How To Use B-Roll Effectively To Bring Life To Your Business Videos
B-Roll is a familiar term amongst content creators. Some of the most popular videos on your Recommended feed have used B-Roll footage to create incredible videos. Using this footage is highly suggested for business videos, and it’s about time you know why.
What is B-Roll?
In Hollywood, everyone is familiar with A-Roll. That’s the primary camera pointing directly toward the subject. However, the B-Roll camera is the second one that captures the fuller picture of the scene.
The B-Roll refers to supplementary footage or extra footage that integrates the message of your video. This footage complements the primary recording and gives video creators more opportunities to add engaging content and have fun with editing. B-Roll footage is usually recorded by the second and third cameras around the shoot location.
For example, you want to make a video showing the audience how great a keyboard is and give them a short demo on how to work it. A B-Roll shot will allow you to include footage of how the keys are made, cleaning them, and other demonstrations that supplement your audio content. In short, you end up with a quick video that lays out all the facts and compels the audience to consider a purchase.
Benefits of Using B-Roll
There are compelling reasons why it’s recommended to use B-Roll footage to enhance business videos. Here are some bulletproof reasons why you should consider adding B-Roll footage to your next video:
- It Provides Context
B-Roll footage supplements your video’s narrative. Instead of making a long video with explanations, the footage can reinforce your point in mere seconds while keeping your audience hooked. - It’s a Life Saver for Editors
The extra footage is a lifesaver for video editors. B-Roll footage allows editors to be flexible and have enough content to curate an effective and pleasing product. It also offers extra clips to fill in the gaps, maintaining professionality. - It Enhances the Video Experience
B-Roll footage allows you to create a mood, evoke feelings, and seamlessly change between locations and imagery. It invites the audience to engage with the experience of the video and your message. - It Covers Up Gaps and Errors
When there’s an error, like incorrect words or technical glitches, extra B-Roll footage allows you to use extra footage to gloss over any mistakes. This maintains the integrity of your video and saves time.
Using B-Roll to Bring Life to Your Business Videos
Businesses have begun to invest heavily in their content. It is a great way to create visibility and brand recognition, ramp up credibility and conversion rates, and draw in organic followers that become prospective clients.
Whether you are using a smartphone or a professional camera, here are a few ways to bring life to your business videos using B-Roll:
Get a Variety of Content on Video
Your B-Roll camera will be running in the scene, and one of the best ways to get the most from it is to record different content. This could include:
- Still life shots
- Clips of human interaction
- Capturing emotions
- Recording a busy street or office
- Close-ups of people
This gives you a lot of content to experiment with to enhance your final video.
Plan For Your Shots
One of the best ways to save time and resources is to plan what B-Roll footage you might need. Brainstorming with your team can help you devise ways to compensate for what the A-Roll isn’t capturing.
In short, list locations, people, moments, and other aspects of video recording to have an idea of what footage to capture that enhances and supplements your video’s primary goal.
The 5-Second Rule
For an effective B-Roll shot, follow the 5-second rule. Fast shots and clips are great, but usually, they are of no use. So hold the shot for at least five seconds when trying to capture B-Roll footage before moving on to the next.
It gives editors enough time to work on edits or utilize the clip for an evocative piece. Besides, a professional business video requires investment, the most crucial being time.
Experiment With the Footage
Experimenting with it is a great way to get the most out of your B-Roll. Try switching up locations, moving it around, setting it on a tripod, capturing scenery, trying different kinds of lighting, etc.
Having B-Roll footage means having rich content for your video. However, to keep the audience engaged, you must break the monotony. A great way to do that is to have fun with your B-Roll recording and work on those edits into the final cut.
Capture Different Scenes
Capturing a city montage or footage of ideal places is a great way to use your B-Roll. Think, for example, the Sex and The City series and how New York is portrayed as Carrie Bradshaw talks about herself in the show’s intro.
These don’t always need to correlate to the primary camera’s footage. Getting creative is the best part about using B-Roll. It will enhance the storytelling aspect that keeps an audience glued.
Use More Than One Device
Essentially, B-Roll footage is created to enhance the video. One of the ways to achieve that is to use multiple devices. For example, take out another camera, or use your smartphone. In addition, include footage of a whiteboard or animations.
The more, the better. In short, you can get super creative with your raw footage when creating business videos.
Conclusion
B-Roll footage has a lot of benefits. They’re cheap to record and produce, fun to work with, and also create a rich resource of content you can borrow from for other business videos. In fact, editors love having something extra to tweak here and there.
It does not only captivate audiences, but B-Roll footage is also a great way to do more with significantly less. To sum it up, it’s an excellent investment when trying to make business videos for marketing, training, advertising, and branding purposes.
So, what are you waiting for? Use B-Roll footage to bring life to your business videos.