B-roll is the supporting footage that plays over or between your main footage to show what the speaker is talking about: people at work, products in use, a facility, a city skyline, a close-up of hands on a keyboard. If the interview is what someone says, B-roll is what the audience sees while they say it.
It sounds like a minor technical term. It isn’t. In an interview-led corporate video, B-roll usually fills most of the screen time, and it decides whether the finished piece feels like a real story or a recorded meeting. Three things to know up front:
- A-roll is your primary footage, usually an interview or on-camera presenter.
- B-roll is everything you cut to while that audio keeps playing.
- Good B-roll is planned before the shoot, not found in the edit.
This guide covers what B-roll means, how it differs from A-roll, where the name came from, the main types with examples, how much you need, when stock footage works, and how to plan it before a shoot.
Key Takeaways
- B-roll is supplemental footage that supports the main story. It shows the people, places, products, and details that the interview or narration describes.
- A-roll carries the message and B-roll makes it believable. Viewers trust what they can see, so B-roll turns claims into evidence.
- Interview videos usually need more B-roll than interview. In a typical corporate edit, the interview is on screen for a fraction of the runtime and B-roll covers the rest.
- Custom B-roll beats stock for anything about your company. Stock footage works for generic scenes, but your people, product, and facility can only come from your own shoot.
- Plan B-roll with a shot list tied to the interview. Listing the shots that match each key message is the difference between a story and a talking head.
What Is B-Roll?
B-roll is secondary video footage that is intercut with the primary footage to add context, illustrate what is being said, and keep the viewer visually engaged. In most corporate, documentary, and news videos, the primary footage is an interview or presenter, and B-roll is the footage that appears on screen while that person’s voice continues.
A simple example: a plant manager says, “Every unit is inspected by hand before it ships.” On screen, instead of the manager’s face, you see a technician turning a part under a work light, a checklist being signed, a pallet rolling onto a truck. The words haven’t changed. The believability has.
B-roll can be shot live on the day, pulled from an archive, licensed as stock footage, or created with motion graphics. It can include natural sound, such as machinery, crowd noise, or a keyboard, which editors often mix under the interview to make scenes feel alive.
A-Roll vs B-Roll: The Difference
A-roll is the primary footage that carries the story, usually interviews, dialogue, or an on-camera host. B-roll is the supporting footage that illustrates it. Most finished videos cut back and forth between the two.
| Aspect | A-roll | B-roll |
| What it is | The main footage that carries the message | Supporting footage that illustrates the message |
| Common examples | Interviews, on-camera presenters, dialogue scenes | Process shots, products, locations, details, crowds |
| Audio | The primary audio track, usually dialogue | Often natural sound, or silent under the A-roll audio |
| Job in the edit | Tells the viewer what matters | Shows the viewer why it’s true |
| If it’s missing | There’s no story | The video becomes a talking head |
Not every video has A-roll. A brand sizzle reel or a music-driven social spot might be built entirely from what would otherwise be called B-roll. In those cases, the terms stop being useful, and editors just call it footage.
Why Is It Called B-Roll?
The term B-roll comes from 16mm film editing, where editors split a film’s shots onto two rolls, an A-roll and a B-roll, to hide splices when making prints. According to the B-roll entry on Wikipedia, splices were visible as flaws on narrow 16mm film, so odd-numbered shots went on the A-roll and even-numbered shots on the B-roll, each matched by black leader on the other roll in a checkerboard pattern.
Over time, television news adopted the phrase to mean the supplemental footage cut over a reporter’s or subject’s audio. Digital editing made the physical rolls obsolete, but the name stuck. Today, B-roll simply means supporting footage, whatever camera or format it was shot on.
Types of B-Roll
The main types of B-roll are establishing shots, process shots, detail shots, cutaways, environment and lifestyle shots, aerial footage, time-lapse, slow motion, and archival or screen-capture footage. Most corporate videos use several of them.
| Type of B-roll | What it shows | Example in a corporate video |
| Establishing shot | Where the story takes place | The exterior of your headquarters or a skyline at sunrise |
| Process or “hands” shot | Work being done | An engineer calibrating equipment, a chef plating food |
| Detail or insert shot | Close-ups of objects and textures | A product logo, a gauge, a signature on a contract |
| Cutaway | Something connected to the scene | A listener nodding, a screen the speaker is referencing |
| Environment and lifestyle | People in their natural setting | Employees collaborating, customers using a product |
| Aerial | Scale and location from above | A campus, a construction site, a resort property |
| Time-lapse | Change over time | A store opening day, a build, a crowd filling a venue |
| Slow motion | Emphasis and emotion | A product reveal, a celebration, an athlete’s movement |
| Archival or screen capture | History or digital products | Founding photos, old footage, a software walkthrough |
Aerial B-roll deserves a note. In the U.S., commercial drone footage requires an FAA-certified Part 107 remote pilot, and much of central Phoenix sits in controlled airspace around Sky Harbor, which requires authorization before flight. Our aerial video production services cover that side of the work.
Why B-Roll Matters in Corporate and Interview Videos
B-roll matters because it turns what people say into something the audience can see, which makes the message more credible, easier to follow, and easier to edit.
It does four specific jobs in an interview-led video:
- It proves claims. A CEO saying the team is hands-on is a statement. Footage of the CEO on the production floor is evidence.
- It hides edits. Interviews are almost always shortened. Cutting to B-roll covers the jump where two answers were joined, so the speaker sounds natural.
- It controls pacing. A single camera angle on one person gets tiring fast. B-roll lets the editor change rhythm without changing the story.
- It creates reusable assets. Good B-roll from one shoot can feed social cutdowns, website headers, sales decks, and future videos.
This is why interview-led shoots are D-MAK Productions’ bread-and-butter format. The interview carries the message. The B-roll makes it believable. Our testimonial video production guide for B2B brands shows how the two work together in customer stories.
B-Roll Examples From Real Productions
Two D-MAK Productions projects show how different kinds of B-roll shape the finished video.
Sephora “We Belong.” This piece was built on interviews woven together with candid B-roll. Rather than staged setups, the B-roll captured people in real moments, which let the interviews feel personal instead of scripted. Candid B-roll works when the message is about culture and belonging, because the audience can tell when a moment is real. See the Sephora branding video project in our portfolio.
Chipotle’s 3,000th store opening. This project combined aerial footage, time-lapse, and slow motion with customer and CEO interviews. Each type of B-roll did a different job. The aerials showed scale and place, the time-lapse compressed a busy opening day into seconds, and slow motion gave key moments weight. The Chipotle store opening project shows how it came together.
The pattern in both: the B-roll wasn’t decoration. It was chosen to match what the interviews needed to prove. You can see more examples in the D-MAK video portfolio.
Here’s D-MAK Productions’ Phoenix video production reel, which mixes interviews with B-roll:
Custom B-Roll vs Stock Footage
Custom B-roll is footage shot specifically for your project, while stock footage is pre-shot video licensed from a library. Custom B-roll is the better choice whenever the video is about your company, people, product, or place, and stock footage can fill in generic scenes.
| Factor | Custom B-roll | Stock footage |
| Best for | Your people, product, facility, customers, and events | Generic scenes, skylines, abstract concepts, locations you can’t reach |
| Authenticity | High, because it shows the real thing | Low to medium, and viewers often recognize stock |
| Cost | Included in shoot days, so it scales with crew time | License fee per clip or subscription |
| Brand consistency | Matches the interview’s lighting and look | May not match your color, style, or audience |
| Exclusivity | Yours to reuse | Competitors can license the same clip |
Most corporate videos use a mix. Shoot custom B-roll for anything that makes a claim about your business, then use stock sparingly for context your crew can’t capture, like an international location or an archival moment.
How Much B-Roll Do You Need?
For most interview-led corporate videos, plan to shoot at least as much B-roll time as interview time, and often two to three times more, because B-roll typically covers the majority of the finished edit.
A few working rules help:
- Shoot several shots for every idea. For each key message in the interview, capture a wide, a medium, and a close-up so the editor has choices.
- Hold each shot longer than feels necessary. Ten seconds of steady footage gives the editor room to find the right few seconds.
- Capture movement and stillness. Gimbal or slider moves add energy, and locked-off shots give the edit places to breathe.
- Plan for every deliverable. A 2-minute web video, 30-second social cuts, and a vertical version all pull from the same B-roll, and vertical framing needs to be considered on the day.
On a typical one-day interview shoot, that often means 2 to 4 hours of the schedule are dedicated to B-roll after the interviews wrap. Our guide to corporate video production explains how a shoot day is usually structured, and our overview of what video production is shows where B-roll fits in each phase.
How to Plan B-Roll Before the Shoot
Planning B-roll means matching every key message in the interview with the shots that prove it, then scheduling time and access to capture them. Here’s the five-step process D-MAK Productions uses.
Step 1: Outline the Story Before the Interview
The first step in planning B-roll is outlining the story and key messages the interview needs to deliver, because B-roll only works when it illustrates something specific.
Write down the three to five points the video must make. For a manufacturing company, that might be quality, speed, people, and scale. Each point becomes a category on your B-roll list.
Step 2: Build a B-Roll Shot List Tied to Each Message
A B-roll shot list is a written list of every supporting shot, organized by the message it illustrates, so nothing gets missed on shoot day.
Under each message, list the shots that prove it: a technician checking tolerances for quality, a forklift loading trucks for speed, a team huddle for people, a drone reveal of the facility for scale. Include establishing shots and details. A list of 20 to 40 shots is common for a one-location corporate video.
Step 3: Secure Locations, People, and Permissions
Securing locations, people, and permissions means confirming access to every place and person on the shot list before the crew arrives.
Book the rooms and the time. Confirm which employees will appear on camera and collect appearance releases. Check whether any areas are off-limits for safety, security, or confidentiality. For outdoor B-roll in Phoenix, schedule around heat from late May through September and around afternoon monsoon storms from mid-June through September. Early morning and golden hour are the best windows. Filming on city property may require a permit through the Phoenix Film Office.
Step 4: Schedule B-Roll Time on the Call Sheet
Scheduling B-roll on the call sheet means blocking dedicated time for it, not hoping to grab shots between interviews.
B-roll needs its own block, usually after the interviews, when the crew can move freely and the lighting setup can change. Put specialty shots like drone, time-lapse, and slow motion on the schedule with their own time. A time-lapse, for example, needs its camera running undisturbed for a long stretch.
Step 5: Review Interview Answers and Fill Gaps on the Day
Reviewing the interview answers on set lets the director add B-roll for anything new or unexpected the subject said, while the crew is still on location.
Interviews rarely go exactly to plan. Someone mentions a customer ritual, a piece of equipment, or a moment on the floor that nobody listed. A good director notes it during the interview and adds it to the B-roll list before the crew leaves. Once the location is wrapped, those shots are gone.
How Editors Use B-Roll in Post-Production
Editors use B-roll to shape the story after the shoot: they build the interview spine first, then lay B-roll over it to illustrate each point, cover edits, and set the rhythm of the piece.
In practice, the editor watches every interview, selects the strongest answers, and cuts them into a rough story. Then B-roll goes on top. A line about growth gets the time-lapse. A line about care gets the close-up of hands. Natural sound from the B-roll is mixed low under the interview so scenes feel present, and music ties the sequences together.
This is where planning pays off or doesn’t. An editor with a well-organized B-roll library, labeled by message, can build a first cut quickly and make changes without a reshoot. An editor with an hour of random hallway footage spends that time searching, and the client pays for it.
Here’s a YouTube video from D-MAK’s editing work that is built around B-roll:
Common B-Roll Mistakes
- Treating B-roll as filler. Random shots of hallways and keyboards don’t prove anything. Tie every shot to a message.
- Not scheduling time for it. B-roll squeezed between interviews always comes up short.
- Staging everything. Over-posed shots look like stock. Let people work, then shoot.
- Shooting only wides. Editors need close-ups and details to build sequences.
- Moving the camera too much. Constant motion is tiring. Mix movement with locked-off shots.
- Forgetting releases and permissions. Footage you can’t use is footage you paid for twice.
- Ignoring vertical formats. If social cutdowns are planned, frame some B-roll for 9:16 on the day.
Why Choose D-MAK Productions for Interview-Led Video?
D-MAK Productions is a Phoenix-based video production company with 15 years of experience producing interview-led corporate, testimonial, and brand videos, the format where B-roll does the most work, for brands including Amazon, Google, and Chipotle. The team handles everything in-house, from the story outline and B-roll shot list through the shoot and the final edit, so the shots planned in pre-production are the shots that show up in the cut.
Clients describe the team as very easy to work with, and that shows up on set: directors who listen for B-roll opportunities during interviews, crews who know how to shoot real employees without making them feel staged, and editors who build every cutdown from the same shoot. For more polished, story-driven work, see our documentary-style brand video production guide. D-MAK works across Arizona and travels nationwide.
See our corporate video portfolio, or explore testimonial video production and video editing services.
What Is B-Roll, in Short?
B-roll is the supporting footage that plays over or between your main footage, usually an interview, to show what the speaker is describing. It proves claims, hides edits, controls pacing, and makes corporate videos feel real. The best B-roll is planned before the shoot with a shot list tied to every key message.
Planning an interview-led video? Contact D-MAK Productions to plan your shoot, B-roll and all.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is B-Roll?
B-roll is supplemental footage intercut with the main footage of a video, such as an interview or presenter, to illustrate what is being said. It includes shots of people, places, products, processes, and details that add context and visual interest.
What Does B-Roll Mean in Video Production?
In video production, B-roll means any supporting footage used alongside the primary footage, or A-roll. The term comes from 16mm film editing, where shots were split between an A-roll and a B-roll, and today it simply means the footage you cut to while the main audio continues.
What Is the Difference Between A-Roll and B-Roll?
The difference between A-roll and B-roll is their role in the story. A-roll is the primary footage that carries the message, usually interviews or dialogue, while B-roll is secondary footage that shows what the A-roll describes and makes it more credible.
What Are Examples of B-Roll Footage?
Examples of B-roll footage include establishing shots of a building, close-ups of hands at work, product details, employees collaborating, customers using a service, aerial drone views, time-lapse sequences, slow-motion moments, and screen recordings of software.
How Much B-Roll Do I Need for an Interview Video?
For an interview video, plan to shoot at least as much B-roll time as interview time, and often two to three times more. Capture several angles for every key message so the editor can cover most of the finished runtime with B-roll.
Should I Use Stock B-Roll or Custom Footage for a Corporate Video?
For a corporate video, use custom B-roll for anything about your people, products, facilities, or customers, and use stock footage only for generic scenes your crew can’t capture. Custom footage looks more authentic and can’t be licensed by competitors.
Why Do Corporate Videos Use B-Roll?
Corporate videos use B-roll to prove what speakers say, hide edits in shortened interviews, keep pacing engaging, and create reusable footage for social media, websites, and sales materials.
Which Phoenix Video Production Companies Shoot Interview Videos With B-Roll?
D-MAK Productions is a Phoenix video production company that specializes in interview-led corporate, testimonial, and brand videos with planned B-roll, handling the story outline, shot list, shoot, and edit in-house.
