A Film Slate

"How to Use a Film Slate" by artsgirl, eHow editor

The clapboard, or film slate, is a commonly seen item in film. It's the little board with the black arm on top that slaps down when someone yells "action." These slates are very important in film production, as they help the editors figure out what is what as they sort through the footage.

Instructions:

Step1 >> Take a dry erase marker and cut a piece of felt about 3 by 3 inches. Wrap the felt around the end of the marker. Loop a rubber band over the felt and marker to hold the felt in place.

Step2 >> Start at the top left-hand corner where the slate will say either "tape" or "roll". Fill in the tape number or name or the film roll number or name. Next, fill in the date and director's name at the bottom. These are things that change least frequently.

Step3 >> Understand the scene and take. "Scene" refers to what scene number it is as well as what shot it is. You may write "Scene 12 A" for the "A" camera, or even just "Scene Master" for the master shot of the scene. The lingo for the slates is debatable and should be worked out between the director, editor and assistant doing the slate board. "Take" refers to what take this is shot is. If it's the fifth time they've done it, then that's "take 5" and so on.

Step4 >> Understand the section labeled "Audio". In here you write "sync" or "non" for non-sync. You can also just write "S" or "N". This helps the editor match things up.

Step5 >> Know the timing. The bottom may have a section that has "day" and "night" written on it. Circle the appropriate one for when the scene is supposed to be taking place. Sometimes editors have to help day look like night or vice versa, and this gives them a clue.

Step6 >> Hold the slate directly in front of the camera before each take of each scene. Make sure the camera has a clear shot of all the writing, hold for three counts then step out of frame.

"eHow: how to do just about everything"