A video tap is an accessory for a motion picture camera used in filmmaking

Filmmaking

Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...

 to provide a video signal from the camera lens. Video taps are used to allow the film crew

Film crew

Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew positions.A film crew is a group of people hired by a production company for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. Crew are distinguished from cast, the Actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for...

 to see what is in the camera's frame without having to look through the viewfinder

Viewfinder

In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and in many cases to focus, the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main optical system. Viewfinders are used in many cameras of...

, as well as allowing video to be recorded and can be used to create an immediate rough cut

Rough cut

In filmmaking, the rough cut is the second of three stages of offline editing. The rough cut is the first stage in which the film begins to resemble its final product...

, 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

Frame rate

Frame rate is the frequency at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to computer graphics, video cameras, film cameras, and motion capture systems...

 flicker is visible. Sometimes the tap will include frame lines and burned in timecode and keykode

Keykode

KeyKode is an Eastman Kodak Company advancement on edge numbers, which are letters, numbers and symbols placed at regular intervals along the edge of 35 mm and 16 mm film to allow for frame-by-frame specific identification...

.