Summary
- A good trick to coming up with B-roll is to think of five scenes
- Some common examples: entering the building, getting out of the elevator, unpacking stuff, working behind a desk, getting coffee, going to a meeting, visiting the company restaurant and leaving the building
- Make shots of at least 10 seconds
- Film every scene in multiple wide, medium and close-up shots
- Keep the camera steady: no panning, tilting or zooming while you're recording
Exercise
If you've just recorded an interview - for example in the course ‘Shooting an interview’ - you can now collect matching B-roll for that.
Otherwise, pick a room and try to give a well rounded impression of it: What’s happening in the room? Who’s present? What activities are happening?
Try to make at least 20 B-roll shots so you really get a feel for it.
Don’t forget to press record for each separate shot!
Overview
Why and how?
B-roll in practice