B-Roll - do you bother?

freppy

freppy

Member
Do you use B-roll footage in your YouTube videos, and if so, how much of your video is B-roll?

I have tended to put in too much B-roll (and what I put in was generally unrelated), which I think has been detracting from my videos... I really want to start focusing on only using relevant B-roll, and only where absolutely required (such as to cover up an out-of-focus section)!
 
There is no right or wrong for B-roll. I usually place 2 - 3 B-rolls based on length of voice over. For speeches, i will put 2 b-rolls then original clip, then close up clip, then again B-rolls. As long B-rolls are relevant with speech should be good enough.
 
Wise man once said "Tape is cheap, let it roll." I love B-Roll, it gives a bit more depth to what we do. Of course my team does Yu-Gi-Oh and it gets boring just watching a talking head discuss a children's card game. So I'll cut in a shot of game play or some of the cards we'll do. It breaks up a long shot and makes it a lot more watchable in my honest opinion. I guess it depends on the subject matter though. If it's a debate I wouldn't bother or a discussion video with another co-host or tuber I'd just stick with the main/A-Roll footage. What is it you do mainly my Aussie friend? Do you have an example video I could take a look at perhaps?
 
For me, the key is to use just enough of it that the viewer never gets the feeling that they're only looking at one static shot of something the whole time. I think B-roll is good for transitions -- like the moment you pivot onto making a different point about something, b-roll can be there to make it seem more seamless.
 
We always shoot a LOT of B-roll.. sometimes even more than primary footage - i’d rather have too much than not enough because its a lot more painful when i dont have enough.
We generally use it for voiceover, but also stick it in any time things are getting slow/scenes are too long.
 
Yes. It's something we've just started putting into our videos, which isn't something either of us have seen on channels of our niche so it's something that we're hoping brings a bit of uniqueness (not used in the same way we're using it at least). It's actually way more fun to edit when there's a bit of B-Roll to chop and colour grade too so it's like a win-win for me.
 
AceOfBats said:
Wise man once said "Tape is cheap, let it roll." I love B-Roll, it gives a bit more depth to what we do. Of course my team does Yu-Gi-Oh and it gets boring just watching a talking head discuss a children's card game. So I'll cut in a shot of game play or some of the cards we'll do. It breaks up a long shot and makes it a lot more watchable in my honest opinion. I guess it depends on the subject matter though. If it's a debate I wouldn't bother or a discussion video with another co-host or tuber I'd just stick with the main/A-Roll footage. What is it you do mainly my Aussie friend? Do you have an example video I could take a look at perhaps?
Click to expand...

My videos are about explaining Intellectual Property - so it covers inventions, invention history, intellectual property law, and that sort of thing... I think my problem is that I have been using unrelated B-roll, so when I have watched my older videos, it just looks weird haha... I am thinking of targeting my B-roll more to be more about WHAT I am talking about... Since I started posting again very recently, I have cut back on B-roll, but now it's feeling a bit boring just looking at me talking! haha. I need to strike a good balance.

I'll have a look at your videos and see how you have integrated your B-roll! I used to play MTG, but ave never dabbled in Yu-Gi-Oh!

As for an example video, I guess my most recent video would be a good look at where I am right now (minimal B-roll), and have a gander at some of my older videos to see how some of my B-roll was very unrelated! (I would link, but forums you can't link vids - my channel link is below though!).
 
freppy said:
My videos are about explaining Intellectual Property - so it covers inventions, invention history, intellectual property law, and that sort of thing... I think my problem is that I have been using unrelated B-roll, so when I have watched my older videos, it just looks weird haha... I am thinking of targeting my B-roll more to be more about WHAT I am talking about... Since I started posting again very recently, I have cut back on B-roll, but now it's feeling a bit boring just looking at me talking! haha. I need to strike a good balance.

I'll have a look at your videos and see how you have integrated your B-roll! I used to play MTG, but ave never dabbled in Yu-Gi-Oh!

As for an example video, I guess my most recent video would be a good look at where I am right now (minimal B-roll), and have a gander at some of my older videos to see how some of my B-roll was very unrelated! (I would link, but forums you can't link vids - my channel link is below though!).
Click to expand...

Just checked the headphone video. It looks pretty good, I think the B-Roll directly associated with a scientific and technical explanations are probably the most accepted and the most common ways to use it. It supplements auditory learners and the B-Roll is for more visual learners. Appealing to all learning types is key for an informational review channel such as yours. 2 clips was sufficient. I saw a couple other spots where using B-Roll wouldn't detract from your video. On the other hand, less is more sometimes, so minimal use is probably safer. Do you use premiere pro or something of the like? I personal run "B-Roll" on a track above my A-Roll and see what it looks like with and without the footage. Then drop it in as necessary.
 
AceOfBats said:
Just checked the headphone video. It looks pretty good, I think the B-Roll directly associated with a scientific and technical explanations are probably the most accepted and the most common ways to use it. It supplements auditory learners and the B-Roll is for more visual learners. Appealing to all learning types is key for an informational review channel such as yours. 2 clips was sufficient. I saw a couple other spots where using B-Roll wouldn't detract from your video. On the other hand, less is more sometimes, so minimal use is probably safer. Do you use premiere pro or something of the like? I personal run "B-Roll" on a track above my A-Roll and see what it looks like with and without the footage. Then drop it in as necessary.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm using Premiere Pro CC, it's a great program to edit in! I am trying to get the B-roll to more directly reflect what is being spoken about... Part of my problem is getting the clips to include haha... I need to pre-plan filming so I have my own appropriate stock footage to pull from (I can't afford to subscribe to stock footage sites to get appropriate B-roll). It would have been great to have some B-roll of a hearing aid for that video, but I couldn't find any (nor do I know anyone who has one!!).
 
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