Turn filmed clapperboards into useful clip labels in DaVinci Resolve

A camera filename tells you which recording you have. A clapperboard can tell you where that recording belongs in the production: the scene, take and camera. Resolve’s AI Slate ID reads that information from the photographed board so it can become clip metadata—the labels attached to a recording.[3]

This walkthrough follows Blackmagic’s September 2026 manual for desktop DaVinci Resolve 21.1. Slate Finder and Slate ID require the Studio edition. We have not run the software for this article.[1]

Begin with a pair of takes

For an illustrative first pass, imagine a short scene filmed twice by cameras A and B. There are four clips. The boards identify Scene 12A, Take 1 or 2, and Camera A or B. Choose a similarly small group from your footage so you can compare every result with the board that produced it.

The question to answer is practical: when you want another angle of Take 2, can you identify the matching recording without replaying the beginnings of several files? That gives this exercise a definite finish. A neatly filled panel is useful only if it helps you retrieve the right material.

Find the board, then read its fields

1. Open DaVinci Resolve → Extras Download Manager and download the slate AI model.
2. On the Media page, select your clips. Right-click a selected clip and choose AI Tools → Analyze for Slate.
3. Wait for analysis. Slate Finder adds a duration marker over the readable board.
4. Select one analysed clip and click the Slate ID icon at the top of the Metadata bar. Wait for Slate Information.
5. Check the proposed values against the board. Tick the rows to keep, then Save. Repeat for the other clips.

The two operations have different jobs: the marker locates the board; Save writes the selected fields. Slate Information values cannot be edited there. Correct a wrong value in the Metadata Editor instead.[1]

For the example, keep the scene label identical across all four recordings. Camera A’s Take 2 and Camera B’s Take 2 should share their scene and take labels, while retaining different camera labels. Do not turn a letter attached to a scene number into a new camera identifier: read the headings on the actual board.

Make the result easy to use

Resolve 21.1 lets you edit eligible metadata fields directly in the Media Pool’s list view and move through rows and columns with Tab and Enter. This provides a convenient place to review the set after saving, or complete a field the board reading missed.[2]

Check the four-clip example as two pairs. First locate both angles of Take 1, then both angles of Take 2. Compare the selected recordings with the scene and camera labels visible on their boards. If a pair is incomplete, investigate that specific recording before extending the process to the rest of the shoot.

If Slate ID is unavailable, confirm Studio, the installed model and completed Slate Finder analysis. If a board cannot be read, enter its known information in the Metadata Editor.[1]

The result is a small group of recordings whose production labels you can use. When an edit needs the other camera’s view of Take 2, you have a specific matching clip to open—and can spend the next viewing on the performance.

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