Few people have heard of it, yet many consider John Blankenbaker's KENBAK-1 to be the first commercial personal computer.
Slate Your Movies - Just like the Pros!
By bohus
I've never mentioned this before, but my degree is actually in film... directing specifically. I can't say that I direct a lot of movies day to day, but I can at least be downright smug when talking with authority about movie stuff.
So I feel at least a little qualified to talk to you about the slate (sometimes called "clapper" or "sticks") to the left. On an actual film set, the slate would be somewhat smaller, wouldn't have the rainbow colors, nor would it be made out of cheap masonite that's going to disintegrate momentarily.
As you can tell this clapper is a bit more toylike, costing a princely $3 in 1965, and is intended as a fun accessory for the home movie crowd. This is an in-store display advertising GE's "mardi-gras" brand of movie lights.
A real slate has an actual purpose in filmmaking for synchronizing sound and picture in the edit room, but for home movies it's mostly there to add a bit of flair. If you can't show up to your film set wearing jodhpurs and a beret, at least you can snap off scenes with your very own sticks.
