Lights...Camera...Mark it...

[Alan Certeza]

Being an lead on-set dresser for a few motion pictures I have always wondered on the different techniques to mark the slate/clapboard.

What I have recently learned and please add to the list:



MOS (Mute out sound) = four fingers over the clapper stick
Tail Slate = Slating upside down after the shot


*The one that I don't know but I think it means something like retake but not reslating = Hand in front of slate


I am trying to move out of the Art Department since my passion is in the camera department and I would like to know exactly how to slate without having to waste seconds on the set and stare at the director and look clueless when he gives me the certain mark he/she wants.

Hope to learn more. Thanks guys

 

[dadoboy]

I'm no expert on slating, I only did loading and 2nd work for about two years before moving on to just 1st-ing. But some stuff I learned, generally by stumbling onto sets and getting chewed out for doing it wrong:

-You put your four fingers in between the stick and slate if it's a dumb slate. If it's a smart slate, meaning timecode displays on it, you put it over the stick and slate. That's so that the editor will not see running time code, which will run if the clapper is open vs closed.
-Don't use O, I, or S in your scene numbers if it is you and not the scripty determining the subsequence scene number, such as 12O or 12I or 12S, for obvious reasons, they can get confused with 0, 1 and 5. Confer with the scripty if you can, if the shoot moves too fast, just remember not to use those letters.
- Turn the slate upside down for a tail slate, but turn it rightside up right after. Editors don't like to read the slate upside down if they don't have to.
-Use "soft sticks" if you have mark it, right in front of an actor's face. This always happens on CUs. Say "soft sticks" before you say "mark" and clap it softly, like you promised. You'll get chewed out bad if you slam the clapper in front of talent, also the sound recordist might have a hissy fit if you clap it too loudly in general.
-Keep your 1st's set bag OUT of the shot.
-Get a Brother P-Touch and prepare the slate before hand using the names on the call sheet.
-Try not to leave a timecode slate on hard concrete, sound recordists get very touchy about that cuz it's expensive.
-In the old days people shot with just 35mm and 16mm, so it was easy to figure out how far to slate from the camera. General rule is:

35mm, every 10mm = 1ft away from lens, 16mm, every 10mm=2ft from lens

You can always tell a veteran pro 2nd AC by the good slates he gives the operator in the frame, filling it neatly with the slate. Nowadays with zooms and 2/3" and 1/2" HD, it's quite a bit more complicated to remember. The DP may change the focal length without you knowing it on a zoom, so a lot of times, it's hard to figure out where they're at on the lens when everything is last minute. Just do the best you can.

I could go on and on about slating, but those are the most important things I can remember right now.

It's best just to volunteer on whatever non union camera crews you can - crews that work professionally with industry standards - and get your ass kicked as you learn the ropes. It's just the way it is that people will be harsh on you but at least you will learn the right way to do it.