Slate like a Pro: Thoughtful tips for 2ac’s on how to slate “well”.

If you want to elevate your clapper game, there are two key categories that’ll make you look like a pro instead of looking like the PA who got forced into running the slate: “Slate Placement” and “Slate Timing”. Bear with me because I’m prone to ranting. I hope you enjoy!

I would consider this to be “advanced learning” and will continue by assuming you know what a slate is, what it is used for and the different fields of information we put on a slate. If you need to go over the “basics” of the slate first, go check out my friend Henri Rapp’s write up by clicking the button below!

Slate Placement: The Simple part

Slate placement doesn’t have too many variables. Generally speaking you want your slate to fill as much of the frame as it can and ideally you want your camera operator to not have to find your slate. When possible, you’ll always want to place your slate where the camera will already be looking at the top of a scene, so if the scene starts as a closeup on somebody’s face… then between the camera and their face is probably where you want that slate to be (don’t forget to do a “soft sticks” if you have to be close to their face!). If your operator has to pan or tilt to find you, you’re almost definitely in the wrong place. 

When it comes to “filling the frame”, this will all come down to which lens is on the camera, and as long as you know the focal length there is a pretty good rule of thumb you can follow to know how far away to be from the camera: Move the decimal point backwards one step on the focal length number, and that’s how many feet away from the camera you should be. It’s not always perfect, but it’ll be a good starting point. So for a 35mm lens, you’ll want to be about 3.5 feet away. For a 100mm lens, you’ll want to be about 10 feet away, etc. You should also try to avoid having any part of your body besides your hand and arm in the frame when slating. Post doesn’t want to see you, they want to see the slate, so hold the slate away from your body into its position (use two hands if you need to) and let the slate be the star of the moment on camera, because you’ll already be the star of the moment in person when your crew sees you slating like a pro.

Slate timing: The potentially complicated part

As a 2AC, slating is one of your PRIMARY responsibilities, so delaying the day by being out of position is effectively the same as a 1AC blowing a focus pull. It’s your job, and you should be at-the-ready and prepared to do it at the right time. With experience you’ll be able to feel out the flow of your day, but a good rule of thumb is to have your slate in-hand when it sounds like the roll may be called to begin soon. For instance: this could be hearing the 1AD or whoever is making the calls on your particular show say something like “Last Looks!” or “Picture’s Up!”. At that moment, you being in position and ready with your slate should be your #1 priority because the camera cannot roll until you’re at your spot. Ideally, you’re standing in position, ready to slate before the 1AD calls “Roll Sound!” because that’s your cue to have your slate in frame… but when should you actually say what’s on the slate? And when should you actually clap the sticks?

In a perfect scenario, the 1AD calls “Roll sound!”, the sound mixer presses record and calls “Sound Speeds” as the 2AC is moving their slate into frame and then the 2AC calls what is on the slate out loud, calls their mark and claps the sticks… but why is it in this order? Which part of the process is relevant to the camera and which part is relevant to the audio mixer? This is the question we need to answer.

Slating is often seen as a bit of a one-step process, but you can do it best by remembering it is a process that can be broken down into separate, equally valuable steps: Slating the bag and slating the camera. You don’t slate for ONLY the camera file or ONLY the audio track, and you definitely don’t slate for them each in the same way. Since the CORE purpose of slating is to help simplify the post-production process, it’s important to remember that the audio file and the camera file will begin at separate times and the slate info should be at the very beginning of BOTH of these recordings (Audibly for the bag and visually for the camera). When everything is going normally, this will happen pretty seamlessly, but breaking it down into a priority system can elevate your game and simplify the assistant editor’s job by quite a bit.

If right now you’re wondering how to have the audible slate details at the beginning of the audio recording even though the camera isn’t rolling yet the detail to remember is that you don’t have to wait for the camera to roll to start reading out-loud what is written on the slate! The camera file doesn’t care about HEARING the slate details, and the audio recording doesn’t care about SEEING the slate, so think about slating the two files separately. The more you practice, the more you will be able to think of slating as two tasks instead of one, and you’ll notice yourself getting some pleasant nods from the older and more experienced folks on set.

Once “Sound Speeds” is called, you should call out the slate details immediately, regardless of when the camera will actually speed. NOT doing so is no different than the video clip beginning without the slate already in the frame. When someone in post opens an audio file they should IMMEDIATELY hear the details of what shot the track is for, so calling the slate details immediately ensures that if there is a delay in the rolling of the camera for whatever reason, the audio file doesn’t begin with a bunch of useless noise, chatting or silence leading up to the part the editor actually needs to hear.

If the camera is ready to roll right away, then your slating will be seamless: (ex. “Scene 125 Apple, take 2, A Mark! ~clap~”). And if the camera is not ready to roll yet, and your audio file was properly slated when you heard “Sound Speeds!”… all that is left to say is “A Mark” when you hear your 1AC, Operator or DP call their speed, which will save you a few moments here and a few moments there throughout the day, elevating your efficiency, helping your crew make up lost time and helping post get their files organized as quickly as possible.

It may feel a little odd getting in the habit of slating this way, but remember: you only grow when you leave your comfort zone! Practicing this method will help with your efficiency on the day, it will help with efficiency in post and it’ll deepen your understanding of how to wield this legendary film tool perfectly. It’ll also bail you out if you’re caught out of position. If you’re running to your cart and grabbing your slate while the sound mixer calls “Sound Speeds” and you immediately start calling the slate details towards the microphone on your way up to your spot, you’re not going to get nearly as many dirty looks for being out of position.

Have fun with it, and be the best you can be! If I find myself slating a shot on an odd day, I am likely already starting to say “Scene” on the audio file before the mixer fully finishes saying “Speeds” and if my camera has an internal microphone, the only thing on its file is “A Mark”, because there’s no need to wait. It’ll only slow you down.

Bonus learning #1: Slate info

When you’re unsure on what scene number or letter is needed on your slate, check with your 1AC. If your 1AC doesn’t know, check with the script supervisor. If the script supervisor doesn’t know, check with the 1AD. If the 1AD doesn’t know, it hasn’t been decided yet and you’ll know once it has been decided. 

When you’re unsure on what take number is needed on your slate, check with the sound department. As long as your slate info is in sync with theirs, everything will be okay.

Bonus learning #2: “AFS”

AFS isn’t used as much anymore, but you may implement it in the right environment, or you may hear it called for and not understand it… so let’s just clear it up right now while we’re talking about slates.

AFS stands for “After False Start”. A false start is a take that never makes it all the way to “action” being called. So sound speeds, camera speeds, and then the whole roll is cut before the 1AD or Director ever calls “Action!”. In a lot of indie or lower-experienced environments, it’s pretty common for this to just count as a “take”, and you’ll go up a take number on your slate, but in some more heavily regulated environments, there may be a call for “AFS on slate!”, which means whichever take you were just on STAYS on the slate (since a take never actually happened), and you’ll slate the same take number + AFS.

A quick scenario for this would be: “Scene 175 Apple, Take 2, A Mark! ~clap~” and then maybe something needs changed on set and the 1AD calls cut…. you could slate the next go as “Scene 175 Apple, Take 2 AFS” if you want to be “technically perfect”, but it’s important to remember that there are only “correct” ways to do most things in theory, and that in order to be “correct” on any given day, the right way will usually be to do it the way your crew does it. There’s never a need to be a stick in the mud over semantics, but I wanted to include this bonus learning just in case you ever come across it!

That’s all I have for now! Remember to check out Henri Rapp’s “Slating 101” if this rant was too much for you, and feel free to contact me if you ever have any questions! #endrant