As C.Pfaffenbichler points out, the Clip on the Timeline is but a representation of the "master Clip," and is called an Instance of that Clip. What you see on the Timeline is but a series of proxies, of data copied from the Imported Video Clip. Other than as the display on the Timeline, they do not really exist anywhere. It is not until one Exports the Timeline, that the program follows the links to the original "msaster" files, and extracts the data, shown on the Timeline, to Transcode the Exported file.

Now, as he also pointed out, you can have any number of those Instances, and they can be altered, via their In & Out Points, to display different portions of that original file, as many different times, as needed.

If you click+drag on the Tail of a Clip, you are effectively changing it Out Point. If you click+drag on the Head, you are effectively changing the In Point.

Say that you wish to "cut out" a middle portion of a Clip. Just drag two Instances of that Clip to the Timeline, and click+drag on the Tail, to set the Out Point of the first to where you want your "Cut" to be. Click+drag on the Head of the second, to the point that you wish the Clip to begin again.

In Adobe Premiere Pro (the full-featured video editing program, or NLE), there are many ways to Cut Clips on the Timeline. I will not go into all of those, as I do not work with Video in PS, and there might be differences, and limitations - many NLE features might not exist in PS. However, you might explore PS a bit, as they might. One way in PrPro is to use the Razor Tool (shown as Scissors in PrElements), to Cut the Clip. Then, on can Select the area that was Cut, and Delete it. One can also use the modifier keys in that Deletion, to determine what happens, or does not happen, to Clips to the right on the Timeline, i.e. one can Delete that portion of the Clip, and leave a gap, or one can Delete that portion, and close the gap, causing everything to the right to close up. Even in PrPro, one has not touched the original material, just the Instance of that, via the proxy that we see on the Timeline. Nothing has really been done yet - until Export.

Good luck, and please report what you find in PS, regarding Cutting Video, as I will learn somethng new too!

Hunt

I understand. I need to do the same thing, to really see what PS (Extended in my case) can, and cannot do. For some jobs, one just needs to consider the "tool," and choose the correct one.

If you have PrPro CS 6, check out the new Adjustment Layers - lot of PS-like power there!

Good luck,

Hunt