Filming B-Roll isn’t as difficult as you think. It’s really just a matter of what you want to film.
Typically for B-Roll, sound is not important, but if you’re setting a tone for, say, the beginning of a video or even transitioning to another part of the video, it helps to keep the sound.
The subjects for filming b-roll can range from showing parts of the city to parts of a new park you’re building to something as random as a funny interaction with a pedestrian, and even your skater doing the simplest of things. There’s so many possibilities.
Here’s some advice:
- Use long lens when you’re filming B-Roll. Long lens is between 250-300 mm in the Replay Editor. If you’ve used the Zoom Glitch before, you should be okay.
- Film about 7-8 secs in length, just to give yourself some flexibility while editing. You can cut one end or another (or both) if you intend not to use the entire clip. Besides, that’s the norm for B-Roll length anyway.
- Make sure it’s relevant. If it’s part of a park you’re building, make sure it’s in that park. If there a clip with a trick that you think is really good, get some of the lead-up to that trick. Even the bails to a trick can qualify. Next to music, B-Roll can be used to set the tone of a video.
- Get a good frame of your subject(s). Your subject(s) don’t necessarily have to be in the center of your shot. It can off to the left or right in your shot.
- Use your judgment. Only you know what you want to achieve when you film a clip. Think about what you want to accomplish before you film it.
When you get into the mindset of filming B-Roll, it becomes easy. I hope this helps.