Comments on: What Does “b-roll” Mean?

By: Kevin

Kevin — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:37:21 +0000

I am new to film production but it seems to me the term B Roll is coming full circle (almost) in the digital age. I’ve heard B Roll used synonomously as “protection or cover” shots but using the same production camera. The purpose though is exactly as described, to get material that can be spliced into the film. Basically, get a “roll” of extra material to make the editors work easier.

By: Kayla

Kayla — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:22:57 +0000

This did not help me. AT ALL.

By: Joel Sanders

Joel Sanders — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 02:03:09 +0000

The b-roll procedure you described would only work in a shop with lots of time and people or if you were editing a feature film. In the News Department I worked in, the reporter tracks were cut on audio carts and rolled by the director. The b-roll was on a separate reel, but only rolled when the shot was needed. The projector would automatically be stopped by a magnetic strip attached to the countdown leader for the next b-roll shot.

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:20:14 +0000

I recently graduated with a degree in journalism and a minor in broadcasting. At my internship one of the bosses was referring to b-roll, and I had no clue what he was talking about. My teachers called the segments “cut aways.” The process is a lot different now that everything is computers and digital but the old terms have stuck.

By: Luis Villalon

Luis Villalon — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:04:02 +0000

On the other hand, early in my career I had a small production company and we shot a lot of industrial films. Once edited, we cut the original 16mm to match the cuts on the edited print. To avoid seeing the splices in the prints, we did A & B rolls, splicing alternate neg and black leader, what then was called checkerboard splicing. To me that was always the “b roll” part, what you describe has always been “cut aways” to me.

By: NPR’s “Global Pool of Money” Critique at Slug & Lede

NPR’s “Global Pool of Money” Critique at Slug & Lede — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 21:08:34 +0000

[...] of interviews of the same people that give the audio interviews. Also, they could develop relevant B-roll such as images of banks, housing market, etc; intertwining historical photographs/images/graphics of [...]