Why Every Film Should Have a Slate (MMM#49)

Greetings all,

Madeline here, back with yet another Movie Minute. For this entry, we’ll be discussing why a slate is one of the most important tools in filmmaking.

Also known as a clapper, a slate is not just a notable symbol of cinema that has been used for more than a century- it has been and still is one of the most crucial tools used in a film’s production. Typically handled by the second AC (assistant camera), it signals the start of a take, often with a label that indicates which scene, shot, and take is being filmed. But it’s not just a fun thing you often see on a behind-the-scenes featurette- it provides an auditory and visual signal that is crucial to keeping sound and picture synced during post-production.

Although autosync is often a staple of many major NLEs such as Premiere and Media Composer, it doesn’t always work. Redundancy can be crucial at times, which is why audio waveforms and using the clapping of the slate as a reference is an effective and important way to ensure that audio and video are in sync. Furthermore, the labels mentioned earlier can speed up matching and organizing different shots and takes. While some modern cameras may have built in labeling that can be included in the footage’s metadata when it is sent over to post, this is not always the case. Although every camera has their own way of naming files as footage is recorded, having a slate makes syncing and organizing everything way easier no matter what camera was used.

Overall, a slate is one of the most essential things to have when making a movie. It’s definitely no MacGuffin- while it might look like an ordinary piece of filmmaking gear, it makes production much less of a headache, and pretty much any good film would not have been possible without it.

And that concludes this entry in The Movie Minute. Wishing you all the best, and see y’all in 2! -Madeline

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