Editing Clapperboard (section)

==Operation==
[[File:2009-06-23-flemming-by-RalfR-20.jpg|thumb|A clapperboard in use]]
The slate typically includes the date, the production title, the name of the [[film director|director]], the name of the [[director of photography]] (DoP) and the scene information — which follows two popular systems:
# American: [[scene (fiction)|scene]] number, [[camera angle]] and [[take]] number; e.g. ''scene 24, C, take 3'';
# European: slate number, [[take]] number (with the letter of the camera shooting the slate if using [[multiple-camera setup]]); e.g. ''slate 256, take 3C''.  Often, the European system will also include the scene number; however, a separate ''continuity sheet'' that maps the ''slate'' number to the scene number, camera angle and take number may be used if the scene number is not included on the slate. This is generally not as great a concern with short films, however.

A verbal identification of the numbers, known either as "voice slate" or "announcement", occurs after sound has reached speed. At the same time or shortly thereafter, the camera will start running, and the clapperboard is then filmed briefly at the start of the take; its two sticks are snapped sharply together as soon as the camera has reached sync speed. Specific procedures vary depending on the nature of the production (documentary, television, feature, commercial, etc.), and the dominant [[Clapper loader|camera assisting]] regional conventions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cybercollege.org/tvp059.htm |title=Studio TV Production |publisher=Cybercollege.org |access-date=2012-06-18}}</ref>

A clapperboard is generally used to identify all takes on a production, even takes that do not require synchronization, such as [[MOS (film)|MOS]] takes, which have no sound. When a slate is used to mark an MOS take, the slate is held half open, with a hand blocking the sticks, or closed, with a hand over the sticks.

===Operator===
The [[clapper loader]] (or 2nd AC) is generally responsible for the maintenance and operation of the clapperboard, while the [[script supervisor]] is responsible for determining which system will be used and what numbers a given take should have. While these are usually fairly obvious once a system has been agreed upon, the script supervisor is usually considered the final arbiter in the event of an unclear situation.

===Alternatives===
Sometimes a "tail slate" or end slate is filmed at the end of a take, during which the clapperboard is held upside-down. This is done when the slate was not captured at the start of the take due to the camera being set up for the shot in such a way that the board cannot be captured, for example when a specific focus or frame is set up and cannot be altered until the take is complete. Tail slates are also commonly used when the director makes the decision that clapping a slate at the beginning of the scene would be distracting to the actor, such as when filming a highly emotional performance.

<gallery widths="194px" heights="194px">
File:Clapperboard, O2 film, September 2008.jpg|A Denecke clapperboard containing [[LED]] display with [[SMPTE timecode|SMPTE Timecode]] and colored stripes on the sticks.
File:Хлопушка-нумератор.jpg|A clapperboard with a [[dry-erase]] display being used for a Russian-language film.
File:Clapperboardinuse.jpg|An [[acrylic glass]] clapperboard in use
</gallery>