aluminum clipboard
I really prefer an aluminum clipboard to either a plastic one or a composite one. I've dropped this one enough times to appreciate its unbreakability. I also find the clip mechanism to be sturdier and easier to use than those on the cheaper clipboards. I bought mine at Office Depot. This one has lasted me about 2 1/2 years; before that I worked straight out of a binder and then used a composite clipboard for a couple of months (until it broke).
On the bottom right of the clipboard you can just make out a binder clip, ready to be deployed in case of wind. Note also the four tab dividers — I use them to separate the day's work from everything else. I hate sorting through a massive pile of papers on the clipboard so I divide them, with the day's work on top, the editor's log pages behind the red tab, blank facing pages behind the orange tab, continuity breakdown notes for the day's work behind the first yellow tab, and scratch paper and the callsheet behind the second yellow tab.
clipboard back
One drawback to an aluminum clipboard is the fact that, on a cold day, it will suck the heat right out of you through your fingertips. I learned this the hard way on the first show I used this clipboard. We were shooting a lot of nights in the mountains. In Oregon. In December. After that show I used contact cement to attach a piece of corkboard (sold in rolls at office supply shops) to the back. Now my fingers are insulated! It also helps keep the clipboard from sliding around too much when you set it down.
ruler detail
Along with a clipboard, of course, comes a ruler. I never was able to find one that was flexible enough and also translucent, so I made my own. I bought a piece of quilting template plastic from a fabric store and cut out a ruler shape. I love this ruler. You can bend the top and bottom so that they touch each other and it won't break!
