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hello everyone,

I recently did a shoot where we had 2 arri SR 3 as A and B camera for the same setup...The AC's on both cameras had a question about the protocol for slating...in the end when both A and B camera could see the slate in the the shot we did "common slate". When we couldn't we did A marker, followed by B marker with 2 slates...are any of these correct

 

thanks

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hello everyone,

I recently did a shoot where we had 2 arri SR 3 as A and B camera for the same setup...The AC's on both cameras had a question about the protocol for slating...in the end when both A and B camera could see the slate in the the shot we did "common slate". When we couldn't we did A marker, followed by B marker with 2 slates...are any of these correct

 

thanks

 

That's about right.

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in the end when both A and B camera could see the slate in the the shot we did "common slate".

 

When you say, A and B could see the slate, do you mean that both cameras could see it well enough for the number and clap to be easily identifiable?.

 

Unless the editor can see the clap well enough to sync rushes, you should use A & B slates, even if both cameras can see a common board.

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This is the way I’ve done it in the past. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with Angel’s method, though two slates are required to do it quickly. If you're not using two slates finding the slate distance for a given focal length might be time consuming. Anyway, my method…

 

1. Bump each camera, that is shoot the slate with each camera separately. This is just so the editor knows the correct scene and take number.

2. After cameras are rolling do a common marker (say it- “common marker”). Make sure to face the blank side of the slate toward the camera. This tells the editor that this slate is for syncing only.

3. Wait for camera operators to call “set”

4. Action

Edited by madsen
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A good rule of thumb to remember when slating for 35mm is to hold the slate about one foot away from the camera for every ten millimeters that the focal length fo the lens is...for example if using a 50mm lens, then hold the slate about 5 feet away, if using a 25mm, then hold it about 2 1/2 feet away. This maintains the size of the slate in shot, and makes it easy for the editor to see the it clearly. When shooting in 16mm, hold the slate one foot away for every 5 millimeters.

 

If using two slates, and both cameras are relatively close in focal length and distance from the slate, then it is safe to assume that a "common slate" can be used...but before slating, the second AC on each camera should prepare for a common mark.

 

First, each second AC should pre-slate, or "ID" his camera with it's own slate. Just a quick MOS, insert of the slate so the editor can clearly see the information, most importantly, which camera he is viewing, so make sure the AC has his/her camera letter clearly marked on the slate. Then the "common slate" should be marked with BOTH cameras' roll numbers on it, for example, both rolls A243, and B112 should be marked in the roll number area on the slate. This again helps the editor know that it is a common slate. Remember, we in the film industry LOVE redundency, it helps us make sure that there are fewer mistakes. Then when marking a common slate shot, the second AC calls out "A and B common marker", again proclaiming the common-ness...

 

Another important thing a good second AC should remember is to help the editor out whenever possible (remember, they are slaving away in a nice air conditioned comfy edit suite with their Starbucks and whatnot, so be kind to them) by being aware of slate placement when shooting with two cameras. If the two cameras are vastly different in distance or focal length, and the camera with the wider lens can see the other camera's slate in the same shot, then the crafty second AC should be prepared to take action. In a situation like this, a common slate is probably impossible, because the wider camera may reduce the tighter camera's slate and make it appear too small in the frame. A good thing to do is have the second AC of the wider camera "cover" the lens of his camera with his slate while the other camera slates, either before or after he does. This split second shielding can help keep the editor from being confused by seeing two slates in the same shot slating at different times.

 

I hope this helps. A very good book that covers the jobs of both the 1st and 2nd AC, and how slating works is "The Camera Assistant's Manual", by David Elkins.

 

Leon Sanginiti, Jr.

Camera Assistant

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hello everyone,

I recently did a shoot where we had 2 arri SR 3 as A and B camera for the same setup...The AC's on both cameras had a question about the protocol for slating...in the end when both A and B camera could see the slate in the the shot we did "common slate". When we couldn't we did A marker, followed by B marker with 2 slates...are any of these correct

 

thanks

 

There are three ways that I have seen/used in slating multiple cameras:

 

1) Each camera rolls on an MOS head slate for ID and shares a common clap for sync.

 

2) Each camera rolls on it's slate for ID and sync and is slated one at a time. (And is called properly... "A camera mark" "B camera mark" etc.) If there is only one slate then the same thing is done with just the one slate.

 

3) If both cameras can see the slate, then a common marker is ID'd and clapped for both.

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  • 3 weeks later...
I hope this helps. A very good book that covers the jobs of both the 1st and 2nd AC, and how slating works is "The Camera Assistant's Manual", by David Elkins.

 

Leon Sanginiti, Jr.

Camera Assistant

 

 

Hi Leon -

 

Nice to see your name on this list.

But I am disappointed that you mentioned David's book and not mine, especially since you know me and have worked with me.

Just kidding.

I'm looking forward to working with you again soon.

 

Doug Hart

1AC, NYC

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Hi Leon -

 

Nice to see your name on this list.

But I am disappointed that you mentioned David's book and not mine, especially since you know me and have worked with me.

Just kidding.

I'm looking forward to working with you again soon.

 

Doug Hart

1AC, NYC

 

Hey Doug,

I do deeply apologize for not mentioning your book in my post. Your book has been part of my library for years now. I must have been in an "alternate state of mind" not to remember to mention it. LOL! In all honesty, it's still one of the best books written about our job. I think that whenever someone asks questions on the forum from now on that are related to advice for newcomers, we experienced folks should answer to the best of our ability, and then finally add a link to Amazon.com so they can order the book directly from the forum. Any of the answers that you see here not only come from our own experiences, but also come from the books themselves!

Hope to see you soon, Doug!

Leon

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Hey all.

 

Ive only done one job as a trainee/loader on a major BBC series last year. We were rolling 2 cameras most of the time, and I was taught to call "A and B cameras common mark" if both could see the slate. If only one camera could see the slate however then it would be called as follows. "A camera - B on the end" (or vise versa) and then jump in to end-board which ever camera missed the begining of shot. It was a very fast passed production and sometimes getting an ident on the front end was hard, but the assistant editor did have a stern word if the slate info confusing so - yes try and help the editor as much as you can.

 

Ben

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Hey all.

 

Ive only done one job as a trainee/loader on a major BBC series last year. We were rolling 2 cameras most of the time, and I was taught to call "A and B cameras common mark" if both could see the slate. If only one camera could see the slate however then it would be called as follows. "A camera - B on the end" (or vise versa) and then jump in to end-board which ever camera missed the begining of shot. It was a very fast passed production and sometimes getting an ident on the front end was hard, but the assistant editor did have a stern word if the slate info confusing so - yes try and help the editor as much as you can.

 

Ben

 

When both cameras couldn't see the slate, why not just use the same board to clap each camera sequentially? Just put both slates' info on it - I've done that before with no problems. The main thing besides that is just to get clear idents for each slate number on the camera at the front of the slate, that way everyone knows what is being shot.

Edited by Jon Kukla
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