How to slate a shot: using a clapperboard on set

What a slate does

A slate does two jobs. The clap gives the editor a moment to line up picture and sound, and the board plus your voice tells them which scene and take they're looking at. Our guide on syncing sound with a clapperboard covers the editing side.

On bigger sets a camera assistant (often called the clapper loader or second AC) slates every take. On an indie shoot it might be whoever is free, sometimes the person holding the boom. Whoever it is, doing it the same way every time is what matters.

Before you roll: fill in the board

Before each take, check that the scene and take are right. Update the take number after every take and the scene or setup whenever the camera moves to a new angle. If you're not sure what the other boxes mean, see what's written on a clapperboard.

How to slate a shot, step by step

Here's the usual order. The exact words vary between sets and countries, so agree on them with your crew before the first take.

1. Roll sound

   The assistant director, or the director on a small crew, calls “Roll sound.” The sound recordist starts recording and answers “Speed” once it's running.

2. Roll camera

   Next comes “Roll camera.” The camera operator starts recording and answers “Rolling” (some crews say “Camera speed”).

3. Get the slate in frame

   Hold the board in the shot with the sticks open, still, in focus and easy to read. On many sets the slate is already in position before the calls start.

4. Call the scene and take

   Say the scene and take clearly, toward the mic: “Scene twelve A, take three.” Some crews say the letter as a word, like “twelve apple,” so it can't be misheard.

5. Mark and clap

   Say “Mark” (or “Marker”) and bring the top stick down in one crisp motion. Keep the board still and hold the sticks closed for a moment so the camera clearly sees them shut.

6. Get out of the shot

   Move the board out of frame quickly and quietly, away from the actors' eyeline. Then stay still and silent.

7. Action

   Once the frame is clear and everyone is settled, the director calls “Action.”

Put together, the calls go like this:

Where to hold the slate

• Big enough to read. The numbers should be legible on a small screen. For a wide shot, stand closer to the camera rather than where the actors are.
• In focus. Ask the camera operator where to hold it. Usually it's near where the actors will be, so focus doesn't need to change.
• Flat to the lens and still. Tilting it can catch glare from lights, and moving it blurs the sticks.
• Near the mic. The clap has to be loud and clear on the sound recording, not just on camera.
• Hands out of the way. Hold the board by the edge so your fingers don't cover the numbers.
• Lit. In a dark scene, a bright board is much easier to read. Screen-based slates light themselves, but turn the screen brightness up so the numbers don't disappear under set lights.

Soft sticks for close-ups

In a tight close-up, the slate ends up right next to the actor's face and often right beside the mic. A full-force clap there is startling for the actor and can be too loud for the recording. Call “soft sticks” and close the sticks gently: enough for a clear, sharp click, not a bang.

Tail slates: slating at the end of a take

If you can't slate at the start, slate at the end. Tell camera and sound to keep rolling after the director calls “Cut,” bring the board in upside down, call “Tail slate” with the scene and take, and clap. The upside-down board tells the editor this mark belongs to the end of the take they're watching, not the start of the next one. Note it in the log.

MOS: slating a shot with no sound

MOS means a shot recorded without sound, such as a cutaway or a car driving past. Write MOS on the board and show it to camera with the sticks closed, often with your fingers between them. Don't clap. The editor sees the scene and take, and the closed sticks tell them there's no sound file to look for.

Second sticks: when the first clap is no good

Sometimes the first clap is no good. The board was out of frame, the camera hadn't started recording, the sticks were blurred, or someone dropped something at exactly the wrong moment. Call “Second sticks” (some crews say “Second marker”) and clap again. Saying it out loud tells the editor to ignore the first clap and use this one.

Slating with more than one camera

With two cameras, each needs to see a clap. If one board is visible to both, call “Common mark” and clap once. If not, slate each camera in turn: “A mark,” clap, then “B mark,” clap.

Questions