Let's Talk About The B-Word: Makematic Behind-The-Scenes Vlog Episode 2

B-Roll. Let’s talk about it.

A couple of weeks ago, the production team had a shoot at the EY in Belfast. This gave me the opportunity to do some behind-the-scenes posts on social media and the perfect time to ask the producer on set what b-roll was about. Bonus point, it’s also the perfect time to get free coffee, which is always a highlight during a shoot.

I found a definition from Masterclass.com, written by Ken Burns (5-time Emmy Award winner, he's the real deal) defined b-roll as

secondary video footage shot outside of the primary (or A-roll) footage. It is often spliced together with the main footage to bolster the story, create dramatic tension, or further illustrate a point.

Before hunting down the producer, I was able to observe the camera crew filming b-roll. And to summarise this experience it would be, short, precise and a lot of moving around - kudos to camera crew for being so patient and precise!

After a good hour of b-roll observing and coffee drinking. I asked the producer (Eamon Kerrigan) why B-roll was important. After his explanation and the definition above, I knew why it was important to a video. I would explain it here on this blog, but I think it would be easier for you to watch it on my vlog (shameless plug, I know).

The second episode of the vlog is about b-roll, and Eamon’s debut on the vlog shows his expertise because we did that clip in one take - he’s a natural. What’s a b-roll vlog without b-roll? So to further explain the b-roll, I added in more b-roll (see what I did there?) Bonus clips from the vlog include Tara Walsh going to the Bett show 2020 but as explained on the vlog, it’s not a lot of footage, you’ll understand why.

Watch the second episode of the vlog!