I have had so many people ask me about how I have made my videos so far and the key is time and patience. You need to shoot hours worth of footage. A lot of it will end up on the cutting room floor.
B-roll got it's name from the earlier days when cutting literally meant slicing tape. Tapes were put in alphabetical order and A-Roll was the tape with the footage of interviews and dialogue.
B-roll is basically alternative footage used to be placed under narration or between interviews or scripts. Usually the footage you take will be supporting what the interviewee is talking about. It is supplemental footage. Always shoot more than you need and never underestimate what is interesting to viewers.
Start with shooting the interviews. From there, shoot your interviewee doing their craft, or their subject, and everything that goes into their lives. Shoot different angles as well. Even a few minutes of them relaxing will edit well under a well-written narration. A well made documentary will have a lot of b-roll.
Videoproductiontips.com is a great jumping off point for amateur filmmakers and their article, Making a documentary: where to start?, has more to say than I can even begin. Lorraine Grula, the author, makes a great point in explaining B-ROLL, an unlikely vital part of filmmaking,
“If you are interviewing a scientist, get video of them working in the lab. If you are videotaping a boxing expert, get video of them working out and practicing their moves in the ring. If you are videotaping a truck driver, get video of them driving the truck plus video of them washing or maintaining the truck. As a last resort, get video of them walking down the sidewalk or hallway. I often asked people, “What would you be doing right now if I were NOT here?” Then I would take video of them doing that.
In addition to getting video of them working, get video of them relaxing. What do they like to do? Read? Watch TV? Cook? Play with the kids? Take video of them doing whatever they like to do and you can make it work by writing your narration properly.”
To view the rest of the article from Grula, check it out at videoproductiontips.com.
Dexfango, a popular YouTuber, posted a sketch-comedy video showing what B-ROLL is. Check out the guy’s hilarious video here.
For a personal example, I shot some b-roll of my everyday life. Here are shots I put together using different elements that could be talked about with narration. Keep it simple and try to keep distinctive dialogue out of it. Have a great time, enjoy the creativity behind it, and get rollin!
