Before the era of movies with sound, this was just a board, often made from actual slate, that could be wiped clean after each take. The same information is logged today as was back then: the date, film title, name of the director and, crucially, the scene and take numbers.
With the advent of 'talkies' it was necessary to synchronise pictures and sound, and so two hinged sticks were clacked together, enabling the editor to match the visual cue with the sound this produced.
With the advent of 'talkies' it was necessary to synchronise pictures and sound, and so two hinged sticks were clacked together, enabling the editor to match the visual cue with the sound this produced.
An original slate board
The legend goes that a certain Leon M. Leon, an early sound engineer, grew tired of juggling these two cumbersome items and so combined them. The clapper and the slate board became the clapperboard. The simple mechanism was quickly adopted by film crews everywhere.
These days large productions use digital clapperboards containing an LED timecode generated by the audio recorder. While the board need only be shown to the camera before a take to provide an easy reference for editing, clapping may still take place as a back-up. The 2nd Assistant Camera (2nd AC), also known as the 'clapper/ loader', will place a hand between the sticks if no sound is being recorded. If there isn't time to get a clapperboard in at the start of a shot, then it's up to the 'clapper/loader' to get in with an 'End board', turning it upside down as a signal to the editor.
The clapperboard from a movie set is a prized item that has come to symbolise the entire production of a film. A novelty clapperboard from Steven Spielberg's Academy Award-winning blockbuster Jaws (1975), that was used throughout the filming of the movie, was auctioned in 2016 with an estimate of £30,000 - £40,000.
These days large productions use digital clapperboards containing an LED timecode generated by the audio recorder. While the board need only be shown to the camera before a take to provide an easy reference for editing, clapping may still take place as a back-up. The 2nd Assistant Camera (2nd AC), also known as the 'clapper/ loader', will place a hand between the sticks if no sound is being recorded. If there isn't time to get a clapperboard in at the start of a shot, then it's up to the 'clapper/loader' to get in with an 'End board', turning it upside down as a signal to the editor.
Audio waveforms from a clapperboard help the editor sync sound and film
The famous clapperboard used in 'Jaws'