Everyone who’s done slate has done this at least once. You slate take 3 and while the scene is being shot you erase your 3 and write in a 4. Then the scene is over, you check the slate and forget that you’ve already incremented the take so you erase it again and write 5. […]
When reading the slate at the start of a take, actually READ it. Don’t rely on your memory of what it says. Position yourself slightly in front of the slate and read it’s contents out loud. This will save you valuable time not re-slating things when your memory fails you.
When using letters to denote shots of a scene on the slate, always skip the letters that can be confused with numbers: Scene 47F Scene 47G Scene 47H (Skip the letter ‘I’ – Looks like the number 1) Scene 47J Scene 47K (Skip the letter ‘L’ – Looks like the number 1) Scene 47M Scene […]