S2 Ep14. Everything you need to know about B-roll

New to filmmaking? It’s easy to get lost in all the lingo. Between tight framing, zoom lens, B-roll, cross-cutting and overlay, you might end up wondering if you found yourself learning a foreign dialect instead.

And it’s true. Filmmakers do have their own special language. The good news is that you don’t need to become fluent overnight. Phew!

But B-roll is definitely one terminology to get well acquainted with even when you’re just starting out. Why? Because B-roll is a big deal and learning how to apply it in your videos will make planing and executing your next shoot way easier.

Plus! Here’s a fun filmmaking fact for you: B-roll and overlay actually mean the same thing. So you can become an expert in these two terms in this single podcast episode. Talk about a win.

So settle in because this week Sue is chatting all things B-roll. What it is, how to capture it and why you need it to tell a great video story.

To watch the video Sue mentioned in this episode – Eliminating Cervical Cancer – you can do so by clicking this link: https://youtu.be/ffp6CVtTpEs

To learn more from Sue, jump over to the Moonshine Communications Academy:  
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Transcript

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So, if you're interested in learning a bit more about the ins and outs of capturing B-roll, you've landed on the right podcast today. So, if you're new to filmmaking, it is very easy to get lost in all the lingo because there's phrases like tight framing, zoom lenses, b-roll, overlay, and you might end up wondering if you've actually found yourself learning a foreign dialect rather than how to make a movie. So, it is true. Filmmakers do have their own special language. Just like every industry, there are buzzwords. And also just words that are used to describe particular things. The good news is that you don't need to become fluent overnight in all of this lingo. So relax. I'm about to tell you about B-roll. B-roll is definitely one of the terminologies that I highly recommend you get well acquainted with because even when you're just starting out, B-roll is a big deal, and learning how to apply it in your videos will make planning and executing your next shoot so much easier. Plus, here's a fun filmmaking fact for you B-roll and overlay mean exactly the same thing. So you can become an expert in these two terms in this single podcast. There's a win-win. If you're a first-time listener, this is the weekly Moonshine Moonshot Podcast, and it's all about helping you make better videos. I'm your host, Sue Collins, and I have been specialising in video production and filmmaking for many years. I don't want to see more boring, poorly crafted videos any more than you do. And I know that you don't want to make boring, poorly crafted videos. So to help combat this onslaught of really dull content being served up on social, I'm sharing what I've learned about how to make great videos. And the good news is it's definitely not as hard as you might think because nobody sets out to make boring content. And that's what can happen though, unfortunately, when you don't have skills or information to make it great. And sometimes just a few small pointers can take something dull and really make it shine online. So that's what this podcast is all about. Today I am talking about b-roll, and to keep things really simple, I'm gonna stick to using the term b-roll. But the word overlay is often used. So if you hear the word b-roll or overlay when you're out in the world, you'll know that they are actually referring to exactly the same thing. So feel free to interchange it. B-roll and overlay in your mind, if you like variety, it is the spice of life after all. But enough chit chat. Let's get you up to speed on all things B-roll related. Okay, so firstly, let's break it down. What is B-roll? You know, it kind of sounds suspiciously like a Vietnamese lunchbox snack. Or it could be a new move that your personal trainer is trying to get you to perfect through grueling hours at the gym. But no, rest assured, you will not have to eat it or work out. B-roll refers to the footage that is placed over the top of other footage to keep videos more engaging for viewers. So I'll say that description again because you're hearing it, not seeing it, which makes it a little bit harder to understand. But B-roll is referring to footage that is placed over the top of other footage to keep videos more engaging for viewers. Now, if you're confused by that description, you might need a visual reference. So you can find one if you check out the video and the link that I'm going to put in the episode description. It's a video from our latest film project, and it's called Conquering Cancer. So this particular film that I'm talking about is called Eliminating Cervical Cancer, a call to action, and it's on the Conquering Cancer YouTube channel. And it won a gold award for the best nonprofit advocacy award in the Horizon Interactive Awards last year. So very happy with that result. And I feel like an award-winning film is probably a good example for you to look at to understand more about B-roll. So when you look at this video, you'll notice that right from the first frame you see images of a young woman and you can hear her speaking. But you don't see the woman on screen in the interview speaking until about 20 seconds into the video. Then you see the interview with Kirsty and her baby and her husband, but you're still hearing her speak. So this is an excellent example of B-roll. The visual on the screen helps you to understand who is speaking and what they are speaking about. The interview with Kirsty is the primary footage, and you're hearing her story told through narration, but you're seeing examples that bring to life what she's saying at the same time. So you're not just watching her speak, you're not just watching what's often referred to as an interview talking head. Now, this film won an award, and I think it is fair to say it's an excellent example of how to use B-roll. So I highly recommend that you have a look at this film, even if it's just for the first minute. The technique of B-roll used to only be used in feature films or documentaries, but it can be spotted in almost every professionally produced video that's made these days. And in fact, I rarely, if ever, make a video without some form of B-roll or overlay. And if you don't understand what B-roll is, you won't know when or how to use it correctly. So that's what we're going to fix in this podcast. We're going to get you really clear on how you can use B-roll for your own films. Now you might have heard the term in passing and just thought it meant extra shots that were left over after you'd edited your video together or the scenes that you cut out from the finished piece. But B-roll is intentionally captured, and you definitely need to make time to grab plenty of B-roll on shoot day. It is not just the bits that got left on the colouring room floor. So, sure, you can use archival or stock footage as b-roll in your video productions. But I absolutely recommend you capture the best fresh and unique B-roll you can every time you're on shoot because stock footage is it can be really actually hard for your editor to match in the lighting or make it look organic with your film. And the last thing you want is your film to start feeling generic or people to actually identify that you're using stock footage. So if you can use footage that you've captured yourself, it's probably going to look far more authentic and it's going to actually give you a better result. I mean, by all means, use stock footage when you simply can't shoot it yourself. But if you can, make time in your schedule and get it when you can. So if it helps, try thinking of B-roll as a means to show your story. When introduced thoughtfully, it will add emotion and depth and it will ensure your film is much more interesting for your audience. Great. So now you need to get in the habit of capturing B-roll because eventually that B-roll will become your own personal library of footage that you can draw on for other projects. You never know, that footage could actually inspire a film all in its own right. But the only way you can use B-roll is if you have it. So if you think back to the example video that I discussed earlier called Eliminating Cervical Cancer, a call to action. And again, that link is in the show notes, so you can easily click on it to find it. In that video, you can see lots of shots from about 45 seconds onward that myself or the team here at Moonshine Agency filmed when we were out in the field. There's shots from hospitals in Melbourne, in Africa, in India. They are from all over the place. So just a caveat with that, just make sure you get the right permissions to use the footage when you capture it in the first place. That's a whole different episode in and of itself, but at a minimum, get a location permit. You know, make sure you have permission to be filming in that particular hospital or whatever setting that you're in, and get permission directly from the people that you're filming interviews with, either in writing ideally, or get them to consent directly to the camera. Now that's all I'm going to say about that now, but um definitely look into your permissions process because that's really important so that you have permission to use the footage that you're capturing. So, how you get your b-roll, it really does mean you need to allow for time for it in your shooting schedule. So if you're planning out your shoot day, allow an extra 20 and you know, at a minimum 10 minutes just to capture that high-quality B-roll footage that can truly make a world of difference. And we'll take your video from snoozefest to award-winning. And it just takes a few extra shots and a few extra transitions. So let's learn a little bit more about those shots. I'm gonna tell you about my top six shots for Amazing B-roll. So are you ready? The first of these top six shots, it's actually really hard to say top six shots. The first one is establishing shots. Now, what's an establishing shot? They're a shot that will help set the scene or the mood or the place and time for what your audience is about to watch. My co-producer Mike Hill here at Moonshine Agency is a huge fan of using a drone to capture this type of material. In fact, we were recently on a remote community trip in Queensland in Australia, and we had to pull over on the side of a highway when the torrential rain subsided so that Mike could jump out and set off the drone. He had to hide so the drone couldn't see him in shot, and then I had to drive a few laps up and down this road so that the drone could capture the footage of the van heading both towards and away from the community. And that was to establish the location. And uh, drones are an interesting beast of their own, but if you've got one, they make for incredibly amazing looking location shots. So that's an establishing shot. It's a shot that establishes the location of where your story is about to be told. The next one, which is very typically used, is a wide shot. Now, a wide shot is the entire subject. So it's the entire shot of the person that you're filming with within their surrounding environment. It's usually a filmmaking staple and it can be spotted in just about every video. But it basically means capturing the shot at the widest that the lens will allow of the subject and your shot without getting anything in frame that you don't want to see, like a window or the edge of a backdrop, or the crazy onlooker who's trying to get in on the action. So it's pretty self-explanatory. A wide shot is the widest you can take of the particular thing that you're filming at that given time. And then the next one is the midshot. So that's when you're pushing in a little bit, and it's closer than the wide shot, but not so close that you could call it a close up. Hence it's a midshot. It's in between a wide and a close up. And the midshot is taken at the medium distance from the subject. So if the focal point of your scene is a person, a midshot would likely frame their torso to around the top of their head. Well, you definitely want the top of their head, but maybe just a little bit above the top of their head. So if you're looking at the video we've been discussing, eliminating cervical cancer, a call to action, the shots of Kirsty are a great example of a midshot. Reference back there, and you'll also see in that video the close-ups. So even if you're a filmmaking noob, as my kids would say, which just simply means you're new to filmmaking, you've likely heard of a close-up before. It's when the videographer crops nicely in on your subject's face or their hands or an object. And close-ups are really great for building intimacy between the hero of your video and your audience. Personally, I think they should be used very sparingly because they can actually start to feel quite awkward if they're overused, and that's probably because they are such intimate shots. Now, the next shot that can be really helpful is a reverse angle. And usually a reverse angle is taken roughly about 180 degrees opposite of the shot prior. So a reverse angle shot is great for capturing interviews or dialogue between two subjects, the interviewer and the interviewee. And they give the audience an alternative perspective for the scene. So, for example, if you're filming an interview front-on, you might reverse the angle by moving the camera to behind the interviewee, and then you're capturing over their shoulder and you're seeing the interviewer asking the questions. Now, this is really helpful for placing the interviewer in the scene if that means something useful for your storytelling. Remember, this also got to be story-driven, any shots that you're using. And this can be helpful because the interviewee is still the subject of the scene, but you can bring in a different perspective and place the interviewer into the scene as well. Now, the final one, which is incredibly useful, is a cutaway. So a cutaway shot is a shot that cuts away from the main scene to focus on something else in the space, such as an object or a location, to enhance the story. So using the same video example of Kirsty in the Conquering Cancer video, you can see it 44 seconds in, you can see Kirsty's hands holding her baby. And it's a close-up, but it's also a cutaway as it shows a different focus point for the shot that enhances the storytelling. And again, it's always got to come back to the storytelling. There's no point putting in a cutaway that has no relationship to what the interviewee is talking about. But showing people's hands or their eyes or something like if they were holding something, like in Kirsty's case, she's actually holding her baby in a lot of the shots. So closing in and close up on the baby is really helpful for the storytelling in that particular video. And again, of course, the link is in the show notes below. So you can find those if you want to reference that film so you know what I'm talking about. Now I promise B-roll will make your video better because you don't want to end up in the editing suite only to realize that your subject is talking about something that needs to be shown visually to help the audience understand what is being discussed. But B-roll will also help you create a more dynamic video that is far more interesting and engaging for viewers, and that means your audience will simply have to keep watching, which is exactly what you want. Just think about it. It's so dull watching someone just speaking directly to camera. But when you add in other shots, and now that you know about this, you're gonna see exactly what I mean. It just keeps the video feeling much more interesting. Visually, it's just so much more interesting. So the next time you're planning out where and when you're filming, make sure you allow sufficient time to capture lots of b-roll. That way you're gonna have an entire bank of footage to work with again and again. So thinking about the sorts of shots that help bring a story to life. Is it the location, scenery, examples of what's being discussed, close-up of hands, eyes, or objects in the room? What will bring your story to life? Capture it, capture anything you have time for. Sometimes you may not know exactly what you'll need, so the more you get, the better it's going to be for you once you enter that edit sweep. So I hope this was helpful in clarifying what B-roll or overlay is and why it's really useful for you so that you can make really great content. The other thing that helps you make really great content is learning about filmmaking. And I hope that this podcast has been helpful. So please hit subscribe. I would be very grateful if you did, and then other people will discover this podcast, and together we can build a community of people who make great videos so that we're all far more entertained. So get out there, get your camera rolling, grab that B-roll, and make some awesome videos. Be sure to send me the links. You can find me on all the social platforms of the videos that you make because I would actually love to see what you've been making and let me know how the tips that I'm sharing are actually going in your own video work. All right, speak soon. I'll be back next Tuesday.