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B-Roll

B-roll is any footage that isn't the primary shot — the cutaway visuals that play over narration, the establishing shots between dialogue scenes, the insert shots that show what a character is looking at. Every video format uses B-roll: documentaries, explainer videos, social media clips, news segments, narrative films, and advertising.

In ACT3 AI, B-roll shots are generated like any other shot but are tagged as supplementary visual material, assembled under a narration or dialogue track in the timeline rather than as standalone story beats.

What B-roll is used for​

Narration support — The voice-over describes something; B-roll shows it visually. The most common use of B-roll in explainer videos, documentaries, and marketing content.

Cutaway shots — In a dialogue scene, cut away from the speakers to show what they're talking about, where they are, or what's happening elsewhere. This gives the editor flexibility and makes scenes more dynamic.

Establishing shots — The wide exterior shot of a building before cutting to an interior scene. The aerial of a city before cutting to a street level. These orient the viewer in space and time.

Insert shots — An extreme close-up of a specific object or detail: the phone screen showing a message, the newspaper headline, the ticking clock. Insert shots are often B-roll even when they carry story information.

Transition material — Shots that smooth over time jumps, location changes, or emotional transitions. A montage of street life. A series of quick landscape shots. A time-lapse of a construction site.

Social media cutaways — In short-form social content, B-roll cuts between the host and visual evidence of what's being described. "3 mistakes people make when starting a business" — the host says it, B-roll shows it.

Planning B-roll in your script​

B-roll starts in the script as action lines under a V.O. (voice-over) or N.A. (narrator) line:

NARRATOR (V.O.)
Every city has a neighborhood that remembers what the city used to be.

EXT. BROOKLYN STREET - CONTINUOUS
Old brownstones next to glass towers. A bodega between two luxury condos.
A retired man walking a dog past a construction crane.

Those three action lines describe three B-roll shots. In ACT3 AI, when you import or write a script with this structure, the platform identifies these as B-roll candidates and tags them accordingly.

B-roll scripting conventions​

  • Write B-roll action lines in the same scene block as the narration they accompany
  • One action sentence = one shot. Keep them short and specific.
  • Describe the image, not the camera move. "A retired man walking a dog" not "camera follows a retired man walking a dog."
  • For screen content B-roll (what's on a monitor or phone), see the Screens feature.

Generating B-roll in ACT3 AI​

Method 1 — From script parsing​

When ACT3 AI parses a script with V.O. sections, it identifies the action lines under the narration and creates B-roll shot slots automatically. Each shot slot has the action description pre-filled as the shot prompt. Review and adjust the prompts, then generate.

Method 2 — Manual B-roll shot​

In any scene, click + Add Shot and select B-roll as the shot type. Enter a description of what the B-roll should show. Set the duration to match the narration timing it will accompany.

Method 3 — AI B-roll suggestion​

In a scene with voice-over dialogue, click Suggest B-roll in the Shot Panel. ACT3 AI reads the narration and proposes a list of B-roll shots that would illustrate the spoken content. Review, edit, and generate.

B-roll shot setup​

B-roll shots use the same controls as any other shot:

  • Shot type — Establishing shots (wide), insert shots (extreme close-up), and montage clips (medium) are most common
  • Visual style — B-roll should match the visual style of the primary footage unless you're using it for intentional contrast
  • Set — B-roll often uses different sets than the primary scene. Multiple sets in one scene is normal for B-roll-heavy content.
  • No character required — B-roll frequently has no characters. Environmental shots, object close-ups, and abstract visuals are all valid.

See How to Set Up a Shot.

B-roll in the timeline​

In the Timeline Editor, B-roll shots appear below the primary shot track:

  • Primary track — The main story footage (character dialogue, on-screen action)
  • B-roll track — Supplementary footage that plays over the primary audio

You can drag B-roll clips along the timeline to align them with specific moments in the narration. The B-roll clip's audio is suppressed by default — only its video plays, while the primary audio track (narration or dialogue) continues.

For social video, B-roll can replace primary footage entirely for portions of the video — showing the subject rather than the host.

See How to Review Shots in the Timeline.

B-roll and the Screens feature​

One specialized form of B-roll is content that appears on a virtual screen within a set. A monitor showing an app, a TV playing a news broadcast, a presentation slide on a conference room display — these are all B-roll assets composited onto screen surfaces.

The Screens feature handles this: generate a B-roll clip specifically for a screen surface, then attach it to that surface in the set. The primary shot shows the scene with the screen playing its B-roll content in the background.

Where B-roll matters most by video type​

Video typeB-roll role
Explainer videosCore to the format — every narration point needs a visual
Social media (talking head)Cutaways that break up direct-address shots
Marketing and advertisingProduct in context, lifestyle visuals, brand environment
Documentary-style contentThe footage that tells the story while interview audio plays
News segment styleGraphics, environment shots, and subject footage over reporter V.O.
Educational seriesDiagrams, demonstrations, and visual examples
Narrative filmInsert shots, establishing shots, transition material