Editing Clapperboard (section)

==Purpose==

Finding a way to synchronize visual and audio tracks was essential to traditional filmmaking because [[film stock]] reacts to light, not sound.<ref name="Tomaric_Page_298" /> During a film shoot, the audio track was always recorded by the [[audio engineer]] with a separate system on separate media (so-called [[double-system recording]]).<ref name="Tomaric_Page_298" />  (For early sound films, playback of the audio track was synchronized during post-production with [[sound-on-disc]] techniques; engineers later figured out how to directly add an audio track to a [[release print]] with [[sound-on-film]] techniques.) Failure to use clapperboards can prevent the [[Film editing|film editor]] from synchronizing the visual images on film footage with the accompanying audio recordings, as actually happened with the long-delayed film ''[[Amazing Grace (2018 film)|Amazing Grace]]''.<ref name="RollingStone">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/inside-the-46-year-journey-to-bring-aretha-franklins-amazing-grace-doc-to-life-756003/|first=David|last=Browne|title=Inside the 46-Year Journey to Bring Aretha Franklin's 'Amazing Grace' Doc to Life|date=14 November 2018|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|language=en-US|access-date=2 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502162055/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/inside-the-46-year-journey-to-bring-aretha-franklins-amazing-grace-doc-to-life-756003/|archive-date=2 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Methods were later developed to directly record sound to film as part of a single system integrated with the film camera (so-called [[single-system recording]]), which was most commonly used with small formats like [[Super 8 film]].<ref name="Musburger_Page_180">{{cite book |last1=Musburger |first1=Robert B. |last2=Kindem |first2=Gorham |title=Introduction to Media Production: The Path to Digital Media Production |date=2005 |publisher=Focal Press |location=Burlington, Massachusetts |isbn=9781136053146 |page=180 |edition=3rd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_DwrBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA180 |access-date=21 February 2022}}</ref>  However, single-system recording did not render clapperboards obsolete. First, single-system recording of sound-on-film is "decidedly inferior in audio quality" to traditional double-system recording.<ref name="Musburger_Page_180" />  Second, footage from single-system recording is difficult to shoot and edit.<ref name="Musburger_Page_180" />  Since the [[Tape head|sound playback head]] cannot block the [[Movie projector|projector]] gate and must be placed after the gate, the soundtrack must be offset by several frames (usually 28, 26, or 18 ahead) to maintain sync with the frame in the gate.<ref name="Musburger_Page_180" />  With such footage, [[Cut (transition)|cutting]] to the next shot when an actor's lips stop moving will risk cutting off their last syllable, unless the soundtrack is copied and edited on a separate system, and actors must be directed to pause to allow for such cuts.<ref name="Musburger_Page_180" />  Because of these technical limitations, the film industry has continued to use double-system recording for professional-quality film projects.<ref name="Musburger_Page_180" />

The development of videotape made single-system recording less inconvenient, since video and audio signals corresponding to the exact same point in time could now be captured and stored together as magnetic signals on the same medium.<ref name="Holman_Page_64">{{cite book |last1=Holman |first1=Tomlinson |last2=Baum |first2=Arthur |author1-link=Tomlinson Holman |title=Sound for Digital Video |publisher=Focal Press |location=Burlington, Massachusetts |isbn=9781135957025 |page=64 |edition=2nd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mgifdwCBbAkC&pg=PA64#v=onepage&q&f=false |access-date=21 April 2025 |date=2013}}</ref>  Despite that, contemporary [[digital cinematography]] still relies upon double-system recording, which means that directors of professional-quality film and television productions still need to use clapperboards.<ref name="Holman_Page_68">{{cite book |last1=Holman |first1=Tomlinson |last2=Baum |first2=Arthur |author1-link=Tomlinson Holman |title=Sound for Digital Video |publisher=Focal Press |location=Burlington, Massachusetts |isbn=9781135957025 |page=68 |edition=2nd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mgifdwCBbAkC&pg=PA68#v=onepage&q&f=false |access-date=21 April 2025 |date=2013}}</ref> The main reason is that the audio features needed for quality single-system recording are found only on midrange or "prosumer" digital cameras.<ref name="Holman_Page_68" />  Low-end cameras omit those features for cost reasons.<ref name="Holman_Page_68" />  High-end professional cameras omit those features because manufacturers assume that a professional film crew will follow the well-established tradition of hiring a [[audio engineer|sound engineer]] (along with other sound specialists to form a sound department) who will bring along and use dedicated audio recording equipment.<ref name="Holman_Page_68" />