How does a movie clapperboard work?

How does a movie clapperboard work?

First, you use the clapboard or film slate to identify the shot you are shooting. This will include the information for the scene, take and roll. Let’s check to How does a movie clapperboard work?

While the roll has used to identify the film roll that has in the camera, today’s filmmakers and Videographers shooting on digital media, roll are now used to identify the digital media card or digital videotape that has being used for the shot.

By identifying each shot and by using a shot log, when it comes time to edit our video or movie, by looking at the shot log, you will know which takes were good and which takes were not good. This will save you a lot of time while editing, as you can skip over the shots that you logged as bad shots. This post is about, how a movie clapperboard works.

The most common pieces of information conveyed on the slate are:

Production: The name or title of the movie
Timecode: Digital timecode synced to the audio
Roll: The roll that you’re currently shooting on
Scene: The scene number/shot you’re shooting
Take: The current take of the shot
Director: Name of the director of the production
Camera: Name of the director of photography/cinematographer of the production
Date: The month, day, and year that you’re shooting

Production

In this area, you want to write the name or the title of the production you’re working on. Most of the time this is obvious, especially in narrative work. But it doesn’t have to be a real title — it can be a working title, a nickname title, a shortened title, or a descriptive title — as long as there is some name for the production. There are times where you will work on projects that don’t have a name, such as commercials or industrial shoots. In these instances, simply use a descriptive title.

Timecode

On some slates — called “Smart Slates” — there may be a digital screen that displays a shot’s timecode. The slate has synced to a timecode generator or the audio recorder via a cable and then has maintained by the slate itself via battery power.

Roll

In the film world, the roll number has fairly literal. Every time a new magazine is loaded into the camera — filled with a fresh roll of film — that is a new roll.

Scene

In the American style of slating, scene designation is a combination of a number and a letter. The number correlates to the scene you are shooting while the latter correlates to the shot you’re on.

Take

Each time a shot is repeated and the camera cuts, it is considered a “Take.” Do not re-slate another take if the camera doesn’t cut because, technically, it is still on the same take. The exception would be if you’re told to re-slate it while keeping the camera rolling. But more often than not, I guarantee the director will just shout, “Don’t cut, just do it again!

Names, Dates, and Miscellaneous Information

The names on the slate are, to be honest, somewhat out of vanity. It isn’t really necessary to list the director and the cinematographer, but out of tradition, respect, and a small amount of useful reference, it is done that way.