B-roll footage is supplemental or secondary video content that supports the main shot of a video. Editors cut these support clips between primary footage (called A-roll) to set the scene, smooth over jump cuts, hide edits, and add visual storytelling to interviews, vlogs, documentaries, and films.
I’ve been cutting videos for the better part of a decade, and the difference between a beginner edit and a polished one almost always comes down to one thing: how much usable B-roll footage the creator captured. In this guide, I’ll walk you through exactly what B-roll is, where the name comes from, the different types you’ll use most often, and how to shoot footage that actually saves you in the edit room.
Table of Contents
What Is B-Roll Footage? A Clear Definition
B-roll footage is any video clip that supports, illustrates, or interrupts the main shot of a video to add context, cover an edit, or enhance the storytelling. It is sometimes spelled “Broll,” “B roll,” or written as “B-reel,” and it almost always refers to the secondary, supporting, or cutaway material rather than the principal action.
You’ll also hear it called supplemental footage, secondary footage, cutaway shots, or simply “the cover shots.” All of these names point to the same idea: B-roll footage exists to make the primary footage look better, not to be the star.
Here’s the practical test I use. If a clip can stand on its own and carry the story, it’s A-roll. If it only works as support, decoration, or a visual bridge between A-roll shots, it’s B-roll. That single rule resolves most of the confusion beginners run into.
Alternate Names and Spellings
Different productions, platforms, and countries use slightly different terms. They all mean the same thing in practice:
- B-roll (most common in the US)
- B roll or Broll (one word, popular on YouTube)
- B-reel (older, more formal film industry spelling)
- Supplemental footage or secondary footage (script supervisors and corporate teams)
- Coverage or second-unit footage (large Hollywood shoots)
- Cutaway shots (news and documentary editors)
The variety of names is a hint at how widely B-roll footage is used. The term shows up in feature films, news packages, wedding videos, TikTok edits, talk show interviews, corporate explainers, sports broadcasts, and even Instagram Reels.
A-Roll vs B-Roll: What’s the Difference?
A-roll is the primary footage that drives the story forward, while B-roll footage supports that main story. A-roll usually carries the dialogue, the action, or the central message. B-roll is everything you cut to in between.
Think of a chef cooking on camera. A-roll is the medium shot of her face as she explains the recipe, the audio you actually need. B-roll is the close-up of her hands whisking, the sizzling pan, the finished plate, and the kitchen ambience. Without the B-roll, the video feels static. Without the A-roll, the B-roll has nothing to support.
Quick Comparison Table
| Feature | A-Roll | B-Roll |
|---|---|---|
| Role | Primary storytelling footage | Supporting or supplemental footage |
| Audio | Usually carries the main audio or dialogue | Often silent or replaced with music/sound effects |
| Examples | Interview answers, host monologues, action scenes | Cutaways, establishing shots, atmospheric shots |
| Length in final cut | 40-70% of the finished video | 30-60% of the finished video |
| Shooting priority | Covered first, on a shot list | Captured in excess, often off-list |
A practical note from experience: when you edit, you’ll almost always end up trimming A-roll down and using more B-roll footage than you expected. That’s normal. Plan for it.
Where the Term “B-Roll” Came From
The phrase “B-roll” comes from the early film editing workflow, when editors physically worked with two reels of film. The A-reel held the principal photography, the main performance or action. The B-reel contained everything else, including reactions, alternate angles, inserts, and shots that would cover the cuts.
The first reel letter, “A,” became shorthand for the main footage. The second letter, “B,” became shorthand for everything that surrounded it. Editors passed the A-reel back and forth as they built the primary story, then intercut B-reel material whenever they needed a cutaway, a transition, or a way to hide a splice in the film.
Over time, the term traveled from Hollywood editing bays to television newsrooms, then to corporate video teams, then to YouTube creators, and finally to short-form platforms like TikTok and Instagram. In 2026, B-roll footage is just as common in a 30-second Reel as it is in a feature documentary.
A fun historical detail: the famous Twin Peaks opening, with the Pacific Northwest logging footage and industrial shots, is essentially pure B-roll used as a title sequence. David Lynch turned support footage into signature atmosphere.
8 Types of B-Roll Footage (With Examples)
There are eight types of B-roll footage that come up in almost every project. Once you recognize them, you’ll start seeing them in every video you watch.
1. Establishing Shots
An establishing shot is a wide or aerial view that shows where the action is taking place. Think of a city skyline at dawn before cutting to two characters talking in a coffee shop. Establishing shots orient the viewer and prevent geography whiplash between cuts.
Drone footage of a coastline, a slow pan across a busy office, or an exterior shot of a school before going inside the classroom all count. They’re usually the first or last B-roll clip in a sequence.
2. Cutaway Shots
A cutaway shot cuts away from the main subject to something related, and then back. Editors use cutaways to mask jump cuts, hide awkward pauses, or add visual variety mid-monologue. An interviewer nodding, hands typing on a keyboard, or a clock ticking are classic cutaways.
3. Close-Up and Insert Shots
Close-up B-roll footage zeroes in on a specific detail, like fingers tapping a phone screen, a pen signing a contract, or coffee pouring into a mug. Insert shots often illustrate exactly what the speaker is talking about without changing the pace of the main edit.
4. Atmospheric and Moody Shots
Atmospheric B-roll footage sets the tone. Fog drifting across a lake, neon lights reflecting on wet pavement, smoke curling from a candle. These clips do very little narratively but a lot emotionally. Music videos and moody short films lean heavily on atmospheric B-roll.
5. Candid and Lifestyle Shots
Candid B-roll captures unscripted, in-between moments: a bride laughing with her bridesmaids, a chef plating during service, kids running through a park. Candid footage makes a video feel lived-in and human rather than corporate.
6. Archival and Stock Footage
Archival B-roll is older footage used to illustrate history, news events, or to add credibility. Stock footage is professionally shot library content you license from sites like Storyblocks, Shutterstock, or Adobe Stock. Both are B-roll, just sourced instead of filmed.
7. Dramatic Reenactments
Some documentaries and true-crime shows can’t film the actual events, so they hire actors and shoot reenactments. These reenactments are technically B-roll footage because they support the main interview, even though they look like A-roll on screen.
8. Drone and Action Footage
Drone B-roll footage has become its own category. Aerial shots of landscapes, real estate properties, sporting events, and travel destinations are nearly always B-roll used to add scale, beauty, or transition energy to a sequence.
How to Shoot B-Roll Footage That Actually Works
Good B-roll footage comes down to four habits: shoot way more than you think you need, vary your angles, keep clips short and stable, and always think about the edit.
Step 1: Aim for 4 to 6 Times More B-Roll Than Final Runtime
A widely shared rule among working videographers, repeated on the r/videography and r/NewTubers subreddits, is that for every minute of finished video, you should shoot about four to six minutes of raw B-roll footage. For a five-minute video, that’s roughly 20 minutes of B-roll.
This ratio isn’t arbitrary. Most B-roll clips get cut down significantly. A 40-minute shoot might condense to 2-3 minutes in the final edit. Give yourself margin.
Step 2: Cover Every Angle You Might Need
Director Peter Jackson famously shoots scenes from as many angles as possible, often with multiple cameras, just to maximize coverage and options in the edit. You don’t need Jackson’s budget, but the principle holds: wide, medium, and close-up. Left, right, and overhead. Static and moving.
Even on a phone, a quick orbit or a 15-degree pan gives you flexibility later.
Step 3: Hold Each Shot Longer Than Feels Natural
When beginners film B-roll footage, they panic and end clips too early. Shoot for 10-30 seconds per take. That gives you enough room to breathe in the edit and enough variations to choose the strongest performance.
Step 4: Watch for Sound, Even When You Plan to Replace It
B-roll footage doesn’t need sync audio in the final cut, but you still need clean ambient sound for reference, and you may want to use the actual sound later. Watch for buzzing lights, loud AC, barking dogs, or wind noise. A quiet take is always easier to work with.
Step 5: Use Shot Lists and Storyboards to Stay Focused
Before you roll camera, write down the B-roll shots you need for each section of the script or interview. A shot list prevents the very common problem of arriving home with two hours of footage of the same wall.
Why B-Roll Footage Is Essential for Video Production
B-roll footage matters because it solves five problems every editor faces: it conceals mistakes, smooths transitions, builds atmosphere, supports the narrative, and holds attention. Without B-roll, even great A-roll becomes a wall of jump cuts that viewers tap away from.
For interviews in particular, B-roll is the only way to break up someone talking for 30 minutes into something watchable. It’s the visual texture that turns a Q&A into a story.
One last tip that took me years to internalize: B-roll doesn’t have to be pretty to be useful. A shaky, imperfect shot that perfectly matches the moment the speaker describes is worth more than a flawless cinematic shot that says nothing.
Frequently Asked Questions About B-Roll Footage
What is considered B-roll footage?
B-roll footage is any supporting or supplemental video that editors cut between the main shots. It includes cutaways, establishing shots, atmospheric shots, close-ups, drone clips, archival material, and any clip that supports rather than carries the primary story.
What are examples of B-roll footage?
Examples include wide shots of a city skyline before cutting inside, close-ups of hands typing, drone aerial shots of a coastline, candid moments at a wedding, archival news clips used in documentaries, and atmospheric shots of fog or rain. Anything that supports the main shot counts as B-roll.
What does ‘b roll’ mean in slang?
In informal or internet slang, ‘B-roll’ sometimes refers to any background or filler content that supports a creator’s main post, especially on short-form platforms. The professional video production meaning is the same: secondary footage used to enhance the primary footage.
How to get B-roll footage?
You can get B-roll footage by filming it yourself at locations near your shoot, by licensing stock footage from sites like Storyblocks, Artgrid, or Shutterstock, by using archival footage from news libraries, or by using AI tools like ClipScout to find matching clips quickly. Shooting your own B-roll footage usually produces the most natural results.
Does B-roll footage have sound?
B-roll footage can have sound, but most editors replace the original audio with music, sound effects, or room tone because the ambient audio rarely matches the A-roll. Clean ambient sound is still useful during editing for reference.
How long should B-roll clips be?
B-roll clips in the final edit usually run between 2 and 8 seconds, though establishing or atmospheric shots can be longer. Shoot each take for 10-30 seconds to give yourself editing flexibility.
Final Thoughts on B-Roll Footage
B-roll footage is the difference between a video that holds attention and one that loses it. Once you understand what B-roll is, how it relates to A-roll, the eight main types, and the four-step process for filming it, your edits will tighten up almost immediately. Shoot more than you need, vary your angles, hold each take, and trust that the extra coverage will pay off in the edit room.
If you’re just starting out, pick one project this week, write a quick B-roll shot list, and try to capture four to six times the finished runtime in support footage. You’ll come back from that shoot with a folder that makes your edit smoother than anything you’ve finished before.