B-roll, B-roll, B-roll.
Most video discussions revolve around the the B-roll. B-roll is all the footage that makes up your video outside of the interviews. This is the exciting part of the story. Images of helicopters rescuing civilians, children playing soccer, fireworks on fourth of July are all examples of B-roll.
All this great footage can make it easy to overlook the most important part of a video. The A-roll!
A-roll usually consists of the interviews that make up the video. Affectionately called the "talking heads" . Most of the time video editors are trying to find ways to cover up a boring interview shot with something more exciting to look at.
A-roll is the most important part of a video production. When the A-roll looks exceptional, it increases the overall quality of the video even if the b-roll is not as stellar.
This method works great when we are relying on footage that we were not able to capture ourselves but was provided to us. These strong A-roll shots will provide a solid foundation for the whole of the video.
A-roll is where the story unfolds. It's where the storyteller connects with the viewer. It's our job to make the storyteller look and sound as good as possible. That's why we are constantly looking for new lighting and framing techniques to keep the view engaged. We want the scene to tell a story at the same time.
We ask ourselves these questions before we hit record. Does it make sense for the actor to be sitting or standing, in studio or on location, speaking directly to the viewer or to an interviewer off screen? These often overlooked questions are what separate amateur productions, from professional.
Today we honor A-roll. The heart of the story.