Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 1510)

Types of Clips
Different types of clips are distinguished by the type of media files they refer to. For
example, an audio clip is simply a clip that represents an audio-only file on disk. However,
some clips, such as subclips, are distinguished not by the type of media files they refer
to, but how they refer to them. For example, the definition of a subclip is any clip that
refers to less than the total length of a media file. It doesn’t matter whether a subclip is
a video clip, audio clip, or merged clip.
Here is a list of clip types available in Final Cut Pro:
• Clip: Usually refers to a video file that may also include audio.
• Audio clip: Refers to an audio file. This may be a QuickTime media file that only contains
audio tracks, or an audio-only file such as an AIFF or WAVE file.
• Still-image clip: Refers to a single frame of a media file, created using the Make Freeze
Frame command in the Modify menu.
• Graphics clip: Refers to a graphics file, such as a JPEG, Photoshop (flattened), or TIFF
file.
• Generator clip: Refers to a Final Cut Pro generator, which creates media such as shapes,
colors, and bars and tone automatically. Generators do not have associated media files.
• Subclip: Refers to a portion of a media file.
• Subclip Parent: A clip from which a subclip has been made. Final Cut Pro provides
commands that allow you to quickly view the subclip parent of a clip in a sequence.
For more information, see
“Creating Subclips.”
• Merged clip: Refers to a video file and one or more audio files.
• Multiclip: Groups multiple clips together as angles for real-time switching and cutting.
A subclip artificially limits the duration of a clip, to allow you to work with smaller sections
of a media file. These subclip limits can be removed at any time so you can work with
the whole clip. For example, if an original media file is ten minutes long, the Final Cut Pro
Browser clip is also ten minutes long. You can make a one-minute subclip starting at
00:02:00:00 and ending at 00:03:00:00 and work with the subclip as if the media file were
only one minute long.
A merged clip refers to more than one media file at once: one video file and multiple audio
files (up to 24 separate audio files). You can create merged clips if you record picture and
sound to separate devices during production, and therefore have separate video and
audio media files that actually comprise a single clip. You make a merged clip by selecting
a video clip and several audio clips together and choosing the Merge Clips command
from the Modify menu.
1510 Chapter 89 Elements of a Final Cut Pro Project