WEBVTT - How does a movie clapperboard work?

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<v Speaker 1>from how Stuff works dot com where smart Happens. I

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<v Speaker 1>am Marshall Brain with today's question, how does a movie

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<v Speaker 1>clapperboard work? If you have a video camcorder, then you're

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<v Speaker 1>used to having video and sound recorded at the same time.

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<v Speaker 1>The sound in the video are always synchronized because they're

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<v Speaker 1>recorded together in one place. When filming a movie, the

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<v Speaker 1>pictures and sounds are usually recorded separately. The picture is

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<v Speaker 1>recorded onto film or some kind of digital device ACE

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<v Speaker 1>and the sound gets recorded on tape or more recently,

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<v Speaker 1>into flash memory. Because they're recorded on two different devices,

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<v Speaker 1>you need a way to synchronize them. The clapper board,

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<v Speaker 1>that black and white board you see all the time

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<v Speaker 1>when people are making movies, is the traditional way to

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<v Speaker 1>handle the synchronization. The bottom of the clapper board is

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<v Speaker 1>normally a slate of some sort on which you can

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<v Speaker 1>write the scene and take number. This information helps identify

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<v Speaker 1>the shot during editing. Once the tape recorder and the

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<v Speaker 1>camera are rolling, the clapperboard operator places the clapperboard in

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<v Speaker 1>front of the camera so the camera can see it,

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<v Speaker 1>reads the scene, and take information so the tape recorder

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<v Speaker 1>can hear it, and then claps the clapper. During editing,

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<v Speaker 1>it's very easy to synchronize the visual of the clapper

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<v Speaker 1>clapping down with the clap sound it makes on the tape.

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<v Speaker 1>The digital slate is the more modern form of the

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<v Speaker 1>clapper board. The tape recorder, whatever it's made out of,

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<v Speaker 1>contains a time code generator. The timecode is recorded continuously

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<v Speaker 1>on a special track on the tape or in flash memory,

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<v Speaker 1>and the timecode is also displayed continuously on a large

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<v Speaker 1>led display on the digital slate. By showing the digital

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<v Speaker 1>slate to the camera before the action starts, the editor

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<v Speaker 1>knows exactly what the tapes time code is and could

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<v Speaker 1>synchronize it with the film. Sometimes a digital slate also

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<v Speaker 1>contains a clapper, but generally it's not needed. The digital

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<v Speaker 1>slate normally has a slate area because identifying each shot

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<v Speaker 1>is still extremely important during editing. Do you have any

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<v Speaker 1>ideas or suggestions for this podcast? If so, please send

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<v Speaker 1>me an email at podcast at how stuff works dot com.

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