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slates with TC, why I would really use them.


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Most of the commercials jobs that Im doing, we dont even use slate. Just jam sync with TC with different equipment like the tentacle sync or the lockit. Whats really the point of using a slate with time code in it? Backup, if the jamming sync fails? Because the Camera cannot really recieve or feed any TC?

 

Hopefully somebody can give some expert advice on that question.

 

 

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Several reasons.

 

First, as you say, backup. Even if the equipment is completely reliable, many people don't really know what they're doing with timecode. Many people assume if there's numbers going round, it's correct. This causes problems.

 

Second, compatibility. All cameras are compatible with a timecode slate and the workflow is the same regardless. The availability of tools to insert timecode into files is not perhaps as great as it could be, but it works to some extent.

 

Third, simplicity. The sound department is not required to interact with the camera department in order to use a timecode slate. Camera crew are often dismissive and uninterested in the concerns of sound people, and may not take timecode seriously. This is terrible, but it is also common; the amount of working in professional silos on film sets, and the degree to which this is sometimes used as an excuse for ignorant, uncooperative behaviour is often appalling. This should not really be an issue but it is an issue, and timecode slates solve it.

 

P

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a lot of cameras to this day drift their TC after jamming, unless you ride the clock-it on the camera.

 

the TC slate is usually more reliable to run in sync with the audio mixer's gear.

 

you can actually playback the camera, and see if the camera's TC on the recorded clip is off. so you can fix drifting issues as they happen (so you will get a less angry email from the editors tomorrow).

 

same reason if you jump back and forth between offspeed and project speed. cameras may not keep internal TC correctly.

 

continuity likes to see TC on the slate for various reasons, especially when video village monitoring is set to 'clean' video (just the frame, without all the camera info junk)

 

ADs like to keep score of first shot of the day/after lunch/etc.

 

more informally, slate TC is often used by ADs to see what time it is if they need to dig into overtime or ask for a few more minutes to finish a shot

Edited by Kyryll Sobolev
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Slating helps with labeling shots; commercials tend to move to fast for them, but I always mandate to slate. Labeling helps find shots later and organize the shots/takes. TC on the slate helps with syncing multiple cameras and, like you said, if the jam or lockit box goes out of sync (like a dead battery).

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am new here, i will be using the electronic slate next month, and it will be my first time of using it. what are the thing i need to do? i already watched series of tutorials none show me how to connect the slate with the camera. any help or tips will be appreciated.

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am new here, i will be using the electronic slate next month, and it will be my first time of using it. what are the thing i need to do? i already watched series of tutorials none show me how to connect the slate with the camera. any help or tips will be appreciated.

 

Trust your sound mixer. In the US, they usually bring the electronic slate (aka smart slate).

 

Check the timecode on the slate matches the timecode in camera and on the sound recording device.

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