Nobody in particular makes up the slate alphabet, but there are some usual suspects in the naming convention. For instance, most camera assistants will slate A as “apple” and B as “baker,” but after that things start to diverge and take on a life of their own.
A Few Rules
As I said, there is no definitive practice for the slating alphabet, but there are a few general rules that are important to follow.
1. Keep it short and simple
The first is to keep the word as short as possible — usually two syllables or less. Part of slating is to get in and get out as quickly as possible. On film shoots this translates into real money as every moment spent slating is more film stock running through the camera.
2. Choose words that are unique
Make sure none of the words are homonyms or share similar pronunciations. For instance, don’t slate scene 56C as “Fifty-Six-Cents” because phonetically “cents” could also mean “scents” and you don’t want to confuse whoever is syncing the shots.
3. Select neutral words
A third rule that many don’t mention is not to slate with words that might upset talent or distract them. A lot of times you will be slating directly in front of them and you don’t want to be calling out a word like “farts.” It would be unprofessional and inappropriate.
4. Don’t include letters “I, O, Y, Z”
These letters get left out because they have the tendency to look like other numbers when written on a slate in human handwriting.
The Alphabet
Keeping those rules in mind, there are a few standards for choosing what to say when slating. The military phonetic alphabet and first names are both methods that I pass on to new camera assistants.
The alphabet that you ultimately choose will really come down to personal preference. The alphabet that I use is a combination of what I’ve heard other camera assistants say along with the military phonetic alphabet and a few of my own words thrown in. Here it is compared to the military phonetic alphabet:
| My Alphabet | Military Alphabet |
| A – Apple B – Baker C – Charlie D – Delta E – Echo F – Foxtrot G – Golf H – Harold J – Joker K – Kitchen L – Leslie M – Mary N – Nancy P – Penelope Q – Queen R – Roger S – Sandy T – Tango U – Unicorn V – Victor W – Whiskey X – X-ray |
A – Alpha B – Bravo C – Charlie D – Delta E – Echo F – Foxtrot G – Golf H – Hotel J – Juliet K – Kilo L – Lima M – Mike N – November P – Papa Q – Quebec R – Romeo S – Sierra T – Tango U – Uniform V – Victor W – Whiskey X – X-ray |
There are times where I’ve strayed from this on occasion, whether I’ve gotten bored or just out of instinct. For instance, I once asked permission from a first A.D. to try and slate all fruits. I also occasionally slate “Dolphin” instead of “Delta.” As long as it stays in the rules, it’s OK.
Another good fallback to have in your bag of tricks is the Greek alphabet. While not useful for every letter, you can use words like “Gamma” or “Theta” without question. However, I suggest you lean towards the military alphabet and names since that is a more normal practice.
If you are ever unsure what word to use while slating, you should ask the script supervisor. When it comes to what’s on the slate, you and the script supervisor work as a team. Some sets they will want you to slate their word, while on other sets they may adapt to yours.
You should also know that this system is mainly used in American productions. Many other countries will use a variation of a numbering system to slate scenes and don’t deal with letters at all.
Slating isn’t a hard job and part of what makes it fun is getting to say this alphabet all day and clapping the sticks. It helps if you pick your word before you step in front of the camera to slate, but after a few times the alphabet will become second nature to you. Once you’ve mastered it, you can then move on to some of the more subtle arts of the slate (unless you’re using an iPad).