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Writer's pictureDavid Hernando Rico

Click track recording - a specialization

It is essential that all music recorded for a film is perfectly synchronized with the image, as this ensures its proper integration into the scene and the creation of the desired atmosphere.

Recording a symphony orchestra with a click-track

Symphonic music is always performed without any kind of metronome, the music flows freely, almost always directed by a conductor, and fluctuation in tempo and duration is the main characteristic of a good performance.

However, when recording an orchestra for the image, it is necessary to follow a specific tempo so that the music is perfectly synchronized with the image.

How can we synchronize music with the image?

Since the beginning of film music, there have been three ways to synchronize music with the image:

  • Interpreting music by seeing the image

  • Calculate the time a block should last and synchronize it with a stopwatch

  • Using a click-track

Nowadays, the method used almost exclusively is the use of a clapperboard that is heard during the recording by the entire orchestra.

Is it possible to record an entire symphony orchestra with a clapperboard?

Yes, it is possible to record the entire symphony orchestra with choir by providing headphones for the entire orchestra.

Are all musicians used to playing with a clapperboard?

No, recording with a clapperboard is a specialization that requires many years of experience. Not all classical musicians or conductors are accustomed to recording with a clapperboard.

When recording with a clapperboard, is it possible to make tempo changes?

If it is possible to make tempo changes and speeding up and ritardando, they simply have to be well prepared and musical.

Is the end result mechanical?

No, when an orchestra (like the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra) has a lot of experience in recording with a clapperboard, the sound is completely natural and has an internal movement, which makes the performance completely human and natural.

It's difficult to prepare a clapperboard for a recording

No, it is not complicated, you just have to take into account several simple technical aspects.

Is it more expensive financially?

No, it is not more expensive than a recording without a clapperboard.


The Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, an orchestra specializing in clapperboard recording

Our orchestra has been recording with a clapperboard since 2000, and since then we have made hundreds of recordings of all kinds of music and with all kinds of formations. We have collaborated on hundreds of films, video games, pop and advertising recordings that often require very complex rhythmic precision.

It has been a long and complicated process to get all the musicians under control to play with a clapperboard, as well as having all the technical equipment and recording technicians who know how to work with a click-track.

Today the BSO is undoubtedly one of the best orchestras that are able to play with a clapperboard in a natural way and in the same way as if they were recording with only a conductor.



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