B-Roll Meaning for Marketers: How to Plan Coverage for a 92-Second Cut
B-roll is all of the footage editors will use to cut away from the primary action (A-roll). It may be a wide shot of a Dallas office building skyline, or close up hands typing on a keyboard. Essentially, it's visual information that helps establish more detail about what's going on. When used correctly, B-roll can fill the screen with motion while not distracting from the primary story.
Key Takeaways
- Build your shot list from your A-roll outline. Every visual should have a purpose.
- Shoot wide, medium, and close angles along with moving shots to give your editor options.
- Frame for the final deliverables, including vertical social cuts, while you are on set.
- Color match/exposure in post, double check footage rights before you deliver.
Table of Contents
- What Is B-Roll and Where Does the Term Come From?
- Why B-Roll Matters More Than Most Creators Assume
- Common B-Roll Shot Types and Real Examples
- How to Plan and Shoot B-Roll Without Wasting a Day
- How Editors Actually Use B-Roll in the Cut
- How Kinter Media Plans B-Roll for Brand Clients
- When a Brand Needs Help Getting Usable B-Roll
- Sources
- FAQ
What Is B-Roll and Where Does the Term Come From?
B-roll is supplemental or alternate footage that can be intercut with your main shot (A-roll). Merriam-Webster says the first known use of the term was in 1983, but the concept behind it is much older.
The term originates from film editing, when physical film rolls were the norm. The primary footage was placed on the A-roll, while supplementary footage was placed on the B-roll and edited together to mask the splices between shots and cover up any black leader used in 16 mm workflows, according to Wikipedia.
The paired reel system was created out of necessity for a physical limitation. Technology has moved on, but the terminology remains. B-roll can now exist on a memory card, drone, hard drive or cloud server. One thing that hasn't changed is that B-roll still supports the primary story.
Why B-Roll Matters More Than Most Creators Assume
B-roll isn’t fluff. It provides the editor with visuals to add context to the story, hide an edit, and refocus the viewer’s attention. Adobe even recommends storyboarding it with a shot list that corresponds to the story, instead of crossing your fingers useful cutaways will show up after production wraps.
Uses for B-roll within a single edit:
- Set the time and place before any dialogue is spoken.
- Visually reinforce a point you hear in an interview or voiceover.
- Cover jump cuts and other edits that would otherwise look or sound abrupt.
- Intercut long stretches of talking-head with pertinent action or details.
Don’t feel like you need a cutaway every few seconds in a talking head interview. But when you’ve covered a topic and the frame is no longer adding information, give the viewer something different to look at. No Film School lists establishing shots, insert shots, and stock footage as typical resources editors use to add visuals that relate to the A-roll.
Common B-Roll Shot Types and Real Examples
Knowing the big categories of B-roll will help you compile a helpful shot list before your crew shows up.
- Establishing and location shots. Wide shots of a headquarters building exterior, drone fly-throughs of a warehouse, or sweeping entrances help orient your viewer before settling into the meat of your story.
- Cutaway/Insert shots. Hands typing on a keyboard, extreme close-up of a product label, or factory machine in use are details referenced in voiceover or interviews.
- Atmospheric and texture shots: Timelapse of a skyline, motion blur from pedestrians or people walking, and clips from ambient event footage are examples of video that can help set pace and mood while cutting away from a scene and not having to use narration.
- Stock/archival footage. Licensed footage can be used to provide historical reference or establish an environment that is difficult to film within the production timeline.
- Social-specific cuts. Quick cuts and vertical framing allow for fast cutting when editing to a short-form style. Below, Lumen Learning breaks down types of B-roll you can use:
Vary your shots with size and camera movement too. Instead of shooting one angle from different positions, try shooting different sizes/shots and camera motions.
How to Plan and Shoot B-Roll Without Wasting a Day
Plan coverage in advance. The majority of your B-roll problems can be solved before production even starts. Having a great interview and nothing to cut to that is relevant to your soundbite kills it. Plan out your coverage with your shot list.
Use this checklist:
- Create the B-roll list off of the A-roll outline. Make sure you have a visual to accompany every critical soundbite.
- Get a coverage pyramid: wide shot, medium shot and close-up of the same subject. Also include at least one clip with motion for pacing.
- Film MOS (material without synchronous sound) if you don’t need audio. That allows a second unit to grab visual coverage while your primary team does interviews or any audio-required tasks.
- Frame for multiple aspect ratios. That 16:9 corporate shot could double as a 9:16 vertical for social media if the videographer leaves space to reframe behind the subject. See Kinter Media’s guide to a video deliverable workflow for how planning these decisions in pre-production can save you from unnecessary reshoots.
Labeling matters as much as capturing. Give each B-roll shot a code that connects it to the corresponding A-roll beat. The editor can then find a relevant cutaway in seconds instead of scrubbing through unmarked footage. A clear shot list makes that system possible.
How Editors Actually Use B-Roll in the Cut
The edit is where the planning either pays off or falls apart. Editors use B-roll to hide jump cuts, continue A-roll audio under a new visual, and give key lines a purposeful visual match. A cut that lands with a spoken emphasis or a music beat usually feels deliberate instead of arbitrary.
Color and exposure matching are part of that work. A noon exterior will not naturally sit beside an indoor interview, so the color pass needs to bring the shots into the same visual world. Footage from stock libraries needs another check: confirm the license allows the intended client use before it reaches the final deliverable.
The strongest B-roll rarely calls attention to itself. It makes the A-roll easier to follow and easier to believe.
How Kinter Media Plans B-Roll for Brand Clients
We start with the deliverable. A 92-second LinkedIn cut needs different coverage from a broadcast spot, so the shot list accounts for the final channels before production begins. When it makes sense, our main unit handles interviews while a second unit captures aerials, detail inserts, and social-ready footage at the same time.
For shoots at Dallas-Fort Worth venues or facilities, a local production team can also address access, permitting, and location logistics before they disrupt the day. The goal is straightforward: finish the shoot with coverage the edit can use, not a folder of attractive clips with no clear role.
When a Brand Needs Help Getting Usable B-Roll
An internal team can record a product on a desk with a phone. Building a coverage hierarchy, matching it to executive interviews, and delivering versions for LinkedIn, YouTube, and broadcast from the same shoot requires a different level of planning.
Kinter runs capture and post-production as one connected process. Our scopes cover the work from the shot list through color grading, with director Alex Kinter leading the production. Whether the project is a corporate video built around executive interviews or a social and commercial campaign that needs several platform-ready cuts, we quote the coverage against the deliverables.
Book a discovery call and tell us what you need to produce. We will help define the footage required to make the edit work.
Sources
- B-ROLL Definition & Meaning, Merriam-Webster
- B-roll, Wikipedia
- What Is B-roll Footage and Why Is It Important?, Adobe
- Visual Storytelling Tips to Boost Brand Impact, BabyLoveGrowth
- B Roll Meaning, No Film School
- B-roll, Lumen Learning
- The Basics of B-roll, Vimeo
FAQ
What does “B-roll” mean in casual or slang use?
Outside production, people sometimes use “B-roll” loosely to mean any secondary or background footage. The core meaning stays the same: it is supporting footage cut around the main shot.
What is B-roll on social media?
Social media B-roll uses the same idea in a shorter, faster-paced format. It breaks up a talking-head clip, shows the detail behind a claim, or gives the editor a clean visual transition. Vertical framing and concise shots are usually more useful than the longer holds common in a broadcast edit.
Is there another term for B-roll?
Depending on the use, B-roll may be called cutaway footage, insert shots, or supplemental footage. The terms overlap, although an insert usually refers to a close detail shot and a cutaway can refer to any shot that moves away from the primary action.
What are some common B-roll shot examples?
Common examples include an establishing shot of a location, a close-up of hands using a product, a process shot on a factory floor, and atmospheric footage such as a skyline timelapse. Licensed stock or archival material can fill a gap when original capture is not possible.
Discuss Your B-Roll Needs
Share your next brand video project with Kinter’s team for a conversation about production, cinematography, and post-production. Email Kinter or call +1 469 837 8831.