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Use the digital slate

You can use any phone, tablet, or laptop as a clapperboard. The digital slate fills the screen with the production name, the scene, shot, and take, the camera and roll, and a running timecode. When you clap, FilmKit starts the take rolling and stamps the timecode on it; when you cut, it stamps the timecode out.

The slate shows the newest take on the camera that hasn't rolled yet, so log the take first. See Log takes.

The digital slate showing scene, shot, and take for the next take, above a running timecode and the Clap button.
The digital slate showing scene, shot, and take for the next take, above a running timecode and the Clap button.

Open the slate

  1. In a project, click On Set in the sidebar.
  2. Click Digital slate at the top of the log.
    The slate opens full screen, without the sidebar.
  3. Choose the camera from the menu at the top left.
    The slate shows that camera's next take. If the camera has no take waiting, it shows the production name and timecode and asks you to log a take on this camera.

The camera you choose on the slate is also the camera this device logs on the Log tab.

Clap and cut

  1. Hold the slate in front of the camera and click Clap.
    The take starts rolling with the timecode shown on the board, and Clap becomes Cut.
  2. When the director calls cut, click Cut.
    FilmKit stamps the timecode out on the take.

Slate at the end of the take

To slate at the end of a take, click Tail slate before you clap. The board flips horizontally, the way a tail slate is shot, and the take is marked as tail-slated in the log.

Match the timecode to a running camera

The slate's timecode comes from this device's clock at the take's frame rate. If the camera's timecode is a few frames off, enter the difference in the Timecode offset (frames) field at the top of the slate.

To leave the slate, click Close the slate.

See also