# B-roll

Canonical URL: https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/b-roll
Last updated: 2026-10-08

> Definition: B-roll is supporting footage that is cut in over or between the main footage (the A-roll) to show what the speaker is describing, cover edits and add visual variety. The A-roll's audio usually keeps playing underneath.

B-roll is everything you show while the main story keeps talking. When a creator says "we shipped a new dashboard", the clip of the dashboard that appears over their voice is B-roll. It turns telling into showing, and it covers the cuts you made in the [A-roll](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/a-roll) so the edit feels continuous.

## What counts as B-roll?

B-roll is any footage that supports the main shot rather than carrying the story itself. Common types:

- Cutaways that show what the speaker describes: a product, a place, a document.
- Screen recordings and screenshots in tutorials and product videos.
- Stock clips for abstract ideas, like a busy street for "growth" or a clock for "deadline".
- Detail shots from the same shoot: hands typing, a coffee cup, the room.
- Archive footage or photos.

## How is B-roll used in short-form and YouTube videos?

In short-form and YouTube videos, B-roll mainly does two jobs: it hides [jump cuts](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/jump-cut) and it keeps the picture changing. A run of talking-head cuts can feel choppy; dropping a two-second clip over a cut makes it invisible because the viewer is looking at something else. On vertical video, B-roll often fills the frame entirely or sits in a card above the speaker.

When the B-roll starts while the speaker is still talking, the result is a cutaway that behaves like an [L-cut](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/l-cut): the picture changes but the voice carries on.

## What's an example of B-roll in a product video?

A founder explains, "You can schedule a week of posts in one sitting." Over that line, the editor cuts to a 3-second screen recording of the calendar filling up. The founder's voice keeps playing. That screen recording is the B-roll, and it makes the claim concrete without a single extra word.

## How do you add B-roll in Vidiyo?

In Vidiyo you ask for B-roll in chat, and the assistant finds and places it. It can search the included stock video and photo libraries, import a public video link you paste, or use footage you've already imported. It places the clip muted on a video track above the speaker for the exact line, so your voice keeps playing, then checks the composed frame. You can reshape it into a picture-in-picture or split screen with the layer controls. See [layers and keyframes](https://getvidiyo.app/features/layers-and-keyframes) for how stacking works.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why is it called B-roll?

The name comes from A/B roll film editing, where the main footage sat on the A reel and the alternate shots on the B reel. The film reels are gone, but B-roll still means the supporting shots.

### Where do I get B-roll if I didn't film any?

Stock libraries, screen recordings, screenshots, product photos and old footage all work as B-roll. In Vidiyo, the assistant can search included stock video and images and place a clip over the right line.

### Should B-roll have its own sound?

Usually not. B-roll is normally muted so the speaker's voice keeps going underneath. Keep its sound only when the sound is the point, like a crowd cheering or a product clicking.

## Related terms

- [A-roll](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/a-roll)
- [L-cut](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/l-cut)
- [J-cut](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/j-cut)
- [Jump cut](https://getvidiyo.app/glossary/jump-cut)

## Where Vidiyo does this

- [Edit video by chatting](https://getvidiyo.app/features/chat-video-editing)
- [Layers and keyframes, by hand or by chat](https://getvidiyo.app/features/layers-and-keyframes)