B-roll is supplementary footage, also called cutaways, that is placed between or over interviews in a video: details, atmosphere, action.
The term comes from film and television production. The main material, such as an interview, is called A-roll, and all supplementary footage is B-roll. At a trade fair that means, for example, the stand (booth) from different angles, close-ups of products, hands on a device, visitors in the aisle, conversations without sound, the logo and the hall.
In the edit, B-roll is laid over spoken passages or forms a whole video on its own. A highlight or recap video often consists almost entirely of cutaways with music.
Without enough B-roll, a trade fair video looks static. An interview in which you see only one person for two minutes is rarely watched to the end. Cutaways show what is being talked about, bridge cuts in statements and give the video pace.
For exhibitors this means that the footage taken along the way matters as much as the planned highlights. Make sure products are accessible and can be demonstrated, that screens are running and that the team works naturally at certain times while the camera rolls. A shot list helps you not to forget anything. Think about footage that can be used in many ways later, such as calm product shots for the website or short detail scenes for social media. Good B-roll often stays useful for a whole year after the show.
B-roll is filmed across the whole show day: the empty stand and details early in the morning, crowds, conversations and movement later, mood and team in the evening. We film each shot a few seconds longer than needed so the edit can cut in and out cleanly. Moving shots, such as a slow pass along the stand, alternate with still frames.
At Pixer B-roll is shot alongside photos and interviews. On request you receive selected cutaways in addition to the finished video, for your own social media posts or your next corporate film.
Not quite. Raw footage is everything that was filmed. B-roll is the supplementary footage next to the main material such as interviews.
Far more than ends up in the video. For 30 seconds, several dozen shots are often filmed.
Want video material you can use all year? Send us the fair and dates, and we will plan the cutaways from the start.
We reply within 24 hours. During a show week, WhatsApp is fastest.
