What is A-Roll and B-Roll?
Most professionally produced videos are created with a predictable filming framework that helps bring clarity to the scope of the production. When we discuss the filming aspect of this scope, we look no further than A-Roll and B-Roll as a clear starting point.
In this article we will address what these terms are, as well as make sense of how they fit into in your prospective project.
What is A-Roll and B-Roll (Broadly)
These two terms represent different styles of filming on a professional video shoot. They serve different roles to aid the storytelling of what the video is being made for, and usually involve thought out decision making. You can almost look at them as complementary ingredients in the greater recipe of a professional video. Let’s dig deeper!
What is A-Roll?
A-Roll footage is the leading informational force from a video and sound perspective. For example, an interview with the CEO of a company would be called the “A-Roll” footage for that video. The same can be said for customer testimonials, and any scene where a speaker speaks aloud on camera. The A-Roll footage is usually the main focus of the video and where all the information comes from.
What are the important decisions of A-Roll?
Who is going to speak?
It is imperative to determine who the ideal speaker is for your content. Examples include a company executive, customer testimonial, or hired actor.
How are they going to speak?
Typically there are 4 ways in which a speaker will speak in a video:
1) They read a prepared script off of a teleprompter.
2) They speak to someone off-camera answering questions naturally (a natural conversation).
3) They improvise and come up with content on the spot.
4) They record a voiceover (just audio).
What is B-Roll?
Where A-Roll is the informational footage, B-Roll is the visual storytelling footage. B-Roll is intended to compliment the A-Roll very deliberately. For example, if a CEO is speaking about the companies customer service, footage would be overlaid of an employee meeting with a customer. B-Roll is typically recorded in B-Roll filming “sessions”, where film crews will either arrange setup shots, or otherwise quietly film natural moments in time. B-Roll is almost never filmed with sound.
What are the important decisions of B-Roll?
There are a lot less decisions to make regarding B-Roll, and the content generally writes itself from the A-Roll. However the following are important aspects:
What visual aspects best represent your company?
What are the impressive visual elements to represent your brand and compliment the information being provided?
What scope of film will be the easiest to record?
IE; Scheduling, space availability, and comfort on camera.
Is B-Roll required?
There is a necessity for B-Roll in most any project that has a professional scope. Besides complementing the A-Roll, B-Roll also breaks up the monotonous nature of a continued and hardly changing A-Roll recording. Additionally, B-Roll is an important tool for editors to use in cleverly masking cuts in the editing process, which allows for some freedom and ease in recording A-Roll without worry for mistakes.
However, in modern post COVID times, there has been a growing trend of B-Roll’less content. With standards and content styles changing, you can more confidently approach just filming A-Roll content without the added scope of including B-Roll. We do not typically advise this, but it is a truth about the changing times.
Are there any alternatives to B-Roll?
B-Roll can sometimes be substituted with stock video, which is footage recorded by other professionals and available for us to use or purchase. While we don’t advise using stock footage to completely replace B-roll, in many cases it may suffice. For example, if your video includes a bit about not stressing over taxes, we would be more prompted to use a stock video of a stressed person with paperwork than actually record that content.
Additionally, in many cases stock video can be posed as if it were your own footage. For example, if the video references your caller experience for clients, we could use a stock video of a person on a phone that closely resembles what the actual video would look like. Although this can be beneficial and cost effective, we always suggest recording authentic footage when possible as to be most honest to your brand experience.
Closing Thoughts
While A-Roll and B-Roll are essential film elements, they are also excellent frameworks for how to understand the methodology behind decision making in video. If you are considering making video content, there is no better way to understand your own project than looking at it directly using the lens of A-Roll and B-Roll.