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The ‘clap’

The ‘clap’ The synchronous recording of sound onto moving images has been accepted as a `given' by most audiences and film-makers since reliable technology for its production appeared in the late 20s. However, the relationship between such image and sound synchrony is quite complex. discusses this relationship in the context of film's history and of his own dictum: `There is no soundtrack'. Fellini's celebration of cinema, Intervista (1987), ends with a sharp `clap' that shows a new film is about to begin shooting. While few people know the actual purpose of the clapperboard and its distinctive sound, it has nonetheless long symbolised the Seventh Art. Before becoming a symbol, the clapperboard already had a very concrete purpose. The sharp `clap' was recorded by the location recordist. By matching it with the visible action of the two pieces of wood being struck together (filmed by the camera), it could be used to synchronise picture and sound. In other words, the clapperboard alone represents the advent of the talkies since it brought together their two constituent components. The New Soundtrack 3.1 (2013): 17­25 DOI: 10.3366/sound.2013.0032 # Edinburgh University Press www.euppublishing.com/SOUND KEYWORDS Synchronisation Clapperboard Fellini Godard Audio-visual relationship 1. This article was first http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The New Soundtrack Edinburgh University Press

The ‘clap’

Chion, Michel
The New Soundtrack , Volume 3 (1): 17 – Mar 1, 2013
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Publisher
Edinburgh University Press
Copyright
© Edinburgh University Press
Subject
Articles; Film, Media and Cultural Studies
ISSN
2042-8855
eISSN
2042-8863
DOI
10.3366/sound.2013.0032
Publisher site
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Abstract

The synchronous recording of sound onto moving images has been accepted as a `given' by most audiences and film-makers since reliable technology for its production appeared in the late 20s. However, the relationship between such image and sound synchrony is quite complex. discusses this relationship in the context of film's history and of his own dictum: `There is no soundtrack'. Fellini's celebration of cinema, Intervista (1987), ends with a sharp `clap' that shows a new film is about to begin shooting. While few people know the actual purpose of the clapperboard and its distinctive sound, it has nonetheless long symbolised the Seventh Art. Before becoming a symbol, the clapperboard already had a very concrete purpose. The sharp `clap' was recorded by the location recordist. By matching it with the visible action of the two pieces of wood being struck together (filmed by the camera), it could be used to synchronise picture and sound. In other words, the clapperboard alone represents the advent of the talkies since it brought together their two constituent components. The New Soundtrack 3.1 (2013): 17­25 DOI: 10.3366/sound.2013.0032 # Edinburgh University Press www.euppublishing.com/SOUND KEYWORDS Synchronisation Clapperboard Fellini Godard Audio-visual relationship 1. This article was first

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The New Soundtrack – Edinburgh University Press

Published: Mar 1, 2013

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