slate example?

[Dan Archer]

I can really have anything on it as long as its got the important info
Project name
Who it was done for
who done it
What kind of audio
Date

then any thing else you can or wan to put. Sometimes networks or stations have specific things they want in specific place and believe me they will let you know what they want all you have to do is ask them.

A cut is a cut & a dissolve is a disolve, and not just anybody with a system is a pro.

[Stephen Smith]

If it is an add don’t forget the ISCI code. I’ve noticed that local stations in my region care less and less about them but I think they are a good idea. As Dan said, ask the station and they will let you know. I’ve found that major stations are different and very specific in what they want, how long the bars and tone can be on and in what order. A matter of fact, take a look at this article written by Walter Biscardi: https://library.creativecow.net/articles/biscardi_walter/specs.php

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[Mark Suszko]

Along with the standard info on my slates, if it is a slate for an ad, PSA, or Promo, I add a line that says “KILL DATE: X/X/XXXX”.

This is so the tape op is the last line of defense against running a spot that is for an event that’s already happened, an offer that expires, etc. as well as keeping the info from aging too long and becoming outdated on air. “Kill Date” means that date after which it should not air any more. Example is seasonal stuff for Halloween, President’s day, Christmas, whatever.

If the spot has to go thru an FTP service, they may give you a routing or job code to add to the slate that identifies the spot for their internal controls as well.

Slate should mention if it is closed-captioned or not, and if it has SAP or DAS on it or not.

[Jason Jenkins]

[Dan Archer] “Project name
Who it was done for
who done it
What kind of audio
Date”

Length is good too.

Jason Jenkins
Flowmotion Media
Video production… with style!

[Nick Griffin]

One basic fact of a slate / countdown that I don’t see above is how it’s supposed to end. In my part of the world the countdown part goes from 10 to 2 with a few frames of tone at each change of the second. Then at two video is completely black and audio completely quiet — and this is key — for exactly 2 seconds. This certainly meant a lot more in the days when everything came into the stations on tape, but probably would still be a good practice to follow.

[Mark Suszko]

…which we call the 2-pop. It is there to ease transitions between sources, since a mismatched dissolve between two black sources is almost invisible. Where a tape has to be fired off on or just ahead of a transition, the two seconds gives the transport time to get to speed before someone takes the source. ˆn these days, served off of hard drives, it may be an anachronism, but is still handy for someone hand-cuing a source.