#clapper loader

[lifeinplasticblog]

Film Crew

[redshirtgal]

In a number of the TOS behind the scene photos, you see this man holding the clapperboard/slate. And in nearly every one, he has this nonchalant, almost bored expression. Although, who could resist laughing at Bill Shatner’s clowning around, as the last photo above shows? His name is Bill McGovern and he was a Desilu staffer. His official title was second assistant camera but you hear him more commonly referred to as a clapper loader. What does a clapper loader do? He has many duties but mainly he oversees almost every aspect of handling the physical film, from loading it into magazines, and holding the clapperboard/slate at the beginning or end of every scene, as well as transferring the film negative to the laboratory and  maintaining all records of these transactions. A clapper loader does not sound like an important position. However, any error on his part can ruin a whole day’s worth of shooting. 

According to Flickr’s Bird of the Galaxy, this last photo of McGovern holding a clapperboard is one of the harder ones to find. Notice he is holding it upside down. That is referred to as a tail clapper shot and marks the end of a scene. Occasionally, a decision is made not to use a clapperboard at the beginning because of the camera position or if the sound would be too distracting to the actors during the start of an emotional scene.  Bill McGovern never really received film credit for his work during the filming of TOS (or any other production he worked on), even though his position was an important one. IMDb lists him as the loader/assistant for a single episode, “Who Mourns for Adonais?” However as these restored images and many others attest, he seems to have been used for a much larger number. Bill McGovern may have not technically been part of the TOS crew, but he was still an integral part of Star Trek. Just look through many of the photos with someone holding the clapboard/slate and odds are that is Bill McGovern’s hands, arms, or body you are seeing.

[film-media-appreciation]

When the DOP/Cinematographer/Boom Op. Etc. is really cool and has his own pair of wheels, not like the other guys.

[ff-camera-team-blog]

How to clap properly

For Clapper/Loaders this is a great video from Rocket Jump Film School on how to clap. The loading is a whole other story.

[mattbakermedia]

BTS of the short film 'noodles' I worked on as clapper loader

[kinematographer-blog]

Oops.. It's been a while

Okay, so that was pretty much a fail in keeping this thing up-to-date. Here's a quick recap of the previous episode of my life trying to work in ze film industry. Last time, we joined our hero on his 22nd birthday in the middle of a disused army airfield in the depths of Suffolk. He was battling through a night shoot on a feature. The bitter cold and the grip ravaged at him, but he managed to survive. His good friends the cinematographer and the focus puller helped him through it. But then, the brave and gallant focus puller fell... for a better paying gig, and so it was left to Julian, the lowly clapper loader to step up, and take his friend's place. Anyway, the basic gist of the narrative is that I ended up focus pulling the rest of that feature. Was I ready? Well, I didn't really have a choice. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Did I learn from it? Most definitely. And since then, I've been keeping rather busy. I've been working a lot. Some of it big, and some small. Some paid, and some not. And for that, I have to thank all the people and my good friends who brought me along with them on this grand journey. I will update this tumblr with all that I have done throughout the year so far, but for the time being, I am on a train to Suffolk, and then making my way to Yorkshire, where I will be focus pulling on a short film with the cinematographer from the aforementioned feature. I have a feeling it's going to be a cold one.