This video glossary covers the terminology and defines the meaning of common video terms related to cameras, codecs, lighting, film set lingo, post-production workflows, and everything else you ever wanted to know about film and video production.
The viewfinder is the eyepiece of your camera that you look through to see the image you are about to capture. A camera’s viewfinder should show you everything that your lens sees in its field of vision, and as such, you should be seeing more or less exactly what is being recorded. This doesn’t account for how your image will capture color and light, though, which is why many digital cameras also provide tiny LCD screens for you to compare to. However, these on-board screens don’t always perfectly emulate the exact image you are capturing in terms of color in light, which is why it’s important to know how your camera settings will impact your final image files.
Grant Harvey is a freelance writer, screenwriter, and filmmaker based out of Los Angeles. When he’s not working on his own feature-length screenplays and television pilots, Grant uses his passion and experience in film and videography to help others learn the tools, strategies, and equipment needed to create high-quality videos as a filmmaker of any skill level.
About the author:
Jan Sørup is a videographer and photographer from Denmark. He owns filmdaft.com and the Danish company Apertura, which produces video content for big companies in Denmark and Scandinavia. Jan has a background in music, has drawn webcomics, and is a former lecturer at the University of Copenhagen.