An E Ink Clapperboard for the 21st Century
Gokux brought filmmaking into the modern era with his E-Slate E Ink digital clapperboard design.
You know when you’re watching movie outtakes and before every clip, they show an assistant holding up that thingy that makes a loud noise? That’s a clapperboard and it is for syncing audio with video, while also telling the editor information about the clip. Clapperboard technology has remained largely unchanged for the past century, so Gokux brought it into the modern era with his E-Slate E Ink digital clapperboard design.
A clapperboard has two major features. The first is the ability to make a loud, sharp noise alongside a visual moment of impact that is easy to see on camera, in order to sync the audio and video during editing. The second is to display information, such as the scene and take number. They’re very practical and make editing just a little bit less stressful.
Gokux’s E-Slate works in exactly the same way, except it displays information on an E Ink display. That is in contrast to the usual chalk or dry erase marker scrawling.
This device has three important components: a Seeed Studio XIAO ePaper Display Board (ESP32-S3), a Seeed Studio 7.5” monochrome E Ink screen, and a 1000mAh lithium battery. Those go into the 3D-printable clapperboard frame, which makes that all-important sound.
The big advantage here is that users can update the information on the E-Slate through a simple web interface.
In theory, it would even be possible to automate that, so the take number increments after stopping recording on the A cam. Heck, add a button to the clapper part and you could also stamp the timecode! But even as it is, the E-Slate could be useful for filmmakers who hate getting their hands all chalky.