clapperboard

Everyday

1. A board with a hinged stick on top that is clapped shut in front of the camera at the start of each shot of a film, showing the scene and take number. tree →
2. (North America, building) Clapboard: long, thin, overlapping boards on the outside of wooden houses. tree →

In the lessons

In media and film lessons, the clapperboard helps editors match up the picture and the sound, because the clap makes a clear sound at the exact moment the sticks meet. Someone shouts «Scene four, take two!» and claps. In US and Canadian houses «clapboard» siding is common.

Examples

• «Action!» called the director after the clapperboard snapped shut. tree →
• The clapperboard showed «Scene 3, Take 2». tree →
• We made a clapperboard for our class film. tree →
• The clap helps match the sound to the picture. tree →
• The old house in Maine had white clapboard walls. tree →
• I held the clapperboard in our school play video. tree →

Note

One word. Also called a «slate» or «clapper». In building, the North American word is usually «clapboard».