A Straight Dope Classic from Cecil's Storehouse of Human Knowledge
Why do they clap the clapboard before filming a movie scene?
April 9, 1982
Dear Cecil:
What is the name and purpose of the scissors-top contraption which is clicked shut just before a movie scene is filmed?
Cecil replies:
It's called a clapboard, and it enables the filmed action to be synchronized at some later date with the recorded sound--e.g., you jiggle the tape around until the sound of the clapboard clapping lines up with the picture thereof.
