A practical guide to B-roll
What B-roll is, how it makes your videos better and how you can make it.
Think of the last movie you watched. Chances are, B-roll helped build the story.
B-roll complements the main action or dialogue to build a richer story. It's the footage that cuts away from your main shot to show context, movement, and visual variety. Done well, it's the difference between a video people finish and one they scroll past.
While B-roll originated in cinematography, it's now a helpful trick for content creators and marketers too. This guide covers what B-roll actually is, five types to know and how to create it quickly using AI B-roll generators.
A-roll versus B-roll
First, some definitions. B-roll is any footage that isn't your main shot.
Your main shot—called A-roll—is where your main storyline and messaging live. It often shows a conversation between characters, someone speaking to the camera or a planned sequence of events.
B-roll plays over or between those moments. It adds context, keeps things moving, and makes the overall video feel more polished and intentional. A cooking video's A-roll might be the host explaining a recipe. The B-roll is the close-up of the knife on the cutting board, the steam rising from the pan, the finished dish plated up. Without those shots, the video is just a face talking. With them, it's an experience.
B-roll usually can’t stand on its own: It's not a complete story in itself. If you only watched the B-roll parts of a video, you might not understand the message.
What is B-roll in talking head videos?
In talking head videos like the ones made in Captions, A-roll is the person or AI actor speaking directly into the camera. B-roll helps make the video feel more complete with complementary scenery, related topics or stylized transitions. Let’s say you’re making a product review video. Your A-roll is you, talking about your experience using the product. Then, B-roll footage could show more product details, other people trying it or related topics that add more depth.
A-roll is where the message lives. B-roll is the visual context that helps your viewer follow along. It makes the video more interesting—and ultimately, more watchable.
What makes good B-roll?
Good B-roll has a purpose and helps pack a punch. A clip that’s vague or busy won’t help your story. It won't help to distract viewers from your main storyline, either.
These are some of the most common types of B-roll used in social media posts. Every type can serve a different purpose for your videos:
1. Establishing shots
What they are: Wide shots that set the scene to show where the story is taking place.
Use when: You're starting a new section, changing locations, or want to ground the viewer before cutting to close-up detail.
Example: Opening a travel video with an aerial shot of a city skyline before cutting to street-level footage.
2. Detail Shots
What they are: Tight close-ups that draw attention to a specific person, object, texture, or action. Detail shots create visual intimacy and help viewers focus on what matters.
Use when: You're explaining a process, highlighting a product feature, or want to slow the pace down and add emphasis.
Example: A product review that cuts from the host talking to a close-up of the product's port layout or texture.
3. Process shots
What they are: Footage that shows someone doing an actual process, step-by-step. Process shots are the backbone of tutorials, how-to content, and behind-the-scenes videos.
Use when: Your A-roll is explaining a sequence of steps that would be easier to follow if viewers could see them.
Example: A skincare routine video that shows each product being applied rather than just talked about.
4. Reaction shots
What they are: Footage of people responding—things like smiling, nodding, or looking surprised. Reaction shots add a human, emotional layer and help viewers feel something, rather than just learn something.
Use when: You want to build trust, add social proof, or give the viewer a moment to breathe between dense information.
Example: A testimonial video that cuts to customer faces reacting to a product result, not just talking about it.
5. Cutaway shots
What they are: Brief departures from the main scene to show a related (but not identical) visual. Cutaways are a pacing tool that give the edit rhythm and let you hide cuts or jumps in the A-roll.
Use when: You need to trim a pause or verbal stumble from your A-roll, or when you want to break up a long stretch of talking head footage.
Example: A business podcast video that cuts away to a relevant graphic, stat card, or animation while the host keeps talking.
Generate B-roll in Captions
How to shoot strong B-roll
Getting good B-roll doesn't need to be complicated. A little bit of planning goes a long way so you have the right footage to add in later.
If you’re working on a physical video shoot, think ahead about the types of B-roll that would complement your story. You might want to plan for more close-ups so you get the right kind of detail, or make an extra stop that day to capture shots of the local scenery.
Then, during your shoot, keep your eyes and ears out for inspiration. Pause to see if there are other details worth capturing after bigger scenes or dialogue. Record the same moment from different distances or angles for more flexibility. You may not always know how you’ll use the clips later, but it’s helpful to have a variety of options when you edit.
How to get B-roll after a shoot
When you don’t have the shots you need: Generate them. With a B-roll generator, it’s simple and quick to make any kind of B-roll you could imagine. In the Captions app, you can prompt the chat-based editor to create a specific type of footage. Just name the topic or type of shot you want, and you’ll get options right away.
You can also use Captions AI edit templates to apply B-roll automatically. Just upload footage or generate a talking avatar in the app. When you apply an AI edit style, it’ll automatically insert stylized B-roll that matches your video topic and vibe. Once you have B-roll in there, use Captions’ other editing features to adjust timing, change transitions or even add images in there, too. From here, you have everything you need to create videos that feel complete.
Three B-roll mistakes that kill engagement
Even experienced creators make these. Avoiding them will immediately improve how your videos feel.
B-roll that doesn't match what's being said. If your voiceover says "our team works fast" and the B-roll shows someone looking stressed at a laptop, the mismatch breaks trust. Every shot should reinforce, not contradict, your message.
Holding shots too long. A static B-roll clip that runs for 8 seconds while you talk is almost as boring as no B-roll. Keep individual B-roll clips between 2 and 5 seconds for a dynamic feel. Cut before the viewer gets bored.
Reusing the same clip more than once. Viewers notice. It signals low production value even if everything else is great. Aim for variety — different angles, different subjects, different distances.