Just before a film, or interview or whatever starts, there is a little machine called a “clapperboard” where someone says “3…2…1… action” and slams down the top 1/4 of the thing to the rest of it. What is it used for? It also has numbers on it and I guess indicates timing. What is the point of it?
In: Technology
Before the days of digital, it was used to signify the part of a film they were shooting that day. Films are not usually filmed start to finish like how we watch it, they’re filmed as the studio is available, sometimes an actors hair or beard change so they film longer hair/beard first…stuff like that. The numbers indicate where on the story board they are so the editors know where to insert that section into the finished product, and the sharp clap made by the board indicates where the audio should begin, as audio is generally always recording and you don’t need the background noise before the call to action, so you can clearly see on a VU meter where the clap is to align/sync the audio with the video. Much of that is easier nowadays being the digital age, but the story board part is still true. They film the movie scenes in any order, and the editors still need to put all the scenes into the final sequence.
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