A video tap is an accessory for a motion picture camera used in filmmaking to provide a video signal from the camera lens. Video taps are used to allow the film crew to see what is in the camera's frame without having to look through the viewfinder, as well as allowing video to be recorded and can be used to create an immediate rough cut, if needed. Since a video tap normally attaches to a camera's existing viewfinder using a beam splitter, the video appears dark and frame rate flicker is visible. Sometimes the tap will include frame lines and burned in timecode and keykode.
Famous quotes containing the words video and/or tap:
“We attempt to remember our collective American childhood, the way it was, but what we often remember is a combination of real past, pieces reshaped by bitterness and love, and, of course, the video past—the portrayals of family life on such television programs as “Leave it to Beaver” and “Father Knows Best” and all the rest.”
—Richard Louv (20th century)
“Anna who was mad,
I have a knife in my armpit.
When I stand on tiptoe I tap out messages.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)