SlateX Blog
Make chaos structured.
How sets record, what handoff files carry, and where the limits are. Each article answers one question and states what we cannot yet do.
Article archive
Articles are in production and will appear here.
What to Check Before Using an ALE for Matching
An ALE opening does not validate media identity. Name is not globally unique; missing timecode is blank. Verify Sound TC and ratings.
What a Take Record Needs for Handoff
A handoff-ready take record lets the next person identify the take, separate each camera, see the on-set mark, and trace timing, notes and evidence.
How Continuity Photos Should Link to Shots and Takes
A continuity photo can link to a take and through it to a shot; links may stay empty. The photo is evidence; the continuity call remains a human one.
How Script Eighths Work—and What They Do Not Tell You
Check non-eighths scene lengths against the script. A page-length display does not establish page position or a shooting schedule.
What a Script Supervisor Needs to Hand Off at Wrap
ALE and CSV carry sound timecode; PDF reports and FDX do not. Receivers must verify each handoff field by format.
What FDX Exchanges—and What It Does Not Carry
FDX carries no Sound TC. Successful exchange does not establish complete on-set data or lossless third-party round trips; verify files.
What an ALE File Is Actually For
The 28-column ALE carries Sound TC, Rating and source-file text, typed on set or filled on import; missing timecode stays blank — verify each column.
Where Your Project Data Lives Before and After Sign-In
Guest records stay on this device; signed-in records belong to your account and live in your private iCloud store. Switching accounts does not reassign them.
What Sign-Out, Account Deletion, and Project Deletion Actually Remove
The three actions remove different scopes: sign-out clears this device’s guest records and media; account and project deletion each affect their own scope.
How to Decide Whether a Handoff Can Move Forward
A readable handoff is not a verified one. Check media identity, Sound TC and recorded ratings against their sources.
Why a Continuity Photo Can Display Without Being Cleaned Up with Its Record
A continuity photo can display without its file being cleaned up with the record. Deletion must separate exclusive photos from shared references.
Why the Same Takes Do Not Line Up Row-for-Row Across Handoff Files
Do not match different handoff files by row number. Compare scene, shot and take identities in the actual files.
Which Camera Parameters Carry Forward When You Add a Camera
Prefilled camera parameters are starting values, not verified observations. Check each camera against the actual shoot.
What a Slugline Is Made Of
A slugline usually carries interior/exterior, location, and time of day on one line; equivalent wording can differ literally, so software can only split by structure and still needs human verification.
Circle, Keep, Hold, and N/G Explained
ALE carries entered take ratings but never chooses the best take. Read UI labels and CSV rating/circle columns by their actual meanings.
Scene, Shot, and Take Numbers Explained
Scene, shot and take numbers answer three questions; scene and shot stay editable, and a take number can be typed as well as app-issued.
What the App Fills In Before You Type
The app fills take and shot numbers, reel, clip and sound-roll numbers, and some in-point timecode. A filled start is not a verified on-set fact.
How Candidate Grouping Picks Photos—and Why It Does Not Decide Continuity
Candidate grouping places possibly related continuity photos together for review; it never decides which image is the correct continuity state.
Where Each ALE Column Comes From
The 28-column ALE includes Sound TC and ratings; Tracks has four literal forms. Name is not guaranteed unique. Check against media.
What a CSV Handoff Carries That an ALE Does Not
CSV carries more camera, optical, state, date fields, plus source file and path (typed or imported) and sound start timecode; no channel map, no media pointer.
Missing Values in a Handoff: What Each Blank Means
Missing timecode stays blank, never padded with zeroes. Check any plausible-looking default against the real media.
What a Semicolon in Timecode Actually Tells You
A timecode semicolon is a display cue, not proof of drop-frame arithmetic. Verify frame rate and timecode against media.
What the Tracks Column Does Not Tell You
ALE Tracks uses V for MOS, A1A2 for wild track and VA1A2 for sync sound. Blank means no sound fact; Sound TC is separate.
How Page Count Converts to Runtime—and Where the Formula Stops
For non-eighths scene lengths, verify the actual script before using a page reading as a runtime or planning estimate.
How Int./Ext. Is Guessed from Slugline Delimiters
Explains how time-of-day and Int./Ext. are guessed from delimiters and character counts, including forms that are missed or parsed incorrectly.
What an Exported FDX Does Not Bring Back
FDX omits sound timecode, and third-party round trips are not guaranteed lossless. Compare the actual files.
What Script Import Creates—and What It Does Not
An FDX import success message does not establish complete on-set records. Inspect the result; FDX carries no Sound TC.
Where Revision Colors Come From—and How Import Reads Them
Explains the industry origin of revision colors, the three-stage read order, display mapping, omission handling, and the sample-coverage boundary.
Where Continuity Assets Come From When the Computer Has No Camera
Explains the four paths for continuity photos and video when the computer has no camera, including pairing, context, and verification boundaries.
What Deleting a Scene, Shot, Take, or Shooting Day Removes
Change to a rest day to keep records and reverse later; Delete removes the day’s takes and meals. Sent handoffs are not rewritten.
What Changes When You Rename a Production Group
Explains why a group name exists in both presets and shooting days, how rename updates both, and what remains after the preset row is deleted.
What On-set Global Search Actually Looks In
Explains what global search matches in scenes, shots, and takes, what stays outside matching, and why four search surfaces return different sets.
How a Shooting Day Gets Its Date and Number
A shooting day takes its date, number and group from different defaults; the number appears in the PDF and the CSV, while the ALE has no such column.
Where Handoff Files Live After Export—and How Long They Last
Explains where exported PDF, ALE, detail CSV, and reconciliation CSV files are staged, how they are named, and how to save them elsewhere.
How a Shot Number Separates Master from Coverage
Explains how Master versus Coverage is derived from whether a shot number contains letters, including lane layout and the boundary created by renaming.
Why One Scene Cannot Sit on Two Shooting Days at Once
Explains the one-at-a-time scene-to-shooting-day constraint, reassignment flow, scene filtering, and the boundary around split-day records.
Why the Next Take Does Not Fill a Deleted Number
A deleted take number is never reused, including when the deleted take had the highest number.
Where Reel Names Like A001 Come From—and Why the Prefix Follows the Camera
Prefilled reel and clip labels do not prove media identity. Name is not globally unique; verify the actual media.
Why CSV Has Both Rating and Circle—and Why They Can Disagree
In CSV, Rating and Circle are two derivations of one rating value, while Circled On Set records whether the take was circled. Read the three columns separately.
Why One Frame Rate Needs a Counting Rate and a Display Base
Explains why a frame rate keeps a counting rate and a display base, how their difference accumulates, and what a receiver should verify in the handoff.
Why a Handoff Cannot Hand Back a Path to the Media
A source-file cell is not a usable path: the CSV writes out the stored directory, the ALE pair is ASCII-only, and either way it names the sender’s disk.
How Many Takes Fit on a Daily Log Page and Why Text Gets Clipped
Explains how page capacity follows usable height, how fixed columns clip text, and why multicamera rows do not align with machine-readable handoffs.
Why Sound Roll Does Not Mean Sound Timecode Is Present
ALE and CSV include sound timecode; the Daily Log PDF and FDX do not. Sound Roll is not Sound TC; verify the sound media.
Which Multicamera Take Identifiers Are Shared and Which Stay Separate
Explains which identifiers belong to the shared take context, which fields stay camera-specific, and how handoff formats expand multicamera records.
Where a Note Is Written Determines Which Handoff Column Receives It
Separates take notes, camera notes, and scene-side description fields, including the boundaries around status changes, script import, and PDF display.
What Dragging the Coverage Handles Actually Changes
Explains how coverage handles hit and snap to script rows, when the change is saved, and which shot-identity fields the drag does not change.
Why the Cover Image and Shot Representative Can Be Different
Separates the item cover from the shot representative asset and explains why their different source rules can produce different pictures.
What the Comparison Screen Does When It Has No Overlay Difference View or Split Screen
Explains the comparison screen’s single-image display, lack of difference scoring, and the separate roles of alignment, switching, and human judgment.
How Candidates Alternate When You Press and Hold the Comparison View
Open comparison from a take, press and hold the main picture to see candidates alternate one by one; release stops, and the judgement stays yours.
What the Daily Log Is for and How It Differs from an ALE or CSV
Explains who reads the Daily Log, what it shows, and where its role stops relative to an ALE or CSV handoff.