B-roll

In a corporate video or testimonial, A-roll is the person speaking to camera; B-roll is the footage shown over the speech to illustrate what is being said: the part coming off the machine, a weld close-up, the truck being loaded, the team in a meeting.

How it works

Good B-roll is planned with the script: for each key sentence, an image that proves it. Short takes (3 to 8 seconds) with smooth movement, several angles of the same process and close-up details give the edit rhythm and let you cut the speech without visible jumps. In social videos, B-roll is often the whole video, with captions telling the story.

Practical example

In a machine shop video, the director talks for 40 seconds about precision. Without B-roll, it is just a person in front of a camera. With takes of the probe measuring, the part spinning in the lathe and the inspection report, the same 40 seconds become a demonstration, and the speech can be tightened without visible cuts.

Common mistakes

• Shooting only the interview and trying to fix everything in the edit.
• Filming long, shaky takes that are hard to use.
• Skipping close-up details, which get used the most in the cut.