What is B-roll?
Last updated 2026-10-20
B-roll is the supporting footage you cut to while your main footage keeps going. In a talking-head video, A-roll is the person speaking to camera. B-roll is what you show instead of their face: the product in use, the place they mention, a screen recording. It adds context and covers edits.
A-roll vs B-roll
A-roll is the main footage: the interview, the presenter or the person talking to camera. B-roll supports it. The names come from early film editing, when editors covered visible splices in the main footage with extra shots.
The simplest test is this. If the viewer needs it to follow the story, it is A-roll. If it only shows what the speaker is describing, it is B-roll.
| Aspect | A-roll | B-roll |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The main footage that carries the message | Supporting footage that shows or backs up the message |
| Example | You, talking to camera about a new coffee grinder | Beans pouring into the grinder, your hands turning the dial, the finished cup |
| Sound | Carries the voice | Usually silent, or kept low under the voice |
| On screen | For the hook, the opinion and the punchline | For the middle of a sentence that names something you can show |
B-roll examples for a talking-head short
Say you film a 30-second short about a coffee grinder. Your face is the A-roll. Cut away to B-roll each time your words name something you can show, and come back to your face for the opinions.
Decision rule: if the sentence has a noun the viewer cannot see yet, put that noun on screen. If it is an opinion or a feeling, stay on your face.
- The product. A close-up while you say what it is, then it in use while you say what it does.
- The action. Hands doing the thing you describe, such as grinding, packing or typing.
- The place. A shot of the shop, the desk or the street you mention, to show where this happens.
- The proof. A screen recording, a receipt, a result or a before-and-after, shown as you cite it.
How to place B-roll over speech
Keep the voice playing and change only the picture. That way the sentence stays whole and the viewer hears one continuous thought.
Start the B-roll on the word that names the thing, not at the start of the sentence. Hold each shot long enough to read what it shows, and then leave. A shot that lingers after the point is made feels like padding.
B-roll also hides edits. If you cut a pause out of a talking-head clip, the jump in your face is obvious. Put B-roll across the cut and the jump disappears, because the viewer is looking at something else.
- Do not cover the whole line. If B-roll runs from the first word to the last, the speaker vanishes and the video loses its person. Return to the face for the end of the line.
- Match the shot to the words. A generic shot of a city when you said "this tool" tells the viewer nothing.
- Mind the sound. If a B-roll clip has its own audio, mute it or keep it low so it does not fight your voice.
Where to get B-roll
There are three ways to get it, and most creators mix them.
- Shoot it. Film extra shots when you record the main take, while the product and the room are still set up. It is the most believable B-roll because it is yours.
- Use stock footage. Stock sites have the shots you cannot film yourself, such as aerial views and far-off places. Check the license before you post. Woven does not have a built-in stock library, so you bring those clips in yourself.
- Generate it. When a shot does not exist, generate an image or a short clip from a text prompt. Woven can do this inside your project, and video models can start from a picture. Generation uses Woven credits.
How Woven layers B-roll
Woven stacks pictures in lanes. The main video sits on lane 1 and B-roll sits on a higher lane, so it covers the main clip while the clip underneath stays in place. Captions and text always draw above every picture lane, so your captions stay readable over B-roll. A picture-in-picture is the same idea at a smaller size.
Ask in chat
- Add B-roll over the part where I talk about the product.
- Generate three short cutaway clips of a desk setup and place them over my voiceover.
- Cover the jump cuts with B-roll and keep my voice playing.
- Make the B-roll a small picture in the corner while I keep talking.
Or do it by hand
- 1Import the clips. Use "Add" › "Video" or "Image", or drag files from Finder onto the timeline.
- 2Place the B-roll above the main clip. Drag it onto the "Picture" track at that moment. Over your main clip, it goes on a new row above. If it sits behind, right-click it and choose "Arrange" › "Bring to Front".
- 3Fit it to the words. Drag the clip's edge to trim it, or press ⌘B to split it at the playhead.
- 4Resize it if you want a cutaway. Move and resize it on the canvas with the handles to make a picture-in-picture.
- 5Check the sound. If the B-roll has audio you do not want, select it and press M to mute it.
Common questions
B-roll means supplemental footage that supports the main footage, called A-roll. It is the shots you cut to for context, such as locations, close-ups and cutaways.
A-roll is the main footage, such as an interview or a person talking to camera. B-roll is the supporting footage you show while the A-roll audio plays.
It is any shot that shows what the speaker describes: the product, the place, a screen recording or a close-up of hands at work. You cut to it while the voice continues.
Use enough that every noun you name is shown, and no more. Keep your face on screen for the hook, the opinions and the last line.
No. Most B-roll is silent or kept low under the voice. If you use its own sound, such as a grinder or a keyboard, keep it quieter than the speech.
Yes, if the shot looks right for the story. Treat it like any other B-roll: show it for a moment, then return to the speaker.
Sources
- Adobe: What is B-roll footage, checked October 19, 2026
Try Woven free for 3 days
Then $25/mo billed yearly ($299/yr) or $39/month. Native Mac app for short-form video.
Paste into Claude Code to install and connect Woven.