Movie★Slate was one of the very first apps we covered on HHH. Later, we interviewed the developer after the 2.0 release. It’s been a long time favorite of the filmmaking community, and was even featured in a recent iPad commercial, and at the Final Cut Pro X premiere in Las Vegas earlier this year.
With the release of Movie★Slate 3, one of our favorite apps has received some nifty new features, and a host of refinements. While the cost of this universal app has increased slightly to $24.99, the upgrade is free for existing users.
Among the many new bells & whistles, the Movie★Slate 3 update lets users increment numbers by swiping, zoom the timecode display to full screen, and add their own production logo to the slate. The update also includes userbits display, double-letter entry, and a CDL field (for color correction workflows)…and that’s just scratching the surface. There’s a long list of improvements in the App Store. Keep in mind that all of these additions are on top of the app’s core logging functionality. Also, if you need to generate sound logs, the app now offers a new Sound Dept plugin as a $49.99 in-app purchase. This joins the existing Timecode Sync plugin (also $49.99).
Of all the new whiz-bang wows in the 3.0 update, my clear favorite is the compatibility with Pomfort’s new MamboFrame!We first reported on the MamboFrame, during the NAB Expo in Vegas (the frame was unnamed at the time). Back then, Pomfort wasn’t even sure if their design was going to become a real product. And, it appeared that the frame would only work with their own slate app (and not Movie★Slate).
Well, that was then and this is now. Pomfort is now accpting MamboFrame pre-orders at $379 a pop, and they are actually recommending their frame be used with Movie★Slate.
Movie★Slate 3 will work with MamboFrameThe MamboFrame addresses the two biggest concerns about using an iPad as a clapper. For one thing, sound recordists have complained that the clap sound generated by Movie★Slate (or any slate app) is way too low. There have also been concerns about the accuracy of the clap sound. Editors have wondered if the sound always falls on the correct frame without fail. By using the MamboFrame’s real (loud) sticks, sound recordists will no longer struggle to hear a full-volume smack, and assistant editors will be able to sync up the clap with an always accurate visual reference of the physical sticks slamming shut.
When you clap the MamboFrame, Movie★Slate 3 senses the closure (via sound and vibration), and begins to log the shot at the current timecode — just as if you tapped the virtual sticks on screen.
In short, this combo gives you the best of digital and analog worlds. Together they have potential to be a fully slavable, timecode logging, always accurate, music playing, wirelessly syncing, bad-ass clapboard. I’m looking forward to testing it out. More to come!
Check out the video below of the two in action:
One Response
One word – Plural Eyes :-) – no slate, no fancy frames – just shoot & sync.