Deity Microphones, partner audio brand to lighting manufacturer Aputure, has been known as a budget-friendly alternative in an audio world dominated by brands like Rode, Zaxcom, Denecke, Zoom, Tascam, Tentacle, Sony, and others. Deity, for short, makes a variety of lavalier-based wireless systems, boom mics, and now, for the first time, a smart slate. Hop below for a look at the TC-SL1 Smart Slate. First, can we all agree that, in general, the Smart Slate or the Slate was due for an update? The slate, timecode and why we still need it You may recall that a slate is a device designed for syncing audio and video on a film, television, or commercial production. A “dummy” slate, sometimes called a “clapper,” displays valuable information for post-production like the scene heading, take number, production title, name of director and cinematographer, and so on. A “smart” slate takes things a step further with the introduction of timecode synchronization through a small external timecode box mounted to the slate, the camera, and the audio mixing device. From there, the timecode synchronizes wirelessly or by physically connected cables. Sync’d timecode allows the post team to automatically (or, depending on your software, with the pressing of a few buttons) match video files with audio files. The benefit is that on larger productions, dozens of cameras and multiple teams may be capturing audio at the same time. On multi-camera projects especially, timecode is 100% necessary at every step of the production to avoid potentially expensive cost...
Published By: CineD - Friday, 4 November, 2022