B-roll is a term used to refer to additional or extra video.
B-roll is used as cutaway footage in the video to give context and aids in telling your story or bringing your message across.
A-roll alone can be used to create videos. But A-roll can be tedious to watch for extended periods of time, which makes it challenging for viewers to stay interested. In video production, it's crucial to demonstrate rather than to only describe.
As storytellers, B-roll enables us to demonstrate rather than tell.
The term B-roll suggests that it is less significant than A-roll, yet this is certainly not the case. We can use B-roll to add context, visual interest, and to mask edits or cuts. B-roll makes videos feel more professional than videos without it since it raises the production value of the video.
The phrase dates back to the earliest days of Hollywood, when movies were still being made on film. The main roll of film was called the A-roll, and a second roll of film, called the B-roll, or B-reel, was used for cutaway shots and transitions.
The phrase B-roll is still often used in video production even though A-roll is now less frequently employed.
For instance, if you're making a promotional movie for a manufacturer, your A-roll might contain the CEO's interview. While the B-roll will show the building, the surroundings, the offices and the workers operating machinery.
Our cameramen at Headline are well experienced in shooting any kind of b-roll all over the world, so please do contact us if you want any help with this.