Videography refers to the process of capturing moving images on electronic media (e.g., videotape, direct to disk recording, or solid state storage like a tapeless camcorder) even streaming media. The term includes methods of video production and post-production. It is the equivalent of cinematography, but with images recorded on electronic media instead of film stock.
The word combines "video" from Latin, meaning "I see" or "I apprehend", with the Greek terminal ending "graphy", meaning "to write". Its contemporary sense is rooted in an article titled "Videography" What Does It All Mean? (American Cinematographer, October 1972).
The advent of digital imaging in the late 20th century began to blur the distinction between videography and cinematography. The arrival of computers and the Internet created a global environment where videography covered many more fields than just shooting video with a camera, including digital animation (such as Flash), gaming, web streaming, video blogging, still slideshows, remote sensing, spatial imaging, medical imaging, security camera imaging, and in general the production of most bitmap- and vector-based assets. As the field progresses videographers may produce their assets entirely on a computer without ever involving an imaging device, using software-driven solutions. Moreover, the very concept of sociability and privacy are being reformed by the proliferation of cell-phone and surveillance video cameras, which are spreading at an exceptional rate globally.
A videographer may be the actual camera operator or they may be the person in charge of the visual design of a production (the latter being the equivalent of a cinematographer).