Clip

A clip is the fundamental unit of video editing — a single, discrete segment of media (video, audio, or both) placed on a timeline. When a camera records, it produces files. When an editor imports those files and places them on a timeline, they become clips that can be trimmed, moved, layered, and arranged to construct an edit. A clip has an in point (where it starts) and an out point (where it ends), and the editor's core work is deciding which part of each clip to use, in what order, and how it relates to the clips around it.

The distinction between a "file" and a "clip" matters in non-destructive editing workflows. The source file — the original recording — lives in a media bin or asset library and is never modified. The clip on the timeline is a reference to a portion of that source file. This means you can have the same source file represented by multiple clips on the timeline, each using different sections of it, without duplicating the actual data. This is the core principle of non-destructive editing: the original footage is always preserved untouched, and the edit is just a set of instructions about which parts to use and in what order.

In everyday editorial language, "clip" is used loosely to mean any discrete video or audio segment, whether it's a raw camera take, a piece of B-roll, a music bed, a sound effect, or a motion graphic. Editors talk about "marking in and out on a clip," "trimming a clip," or "placing a clip on the timeline" as standard actions. When someone says they need "more clips" for a section, they mean more source material to work with. When someone says they need to "clip that scene," they usually mean tighten or shorten it.