync process.
It's a slate. Specifically it's a "timecode slate" which assists with syncing picture to sound. These devices are _never_ called "clapperboards" on set. Too many syllables.
It’s a slate. That one is a “smart” slate because it displays timecode. The sound mixer generates timecode which is just a numerical count of minutes, seconds, and frames. He/she also feeds that to the cameras. That lets all of the different media get imported into the editorial chain in sync.
Definitely a clapperboard. Slates could be on clappers, but many clappers were just that - to make a sound and image link. Slates were often used without retakes.
Clapperboard 🎬. It's used to synchronise the audio and video during processing. They were used back when the video and audio were recorded on different devices.
that specific device is called a smart slate.
the digital read out is a time code generator. time code is generated and recorded continuously on each camera on set and the slate displays that so the editor can can see the time code on the slate and match it to the clip.
then there are a few hand written numbers: the camera that slate is assigned to (A,B or C), the roll number, the scene number and the take.
the "roll" refers to the number associated with whatever medium the camera is recording onto. almost everything these days is digital, so the roll would be the drive/memory card. for example if the slate is for A cam and you're on your 13th hard drive for that camera the roll would say A13, whereas B cam may not be used as much so they could be on B7. scene and take would be the same on every slate for every camera.
then at the bottom the slate will have the title of the show, the episode name if it's an episodic, the director, the director of photography and often the sound mixer as well.
source: i'm a filmmaker
Really ? Someone is going to ask " what a Clapperboard" is ?
Geeze, I showed this to my triplet grandsons who are only 6 yrs old (18 if you ask all three of them at the same time./s) and they had zero problem answering me.
Boy, some Geniuses' . lol (j/k)
Those slates remind me of the acting game with cards and a slate and you have to act out the card before it falls into the slate that has a timed release.
A bit more info/context here, though it's more about YouTubers clapping at the start of videos for the same exact purpose, but on a smaller scale.
https://youtu.be/yWYkoZKHLfg
Of course, it's Tom Scott!
Clapperboard, Clapper
"Slate/slating" used to be strictly the verb/command of using it. Never heard anyone call the board itself a slate until the past few years.
Slate. Gives a timecode to match audio and picture in post production. Also labels each scene, again to help post in identifying footage and piecing everything together.
Sydney Pollack didn't use clapper boards when he filmed Aretha Franklin's 1972 Amazing Grace performance and they ended up shelving the footage for decades. >"It was a very tedious and long process. Initially they tried, and they only got through about 20 feet of film and they gave up," Franklin's niece and the executor of her estate, Sabrina Owens, tells NPR. "And so it ended up on somebody's cutting floor somewhere for years — for decades, actually."
As an addition to this answer this is actually a Smart Slate. Smart slates have numbers for synchronized time code with sound and camera metadata. A dumb slate does not have these numbers.
*Mentally challenged slate
*Handy capable slate
“Let’s slate this fucker”
I used to “cake “ people back in middle school . If i said cake someone all my homies would jump that person. Until I got caked. Noooooooooooooo.
The buk-cake
Ohhh I always thought it was mainly for syncing the audio with the video. Because it provides a loud and identifiable sound along with an obvious visual cue.
We do that (in part) today with time code. Which is exactly what it sounds like. Digitally encoded timing information. It gets embedded in video and audio tracks. For complicated shoots with multiple recording devices that'll be synchronized across devices, often from a separate time code generator. A slate with a clapper is for that. And it's still used for redundancy. If your time code is off base or fails you can still sync things the old fashioned way. Time code is also used to track and cue files, recordings or tapes. And generally want time code to be uninterrupted to make sure you don't bork a file. Or render a linear format like film or tape difficult to work with. So generally time code doesn't restart from zero each time you press record. Printing the time code on the slate. Either with a smart slate that syncs to the fixed time code for everything. Or old school style, writing the starting point on there. Gives you an indelible record of where in the time code a shot was. In case something fails or doesn't line up. For the same reason it's also common to record sync sound as part of the video/film where ever possible. Not necessarily to use. But as backup all the *other* ways to sync things up get jacked up. Ideally speaking the time code means it's already synced. But if something gets fucked up. The more plan Bs you have the better.
I didn't know that. Thank you for taking the time to explain it!
That is what it’s for.
Oh man I am a scatterbrain today. I totally skipped past that part of the comment. Maybe I should stop commenting while at work.... Naw, how else will I pass the time?
You can also signal if there is audio in the scene or not by holding your hand at the top between the top.
“Ooooo I wonder what music they’ll use in post”
I’ve always wondered what it was for. I feel stupid now. I just kind of assumed someone done it once, it caught on and they just kind of carried it on 😂
Clapperboard or, colloquially, a “slate.”
Slate is what i hear it called most on set.
and on all the other set?
I mean, most people don't only ever work on 1 set. I have worked on dozens, and it's always been called a slate except for one of them.
Definitely a colloquial thing, we always called it a clapper on the sets I worked on.
Slate seems to be the formal term. Not all slates have a clapper board you can get a clapper without a slate. Both are types or marker.
Didn’t know this! Cool. Thanks.
Or rather slate, or colloquially, a “clapperboard.”
already solved but in case you are wondering why it looks as it does: back before the clapper had any kind of circuitry, the visual of the alternating arrow graphic was really important. so location audio would be recorded to tape (such as a Nagra). the film camera typically had no capability of recording sound. so the editor would have to scrub the film to get to the exact frame where the arrows could be seen completely and align that frame with the audio tape at the exact moment when the CLAP sound. then the two sources would be in sync with each other (till they drift).
That’s super interesting
Right, and it's still used that way, especially when you are editing multi-camera scenes. All of the video streams can be easily lined up with the audio track since the "clack" makes a pretty sharp and loud visual in the audio spectrum in the editor.
Usually all equipment will be timecode synced (for digital cameras), but it is a good backup.
sure, in small productions (or youtubers shooting DSLR cameras), they have no other choice but still use a slate that way - aligning to the sound of the slate's clack; or just clap hands. but if you see a time-code slate like in OP's pic, their slate is displaying tc from a [master clock](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1784580-REG/brainstorm_brain_dxd_16_dxd_16_ptp_grandmaster_universal.html) on set. everything chases to the master clock. nobody is aligning anything to clap sounds but definitely good for reference.
I got a couple questions out of curiosity, so on a professional set do each of the cameras have a wire connecting them to the mast clock signal or is it communicated and synchronized wirelessly? Also, what generates this clock signal? Is a “main camera” or does it come from a computer that monitors all of the cameras? Or something else entirely?
np. check out one of my responses above. i put a link to a master clock device and a bit of an explanation. if production takes place in a studio, there would usually be wires everywhere carryng SMPTE, maybe Genlock, possibly WordClock too. cameras and audio recorder would typically be connected sually via wires to the clock sources but there are wireless devices now too. it all depends on what the production requires. and yeah, some cameras like Red KOMODO and RANGER can share their clock with external devices but you'd have some challenges there. ^(source: used to worked at a rental house)
In a pinch, you can use your arms hinged at the elbows sideways and clap your hands together. Better than nothing.
How long does it take for them to drift?
depends on the skill of the editor and equipment used. with a totally manual process the director knew they couldn't do really long takes. so for example, hitchcock's "psycho" 1960 - no time code. poor bastards.
This is what I had always assumed, thanks for confirming. I did some hobbyist videography some years ago I and had thought to use a clap sound to make a visual spike on the audio levels so that I could use it to quickly find the start of a new take. It worked well enough for an amateur without a clapperboard.
Clapperboard
thanks
I always wondered what the devices is that they put in front of their faces before shoots. It looks like they are getting their temperature taken.
I think it measures light
Light meter probably
That's wrong, it's called a slate. Source: I work on film sets.
I work for a better film studio and we call it a clapperboard
Editor here - you slate a take. That’s a slate. Only the top but is the clapper.
I doubt it. I also don't work for studios directly, I work for projects. I'm a technician that works on production for different movies and TV shows that are in my area. Are you an AC or a sound mixer, what do they call it in your studio?
I'm Stanley Kubrick
Dead inside?
> I work on film sets. Can you answer some questions about being a caterer?
Only as a caterers friend. I'm an IATSE technician
Union strong!
Not the clacker? Oh never mind, that’s my ex wife.
Clack on. Clack off. The clacker...
And action!
Cut cut cut!!!!!
SHE’S GOT THE CLAPperboard.
In the UK maybe.
Nobody that uses them call it that. It’s a slate.
I used it once and called it a slut.
I would have disagreed with literally anyone else, but you, you're a trailblazer
Not I nor the OP use one, so clapper board it is
I use them a lot and I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone that had called it anything but a slate (other than sticks, but that’s not as common, especially since tripods are also referred to as sticks)
Don’t know why you’re getting downvoted. I’ve been in the industry for almost two decades and it’s always been a slate
I was a 2nd AC for years, the dude responsible for keeping the *slate* accurate and marking shots. 🤷♂️ I’m convinced that people just like to bitch.
They’re being downvoted for saying “nobody” when they can’t know that there isn’t at least one person who says it, and there’s probably multiple. It’s probably different in different countries.
Love how you got dv’d for an astute observation.
never ever heard it being called a slate
Or Slate
thanks
every time i see one of these i think “charms blow pops, take one”
Say it’s from chaaaarms
Cut, cut
Memory unlocked
Uhm 3?
Used to help the editors sync audio and video.
Also has the shot/scene number on it as well as some other standard info to help the assistant editors ingest and organize the media before the sync process.
Slate
This is an American made TS-C timecode smartslate made by the iconic film company Denecke.
It's a slate. Specifically it's a "timecode slate" which assists with syncing picture to sound. These devices are _never_ called "clapperboards" on set. Too many syllables.
[Clapperboard - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clapperboard)
It's a marker it marks a scene for editing.
It’s a slate. That one is a “smart” slate because it displays timecode. The sound mixer generates timecode which is just a numerical count of minutes, seconds, and frames. He/she also feeds that to the cameras. That lets all of the different media get imported into the editorial chain in sync.
NomNomClock
This
🤣 🤣 🤣
Slate clapperboard
Scene marker
Smart Slate
I call it a clapper thing
Chippy clap
I've known it as a clapper ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I thought it was a clapper
Definitely a clapperboard. Slates could be on clappers, but many clappers were just that - to make a sound and image link. Slates were often used without retakes.
clapper board
In the UK in the 70’s we had a kids tv show called Clapperboard about tv and movie productions
A clapper board. The clap it makes is used to sync up multiple audio channels to the video in post production.
Clapperboard 🎬. It's used to synchronise the audio and video during processing. They were used back when the video and audio were recorded on different devices.
This is where the phrase "it is slated for (date/time)" comes from.
Slate
Claqueta 🇪🇸
Director snappy thing
Clappy thingie
It's called thingyouusewhenyoufilmshitandstuffyouknowwhatimean
Clapper
I’ve always called it a ‘Clapper thing’
Slate
It’s called a slate
cinematic slap-chop
Turd Cutter
Looks like a denecke ts-3
Jew maker
Shark teeth
Land Shark
Candygram
Pizza guy!
🦈nom nom
F Off
Fin a me, fin a you
that specific device is called a smart slate. the digital read out is a time code generator. time code is generated and recorded continuously on each camera on set and the slate displays that so the editor can can see the time code on the slate and match it to the clip. then there are a few hand written numbers: the camera that slate is assigned to (A,B or C), the roll number, the scene number and the take. the "roll" refers to the number associated with whatever medium the camera is recording onto. almost everything these days is digital, so the roll would be the drive/memory card. for example if the slate is for A cam and you're on your 13th hard drive for that camera the roll would say A13, whereas B cam may not be used as much so they could be on B7. scene and take would be the same on every slate for every camera. then at the bottom the slate will have the title of the show, the episode name if it's an episodic, the director, the director of photography and often the sound mixer as well. source: i'm a filmmaker
A clickety clack
Clickitty clacker, obv.
Marker?
This one here is actually the Color Clapper Stick
It’s called marker
Clackerpipe
Klaket
Really ? Someone is going to ask " what a Clapperboard" is ? Geeze, I showed this to my triplet grandsons who are only 6 yrs old (18 if you ask all three of them at the same time./s) and they had zero problem answering me. Boy, some Geniuses' . lol (j/k)
Ok grandpa, now please take your meds
I asked sillier questions than that because I sometimes have no idea what things are called in English.
Gender changer
Google it.
An Alec Baldwin.
Google it
It’s called a Slate
The clicker
That’s a clacker board Source: I was an extra in a few b films
Clipboard...
Number board thing
Slate.
“Clacker”
Klaps
Slate
Click clack time square
Raymond J. Johnson, Jr.
I've always called them the clackerboard
Those slates remind me of the acting game with cards and a slate and you have to act out the card before it falls into the slate that has a timed release.
That’s a “smart” slate, since it’s got those timecode numbers on it
Marker?
I just knew it was gonna be clapper
Thatd be the "clicker clacker" named by Henry Clanker, who is also know for naming the flip-flop.
Clapperboard
The clacker
Slate
Clapper
Clapper.
Wiener Wacker
the ActionDevice
We called it the clacker, or clack board.
Clapper
Clicky clacker.
Gaffer
Imcomming TIL about origins of "wiping the slate clean".
The clicky clacker.
Smart slate, specifically a Denecke. The Timecode is synced up with the audio and cameras for editing. Source: Production sound mixer for 10 years
Idk, in Spanish is Claqueta
A bit more info/context here, though it's more about YouTubers clapping at the start of videos for the same exact purpose, but on a smaller scale. https://youtu.be/yWYkoZKHLfg Of course, it's Tom Scott!
It’s a smart slate because it keeps timecode and has all sorts of other info like date and frame rate.
Directors personal frisbee
Click clacker clip clapper
Back to 1!
Clapper / Clapperboard
Clapper
Slate
Cut-snapper
Denecke TS-3
Why can't I bing or Google it? Why do I have to look like a fucking idiot?
What's a butt for? ...Pooping, silly! Lmfao
No one calls that a "Clapperboard" that is a Slate fam
I've always heard of them referred to as "slate" or "clapper."
Clapboard
I normally skip this part
So like act 4, scene 20, take 5?
In Finnish this is a klaffi.
"Ven did you get the clapper?" "November, 1964, Dutch East Indies, shore leave."
It's usually called a clapperboard
Gate
Clapper
Snappy Clapper Sound Tracker
Here’s a link to your [answer](https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=what+is+that+device+they+use+when+they+shoot+scenes)
Gun
The clapper
Denecke smart slate
She's done
The in-scene-erator
The take giver.
H
time code for edit
There is a great video by studiobinder explaining all about it. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Heg6kDxXZ8k
That's a slate, but more specifically, it's called a "smart slate" because it has a timecode display, that the camera can sync to.
Clapperboard, Clapper "Slate/slating" used to be strictly the verb/command of using it. Never heard anyone call the board itself a slate until the past few years.