Photography
Clapper!
A digital clapperboard for iPhone that calls the title and take number and counts takes automatically.
Get the app
Opens the official store page
- Developer
- HIDEHISA YOKOYAMA
- Score
- 4.8
- Downloads
- 4 ratings
- Age
- Rated 4+
- Version
- 1.3.8
- Price
- Free
Screenshots
About this app
A film slate is the board a crew snaps shut at the start of a take so picture and sound can be matched up later, and this free app puts one on an iPhone. It's a single-purpose tool from an independent developer, suited to student filmmakers, two-camera shoots or anyone recording separate audio who needs a visible sync point. The title and take number are set once, and the app calls them out at the start of each take. The take counter advances on its own, so nobody has to remember whether the last one was six or seven. The board also rotates automatically to match how the phone is held. The listing is brief and says nothing about timecode, scene numbering or export, so expect the basics and little else.
Clapper!: the full guide
What the app is
A clapperboard on a phone is the whole proposition. Film crews snap a slate at the start of each take so the editor can line up picture with separately recorded sound, and this free app from an independent developer replaces the wooden board with an iPhone screen.
Set the title and take number once; from then on the app announces them aloud at the top of each take and increments the counter itself. The display flips orientation with the phone. The listing says nothing about timecode, scene numbers or exporting a log, and it's honest about being a basic tool.
How it works day to day
On set, somebody holds the phone in front of the camera, taps, and the app speaks the title and take number so both the picture and the audio recorder capture it. Then the counter ticks over and you shoot the next one.
That's the entire loop. For a student short or a two-camera interview it saves arguing about whether the last take was six or seven. Between takes it sits idle, which is fine, since the point is to be quick and get out of the shot.
Why people look for it
People search for a slate app when they're recording separate audio and need a sync point without buying a physical board. This one's draw is that the spoken callout and automatic take counting mean a one-person crew can slate without stopping to write. Four ratings is a tiny sample, so reputation isn't what brings anyone here.
Look and feel
Four screenshots are listed, fewer than most apps on the site, which fits a single-screen utility. Slate apps are typically high-contrast, with large text and the black-and-white stripe motif of a real board, so the camera can read it from a distance. Expect a landscape-friendly layout given the auto-rotation.
