Definition of film clip

short footage that has been clipped from a longer reel of film and then inserted into another film, or shown by itself to a live audience or used as part of another program or performance. Film clips are commonly used in instructional or educational programs and in news or documentary productions where the location or the activity cannot be duplicated or re-created in the studio or where such re-creation would lessen the effect or reality of the production. For example, a documentary about the Holocaust that uses film clips of the actual detention camps is more authentic and should have greater impact than one that simulates these scenes. Also called film sequence.