B-roll ideas:
what to show while you talk.

The short answer.

Let's start with the answer.

The best B-roll ideas come from your script. Every thing you name while you talk (a book, a photo, a website, a headline) is a shot you can show at that exact moment. Read what you're going to say, circle the things you name, and that's your shot list.

Not sure what B-roll is? It's the footage people see while you keep talking. Here's what B-roll footage is, with examples. This article is about the next question: what to actually show.

If you say it, show it.

Where good B-roll ideas come from.

So where do good B-roll ideas come from? Your script. And then four places to find the shot.

Here's what I mean. The B-roll in my four showcase videos follows what's said in the take. Not a list of aesthetic clips. Let me walk you through the four places.

1. The things you name, filmed where you are

In How to be creative, while I talk, it cuts to the right shot: the book, the notebook, the whiteboard. Real things, shown the moment they come up.

2. Your camera roll

In Way too curious, I say CrossFit, and my photo drops in. One picture for each thing I love. Photos, not a new shoot.

3. The public record of your subject

When the video is about someone, their work is out there: shows, films, articles, interviews. From Disney star to space CEO is about Bridgit. So in it, Good Luck Charlie, Ready or Not, Billboard and the TODAY antenna play, and my face cam moves to the corner.

The press counts too. In the same film, a real headline is highlighted in yellow while I read it. Later, an article tilts in and a red marker underlines the number. That's B-roll too: proof of what you just said, on screen.

4. Your screen

In Edit it all with AI, I say « go to this app called Montage », and the site drops in on a white stage. If you talk about a website, an app or a document, your screen is the shot.

Four places, and three of them need no extra filming. The lists that rank on Google all send you out to film more. Do you see the difference?

A B-roll shot list template, from real videos.

Okay. Here's the template. Four columns: what you say, what's on screen, where the shot comes from, and the real video it's taken from. Every line below is from my showcase videos. The last row is yours.

When I say…	On screen	Where it comes from	Showcase
« the book », « the notebook », « the whiteboard »	A shot of each one	Filmed in the room	How to be creative
« CrossFit »	My photo drops in	My camera roll	Way too curious
« GTA VI »	A picture drops in, in the same Photo drop	A picture I gave it	Way too curious
« go to this app called Montage »	The site, on a white stage	My screen	Edit it all with AI
Her shows and films	Good Luck Charlie, Ready or Not, Billboard, the TODAY antenna, face cam in the corner	The public record	From Disney star to space CEO
A headline I read out	The real headline, highlighted in yellow	The press	From Disney star to space CEO
A number from an article	The article tilts in, a red marker underlines the number	The press	From Disney star to space CEO
Your line	Your shot	Room, camera roll, web or screen	Your video

Copy the last row for every thing you name. Most scripts give you more ideas than you need.

The third step is the one people forget. A B-roll shot that lands two seconds late feels random. On the word, it feels like proof. The same goes for a cutaway shot: it works because it answers what you just said.

One idea, reused, is a style.

Here's the thing: once you have one good B-roll idea, you don't need fifty.

In Way too curious, the Photo drop is a component Montage made from my words. I say GTA VI, it drops in. Same move, every time I name something I love. In the long film, one media card is used 26 times: a picture or a clip, its caption, on the dark page.

Why does that work? Because repetition reads as a format. The viewer learns the move once, and then every new shot feels like part of the video, not a random insert. That's how you make a component you reuse across every video.

One good idea, used 26 times, beats 26 ideas used once.

Easy B-roll ideas you can film today.

Now, the lists on Google aren't wrong. They're just about something else: a stock of clips you film in advance and lay under any video, mostly for Instagram Reels. If your video is about your day, your work or your business, they're good ideas. Credit where it's due:

• At your desk: typing, scrolling a document, a call on your laptop, answering emails, coffee (quiannamarieblog.com).
• Your work: your process, your packaging, your workspace, your tech, behind the scenes of a project (louiserosephotography.com, quiannamarieblog.com).
• Your life around it: walking feet, books, a view, drinks, journaling, clearing the desk (louiserosephotography.com).
• Your clients: a testimonial, a thank-you note, a client call, a milestone (quiannamarieblog.com, louiserosephotography.com).

Stratos Creative Marketing goes one step further: a prompt for the video, then B-roll options that fit it. That's the closest any of them gets to starting from what you say.

Honestly, you don't need a library of 1,000 clips. Sure, a stock of clips helps if you post every day about your day, and Stephanie Kase built hers to over 1,000. But for a video where you explain something, your script gives you better shots than any library.

And when you can't film it or find it? Stock footage is a fine source too. The pillar guide on B-roll covers where to get it.

How to film B-roll that cuts well.

When you do film, a few tips from the pages that rank, because they're right:

• Keep clips short: 3 to 5 seconds each, and 3 to 5 angles of the same thing (quiannamarieblog.com).
• Lock focus and exposure on your phone, so the picture doesn't pulse (stratoscreativemarketing.com).
• Use natural light, and clean the lens before you start (stratoscreativemarketing.com).
• Film from above for things on a desk. Just check the result: my notebook shots were filmed from above, upside down, and had to be turned the right way up.

More on the camera side in how to film the shots on your phone.

How to put your B-roll ideas in the video.

You've got the take, and you've got the shots. Now they have to meet, on the right word.

In Montage, you drop the take and the B-roll files in together, as they are.

Then you say your shot list as one sentence: « When I say book, cut to the book shot. When I say CrossFit, drop in the photo. »

Let's be clear on one thing: Montage doesn't search for stock clips or make footage from nothing. It places what you give it, on the word you say. That's how you add B-roll automatically without dragging a single clip.

B-roll also does a second job: it covers your cuts. Put a shot over the spot where you cut a pause, and you hide a jump cut at the same time. That's a big part of a talking head video that holds attention. And if you make vertical videos, the same goes when you edit Reels and TikToks.

Questions about B-roll ideas.

What are B-roll ideas?
B-roll ideas are the shots you cut to, or lay over, while you keep talking. The best ones come from what you say: every thing you name is a shot you can show.

Can you give me some examples of B-roll?
A shot of the book you mention. Your photo when you name a hobby. A clip of the show you're talking about. A headline highlighted while you read it. Your website when you say its name. All five are in my showcase videos.

How do you create good B-roll?
Start from your script, not from a list. Circle what you name, find the shot in the room, your camera roll, the web or your screen, and put it on the exact word. When you film, keep clips to 3 to 5 seconds and lock focus and exposure.

What are the types of B-roll?
Four, in my videos: a cut to a shot of what you mention, a picture dropped over you, a clip while your face moves to the corner, and your screen. Then lifestyle clips like coffee, typing or your desk, filmed in advance and reused.

What are good B-roll ideas for YouTube and Instagram Reels?
The same rule for both: show what you say. On Reels, people also reuse short lifestyle clips under text and music. On a longer YouTube video, one move repeated (a photo drop, a media card) keeps it feeling like one format.

See it in real videos.

Every idea in this article is in a real video, asked for in words. The four videos show where each shot comes from and how it was put in.

So, before you film anything new, read your script. Your B-roll is probably already there.

See you in the next one.