Time to shoot

Before filming a shot with sync sound, you need to systematically ensure a sync point, at the beggining or at the end of the shot, so that the sound editor can rapidly resynchronize the sound to picture in the editing room. That is why a slate is performed.

Now, the members of a film crew must also synchronize their work, this is why the following dialogue can be heard before each take :

		The director, or the first assistant director shouts :	Silence please !
		to the entire crew
		He shouts, not because he's pissed off (even though...) but to be sure that that everyone hears him. It's also a way to prepare everyone for shooting.
		The same person shouts :	Roll sound
		to the production recordist
		The production recordist must therefore be ready as soon as he hears "silence"
		The production recordist yells :	Rolling
		to all these jerks shouting like madmen ! You can't even hear yourself working !!!
		The production recordist launches his tape recorder (not into space !) in record mode, and as he's monitoring the signal off tape, he should normally hear himself shouting "rolling" through the boom microphone, which confirms that it's...... 'rolling'. If it's not rolling, it's still time to shout "sorry, not rolling" and to hurry-up and found out why. The sound crew must never slow down the filming process, even for 5 seconds, except for recording "silences".
		The focus puller then shouts :	Mark
		to the clapper loader
		The focus puller starts the camera's motor at the same time as he asks for the slate. By the time the motor reaches its nominal speed (between one and two seconds, cameras "beep" when their motor speed is stabilized) the clapper loader will have reached the most important part of the slate for the picture crew : the moment where the two pieces of wood of the clapperboard make contact. The beginning of the slate isn't really important for the camera. You do need to be able to read what's written on the clapperboard though, which shouldn't be a problem since the slate usually lasts about 3 seconds, which makes 24x3 = 72 film frames to choose from !!!
		The clapper loader then says :	Title of the film N° of the Shot Take X
			+ CLAP
		to the production recordist
		In very reverberating places, the boom operator should place his microphone above the clapper loader to record an intelligible slate. Also, it's not worth banging the hinges out of the clapperboard in such places, the amount of reverb produced will only delay the moment when the action can take place. All of this would just be a waste of time, therefore money : lab processes are extremelly expensive, and they process the entire take, from camera start to stop.
		The camera operator is the next one to speak :	Framed
		to the director or assistant director
		Sometimes, the camera angle must be changed from the one necessary for the action, in order to get the clapperboard on film. Therefore, once the slate is finished, the camera operator must change the angle back to its correct position before the action can take place. The action cannot take place before he says "framed". A lot of times, this step is skipped when it's obvious that the clapperboard is correctly positioned without changing the camera angle.
Sometimes, when it's too difficult to make a slate at the beginning of a shot, the crew will decide to slate at the end of the shot. Traditionaly then, the clapperboard is held upside-down, to distinguish it, at the lab, from the slate of the next take. In that case, both motors (sound and camera) are lauched simultaneously, the action is initiated, and at the end of this action, the director or assistant director shouts "slate". The clapper loader first closes the clapperboard then says "that was shot X, Take Y..." The motors are of course cut immediatly after the end of the slate.
		The director, or the first assistant director "shouts" :	Action
		to the entire crew, and especially the actors
		Again, in reverberant places, shouting would not be such a good idea, as it will delay the moment when the sync sound can be used.
		At the end of the action, the same person shouts :	Cut
		to the entire crew, and especially the actors
		At the end of the take, except if an end slate had been decided, in which case he shouts "slate".