B-roll footage can increase the visual interest of your content by breaking up the monotony of a one-take video. These supplementary shots help illustrate the story you’re trying to tell. Using b-roll makes your video appear more professional and captivates a viewer’s attention.
You can buy b-roll footage online, but there are plenty of resources that don’t take a chunk out of your budget. Here are three ways to get free b-roll footage to use in your videos.
1. Recycle clips from your previous uploads.
You already have an entire channel’s worth of b-roll footage at your fingertips. Whether it’s unused shots or clips you’ve referenced, you can recycle footage from your past uploads into b-roll. This content is free to use because it already belongs to you, so you might as well take advantage of it.
Safiya Nygaard used b-roll from her older videos to illustrate the premise of the video below. Whenever she used a clip from a past video, she included the title of the video it came from.
2. Go out and shoot your own.
If you plan your video well out in advance, you can capture your own b-roll footage. Shoot from different angles while you’re working on a DIY. Film a few seconds out the window while you’re travelling. Think of sequences you could shoot to support the main part of the video.
The kind b-roll you shoot will differ depending on the kind of video you’re making. For example, if you’re telling a storytime, then you might act out part of the story to put over your narration. If you’re filming a travel vlog, then you might get a few shots of your suitcase rolling behind you or the plane taking off.
Mark Rober uses different kinds of cameras to capture b-roll for his videos. He uses a lot of different angles, various lenses, and even the occasional drone.
3. Use royalty-free clips from online databases.
There’s plenty of b-roll footage available on the internet for anyone to use. In order to find clips you can use without paying, search for royalty-free stock footage. A few good sites to start with are Pixabay, Pexels, and Videvo. Be sure to credit the site or original creator in the corner of the video when the clip is used.
Natalia Taylor uses stock footage to help bring her stories to life in her viewers’ minds. She uses pictures to give faces to the people in her stories as well.
B-roll footage can improve your viewers’ watching experience. Get free b-roll by utilizing old videos, shooting your own, or search for royalty-free stock video.
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Kristen Harris enjoys listening to a wide range of music, from Taylor Swift to, on occasion, Celtic instrumental. She also spends her time writing, reading, and baking.
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