A camera report is a log kept by the camera team for every roll or card, listing each take with its scene, shot and take number, the lens, any notes, and which takes the director wants printed or marked as good. It travels with the footage so the DIT and editor know exactly what is on each card.
On a professional set, three departments keep their own record of every take. The camera report is kept by the second AC for each camera roll or card. The sound report is kept by the sound recordist for each recording. The script supervisor's notes track continuity, timings and the director's comments. Together they mean that anyone opening the footage months later can find the right take without watching everything.
The sound report lists every file the recorder makes, with its scene and take, which tracks hold which microphones, and notes such as "plane overhead" or "wild line for scene 14". It also states the sample rate, bit depth, frame rate and timecode mode, so post-production can set up projects correctly.
Assistant editors use reports to check that every card has arrived, to name and organise clips, and to know which takes the director liked. Good takes marked on set can be cut first, and problems noted on set, such as a mic knock, save someone searching for the cause later. A missing or wrong report is one of the most common reasons footage gets lost or mislabelled.
Paper reports still work, but digital logs remove copying errors. A log kept on a digital slate already knows the scene, shot and take, because it is the same information shown on the board. Exported as a spreadsheet or as an ALE file, it can be imported straight into an edit system and matched to clips by name or timecode, so the director's notes appear next to each clip.
True-Slate logs every take as you slate it. You can mark takes print, NG or second sticks, add a note to any take, and export the log as CSV, ALE or PDF to hand to the DIT or the edit.
Usually the second assistant camera (2nd AC or clapper loader). On small shoots it may be the camera operator or a camera trainee.
A circled or "print" take is one the director wants to use or see first. The marking dates from film, when only circled takes were printed.
An Avid Log Exchange file is a text file of clip information that edit systems import to add scene, take and notes to footage automatically.
A digital clapperboard and film slate app for iPad and iPhone, with LTC jam sync in and out, an automatic shot log, and exports. £9.99 once, no subscription.
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