5 Beginner Tips for Capturing Stunning B-Roll

(Image: From Pexels)

If there is one thing that can make or break your content as a videographer it is the quality of your B-roll.

Unfortunately, B-roll is usually forgotten. It’s never the main attraction of the video, so it’s typically never given the attention that it deserves.

But B-roll can be something so much more than a way to transition out of a clip that has a bit of an audio hiccup. It can be one of your best ways to heighten, enhance, and emphasis what the audience is engaging with.

In any quality, well-thought out video there will always be some sort of through line; be it an interview, a specific event, a product, an explanation, a location… you name it.

B-roll is the supplement to this through line. It is another way to convey information through visuals.

And when B-roll is paired with the through line strategically, you can get a really strong video.

But how do you capture good, quality B-roll?

Here are my five tips on just that:

1. Capture As Much As Possible

First things first, do not slack around.

Your camera should be the same thing as your eye, whatever you look at should be photographed and videoed.

You’ll likely only have a couple of hours to get everything so you need to work quickly and you need to get lots of footage. You’ll have plenty of time once the shoot is over to review your footage, so don’t worry about having too big of a back catalog to look through.

What you don’t want be doing is kicking yourself in the rear because you wish you had gotten more.

In the digital age we have the luxury of storage. Use it. Don’t hold back.

This means you’ll need to spend some time parsing through the captured footage once you’re done, which may be time consuming, but you’ll see that it’s worth it.

You also can’t spend time looking for the perfect shot. It’s not worth it.

“Perfect is the enemy of good,” as Voltaire says, and he’s right. Quantity leads to quality, so capture a lot and don’t judge what you’re capturing as your doing it.

Don’t waste your precious time.

2. What’s the Story?

What is the story of this video? What is the through line? The backbone?

Your B-roll is the mirror to this concept, it needs to supplement this base structure.

So you’ve got to ask yourself, what is this video’s purpose? Is it to highlight a specific event? Is it to explain how something is done? Is it to show off a location? A product?

With this in mind, try and figure out how the B-roll can enhance this.

If it’s an event, what’s going on? How are people reacting? What does it look like?

If it’s a how-to, what tools are used? What does the space look like and how is it used? What techniques and processes are being administered?

If it’s a location, show off that location! Drones, tracking shots, beautiful views, interior decoration, architecture…

3. Don’t Be Afraid To Ask

Some of the best b-roll that you can capture is people interacting with your through-line.

People enjoying the event, people going through a tutorial, people exploring an exotic location, or engaging with a certain product.

Candid photography is always great. People not noticing a camera can result in truthful images that can have a ton of impact.

But marketing loves smiles, they always will. So don’t be afraid to get up close and ask for some shots.

People might say no, but that’s fine. Ask the next person and they’re bound to agree. Make it fun and don’t sell it as a marketing scheme.

The key, really, is to be enthusiastic. Approach with an honest smile, be interested in what the person is doing, and be open about your camera. It might be awkward sometimes, but don’t sweat it. It’ll be one photo out of hundreds that you’ll take.

4. Prepare Before the Shoot

You won’t always know what you’re going to be up against at a shoot, but if you can be prepared it is well worth it.

Ask around and see if there is a schedule, itinerary, or map that highlights some of the features of what is going on.

Using this information you can even plan some of your b-roll ahead of time. This will allow for less headaches as you won’t be solely relying on spontaneity and what you notice.

Understand what is going to happen, what the main events are, who the major people involved are.

5. Get the Basics, But Experiment Too

You’ll quickly find that a lot of the time, a lot of b-roll follows a pattern. You can choose to get stuck in this pattern, or you can try to shine through it.

So try things.

The weird angle, staging a shot, different movements, matching colors and images… whatever you can think of. Sometimes this will work, sometimes it won’t. Roll with it.

Final Thoughts

While the main story of a video is important, it’s the b-roll that gives a video its rhythm.

Without it the audience would quickly become bored, confused, and would likely stop watching.

B-roll allows for information to be conveyed in a visual way, which is often needed when telling a story through video.

People usually say show, don’t tell, but it is the mixture of showing and telling that allows for specific information to be relayed.