Will Clegg
Veteran
It's much easier on the editor if the slate fills the frame in front of the camera. The AC should be able to focus on the slate (and use a small flashlight to illuminate it if necessary), and then refocus to the mark for the scene after the marker.
The slating would be done at the head or tail of the scene, not both. Not usually. If you are working in close to the talent, "soft" or "quiet sticks" are employed - they need not be clapped with vigor to work.
Also, for "tail sticks", the slate is brought into frame open and upside-down at the end of the action, rotated into upright position and then clapped.
On gaffers tape, I'd vote no. Residue is bad. Best is P-Touch for run-of-show information, Sharpie for anything you need on the slate for the day (or longer durations) and your Edding dry-erase for take-to-take writing.
This is an example of a Deneke slate with all the pertinent information.
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Also, for "tail sticks", the slate is brought into frame open and upside-down at the end of the action, rotated into upright position and then clapped.
On gaffers tape, I'd vote no. Residue is bad. Best is P-Touch for run-of-show information, Sharpie for anything you need on the slate for the day (or longer durations) and your Edding dry-erase for take-to-take writing.
This is an example of a Deneke slate with all the pertinent information.
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Mattykins
Cute Member
You do realize that gaff tape doesn't leave residue right? That's why we use it?
Plus, I have been using gaff tape on slates for years, no residue as of yet. Ever. If you use other tape, then you are asking for trouble, but gaff tape doesn't leave residue.
Also, you do want to keep the slate near the camera. It is used for the mark, not any other purpose, you should pull focus from the slate to the talent.
Plus, I have been using gaff tape on slates for years, no residue as of yet. Ever. If you use other tape, then you are asking for trouble, but gaff tape doesn't leave residue.
Also, you do want to keep the slate near the camera. It is used for the mark, not any other purpose, you should pull focus from the slate to the talent.
It deserves clarirfication that using sticks close to your talent is sometimes necessary when the camera is in very close proximity to the subject.
The close-focus spec and focal length on a given lens dictates how near or far you need to be, and sometimes, that means you're working in close. Soft-sticks is the answer, not reframing after the marker. The operator shouldn't have to reframe because the 2nd can't regulate the volume of his mark.
I'll add this. Quite a few 1st ACs also use rangefinders or lasers as they grab their marks. A slate, acting as a target in front of the talent, makes this a safer process. Again, the generalization that "slates aren't used for focusing" is just that... a generalization.
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The close-focus spec and focal length on a given lens dictates how near or far you need to be, and sometimes, that means you're working in close. Soft-sticks is the answer, not reframing after the marker. The operator shouldn't have to reframe because the 2nd can't regulate the volume of his mark.
I'll add this. Quite a few 1st ACs also use rangefinders or lasers as they grab their marks. A slate, acting as a target in front of the talent, makes this a safer process. Again, the generalization that "slates aren't used for focusing" is just that... a generalization.
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While I agree that you should use a slate whenever possible, I'm shooting stuff on the fly so much that I don't have mine with me many times (mine was a gift from the actors of my first feature, very nice). So I've developed a system of hand movements that indicate takes and shots. I wouldn't do it on fiction, but it helps in a pinch.
R
Romane19
Guest
Zak Forsman
Major Contributor
it's necessary when the audio files aren't being labeled.
moodhairboy
Active member
what os a tall slate? Newbie here obviously.
moodhairboy
Active member
Hum... so it's a normal slate at the end instead of the beginning (upside down). It seems the stand operating procedure is to slate at the beginning only right? If that is the case why would you tall slate? Just curious.. I have to admit that I thought there was a slate that was vertically higher (not sure why).
Mattykins
Cute Member
Tail slate. T-A-I-L. I think you read someone's typo and saw T-A-L-L.
The slate enters in the back end if the shot needed to be picked up immediately. Or was very emotional. Or in the event it was impossible to slate the beginning. Say we don't want to scare the actors by using standard set protocol. We roll sound and camera quietly. And after the scene we enter slate to sync it. No obtrusion.
Or - we are waiting to grab a shot. Very high winds. Can't hear anything. Wind dies down. No time to slate. Barely time to roll. Grab the shot. AC calls tail slate. We enter slate and have a sync point.
The slate enters in the back end if the shot needed to be picked up immediately. Or was very emotional. Or in the event it was impossible to slate the beginning. Say we don't want to scare the actors by using standard set protocol. We roll sound and camera quietly. And after the scene we enter slate to sync it. No obtrusion.
Or - we are waiting to grab a shot. Very high winds. Can't hear anything. Wind dies down. No time to slate. Barely time to roll. Grab the shot. AC calls tail slate. We enter slate and have a sync point.
Dick Campbell
Veteran
yep - that's what I use. got some hook & loop stickies, put one on the back and the other on a black marker, cut off a piece of washcloth and taped it to the marker for a wipe, and I was in business.
drapeama
Well-known member
This may sound like a silly question, but how do you label your audio on the slate?
All the slate have that "ROLL" label that imho doesn't apply anymore without film (maybe for the tapes/media). How do you guys do?
Labeling audio is about the naming scheme of the recorded files, not what's on the slate. The Production Sound Mixer may keep track of audio by setting the recorder to name files by scene and take. In cases where that is not done, or for some reason that feature is not available, the aural slate is a must. In other words, reading the scene and take aloud so that they are recorded at the head of the sound file can make file management much easier later where file names fall short. However, even when I have my recorder set to name each recording by scene and take, I still insist on aural slate simply as a safeguard.