Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 42)

What Are Clips?
Once you have media files on your hard disk, you need a way of working with them in
Final Cut Pro. A clip is the most fundamental object in Final Cut Pro. Clips represent your
media, but they are not the media files themselves. A clip points to, or connects to, a
video, audio, or graphics media file on your hard disk. (For more information on the
relationship between media files and clips, see
“About the Connection Between Clips and
Media Files.” )
Clip Clip Clip
Media files on your hard disk
Project
Clips allow you to easily cut, trim, rearrange, and sort your media without manipulating
it directly. You manage and organize your clips in the Browser. The three kinds of clips
you’ll see most often are video, audio, and graphics clips, but there are other kinds of
clips that can be stored within a project, such as a generator clip (a clip whose media is
generated within Final Cut Pro). You can also subdivide a clip into separate pieces, called
subclips, to further organize your footage.
42 Chapter 3 Understanding Projects, Clips, and Sequences