What Is B-Roll? Types, Examples and How to Use It
B-roll is any footage you cut to while the main shot keeps talking. The main shot (you, talking to camera, or an interview) is the A-roll. B-roll is what the viewer sees in between: your hands on the keyboard, the street outside, the product on the desk, a screen recording. The voice carries on underneath, so the story never stops.
The name comes from film editing, where editors once worked with two reels of footage, A and B, and cut between them. Today it just means “the other footage.”
Why does a video without b-roll feel slow?
Picture a 60-second Reel that is one face, one framing, start to finish. Nothing on screen changes except the mouth. Even when every sentence is good, the picture gives the eye nothing new, and a viewer who is half watching swipes away.
B-roll fixes three things at once:
- It shows what you say. “I rebuilt the whole desk” lands harder over a shot of the desk.
- It hides cuts. A jump cut in a talking head can look like a glitch. Cover it with a second of b-roll and the cut disappears. See jump cut editor.
- It sets the pace. A new picture every few seconds keeps a short video moving, even while the voice runs as one take.
What are the types of b-roll?
| Type | Example | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Show-and-tell | The product, the tool, the place you mention | Reviews, tutorials, travel |
| Process | Hands doing the task, step by step | How-to videos, recipes, DIY |
| Screen recording | The app or website you’re explaining | Software tutorials, explainers |
| Atmosphere | Street, sky, crowd, a slow pan of the room | Openings, transitions between topics |
| Reaction or detail | A close-up, a glance, a coffee cup | Vlogs, interviews, pacing breaks |
Shoot more than you think you need. Five to ten seconds of each shot, held still, gives the editor room to choose the part that fits.
Where should b-roll go in an edit?
A few rules of thumb hold for most talking videos:
- On the noun. Cut to the thing at the moment you name it, not a sentence later.
- Over a cut. Wherever you trimmed a pause or a retake, b-roll can sit on top.
- At a topic change. An atmosphere shot gives the viewer a beat between ideas.
- Not over the hook. In the first 3 seconds, your face and the first line usually matter more than any cutaway.
- Keep the voice. B-roll replaces the picture, not the sound. Mute the b-roll clip’s own audio unless its sound helps.
How do I add b-roll with Claude?
With Cut Express, Claude places the b-roll for you. Connect it to Claude, upload your A-roll and your extra clips in the chat (or from Claude Code), and Claude:
- Reads the transcript of the talking clip, so it knows when you say each word.
- Looks at contact sheets of your b-roll (frames labelled with their source time) to see what each clip shows.
- Matches them. It puts the desk shot over “desk”, the screen recording over the step you explain, and covers trimmed pauses. It can match on the word because it has both the transcript and the frames, so you don’t have to list timestamps yourself.
- Renders the MP4. The voice and captions run on, and the b-roll sits on top as picture-in-picture or full frame, your choice.
Here is my talking clip and a folder of b-roll from the workshop. Cover every jump cut with b-roll that matches what I’m saying. Keep my face for the first 3 seconds and the last line. Mute the b-roll.
Captions stay on the speech, because they come from the same transcript. See word-by-word captions. For a whole talking video, start with how to edit videos with Claude or faceless YouTube channel editing if you’re not on camera.
What if I don’t have b-roll?
You have three options:
- Stock footage. Cut Express can search stock videos and photos (from Pixabay) and add them to your media. Pro adds up to 50 stock files a month, Ultra 150, with no credits. For where else to find clips, see free stock footage for YouTube.
- Graphics. A text card, a stat or a short animated chart can stand in for a cutaway. See motion graphics for YouTube.
- Punch-ins. A quick zoom on your own shot changes the framing without new footage. It’s the usual way to hide a jump cut.
Stock is generic by nature. Your own footage of your own work will almost always say more.
FAQ
What does the B in b-roll stand for?
Nothing more than “the second reel.” Editors once cut between an A reel and a B reel of film.
How much b-roll should a video have?
There’s no fixed share. Talking tutorials often cover a good part of the runtime; interviews and opinion videos less. Watch where your attention drops and add a cutaway there.
Is b-roll the same as a cutaway?
A cutaway is one use of b-roll: a quick shot away from the main action and back.
Can Claude pick b-roll from a long clip?
Yes. It looks at frames labelled with time, chooses the stretch that fits, and sets the in and out points. It doesn’t guess timestamps.
Try it on your own footage
Upload your talking clip and your b-roll, and say where the cutaways should go.
14 days free, then $19/month. Cancel before day 14 and you pay nothing.