The short answer
B-roll is the footage that plays over or between your main shot to show what you are talking about. Good B-roll ideas come from your script: each line gets a shot that proves it. The 25 ideas below are sorted by where they go in a Reel or TikTok, from the opening frame to the payoff, with what to film.
What B-roll is in a Reel or TikTok
Short-form video borrows two terms from film. A-roll is the main footage: you talking to camera, the person you interview, or the take the story is built on. B-roll is everything you cut to over it or between it: your hands at work, the place, the product, the result. In a Reel or TikTok, B-roll does one of two jobs.
- Cutaways inside a talking video. You stay on camera for the hook and the opinion, and B-roll shows what you describe. It also hides the jump cuts left when pauses and retakes are trimmed.
- The whole video. A voiceover or on-screen text carries the words, and the footage carries everything else. Creators often call this a B-roll Reel.
The shots are the same either way, and they are what this guide covers: what to film and where each shot goes. Which app to edit in is a separate choice, and the One Click Editor guide covers it. If you never want to appear on camera, pick formats that work with nobody in frame before you build a shot list, because a format built around a face will leave a gap no B-roll can fill.
25 B-roll ideas for Instagram Reels and TikTok
Each group matches one part of a short video. The examples span niches so the shot stands apart from the topic. They are worked examples written for this guide, not output from Format Finder. Swap in your own subject, and only film places, people, and results you have permission to show.
Opening shots
Where it goes: the first frame, before or under the hook. Open on the most specific thing you have: the problem, the result, or a moment that raises a question.
- 1.
The finished result, held still
Film: the end product framed tight and steady, such as the plated dish, the repaired chair, or the finished nail set.
- 2.
The problem in close-up
Film: the thing that is wrong, filling the frame: the cracked phone case, the damp patch on the wall, the weeds in the paving.
- 3.
Already in motion
Film: start recording after the action begins, so the first frame is a hand already pouring or a knife mid-cut.
- 4.
The reveal
Film: an object lifted into frame from below, or a cloth pulled off it, from a phone that does not move.
- 5.
The real number
Film: a figure the video explains, on a receipt, a scale, or a screen, with names and account details covered.
Process shots
Where it goes: the middle, under the explaining. Each step you describe gets a shot of that step happening.
- 6.
Overhead hands
Film: the phone mounted above the table and your hands working into frame: chopping, sketching, wiring, packing an order.
- 7.
Over the shoulder
Film: from behind your shoulder, so the viewer sees what you see: the laptop screen, the mixing desk, the canvas.
- 8.
Screen recording
Film: the app or spreadsheet step you are explaining, recorded on the device after you hide names, messages, and account details.
- 9.
The step people get wrong
Film: two angles of the one step that decides the result, such as the fold or the seam, slow enough to copy.
- 10.
Reaching for the next tool
Film: your hand picking up the next tool or ingredient, which marks the change from one step to the next.
Detail shots
Where it goes: short cutaways that make an explanation concrete and cover the jump cuts in a talking video.
- 11.
Texture up close
Film: as close as your phone will focus: the crumb of the bread, the grain of the wood, the weave of a fabric.
- 12.
The label you mention
Film: the ingredient list, size tag, or model number you name in the script, held steady long enough to read.
- 13.
Chosen for the sound
Film: a shot that sounds as good as it looks, with the phone close: the sizzle in the pan, the click of a latch.
- 14.
The small flaw
Film: the scratch, the uneven seam, or the wrong setting you point out, framed so nothing else competes with it.
- 15.
The product in use
Film: the product used the way a viewer would use it, such as a zip being pulled or a lid being twisted.
Place shots
Where it goes: the start of a section, or wherever the story moves. They tell the viewer where the video happens.
- 16.
The walk in
Film: your point of view walking through the door of the shop, studio, kitchen, or site, in one smooth take.
- 17.
The whole workspace
Film: the room or the bench from a corner, so the viewer can place every close-up that follows.
- 18.
Light through the window
Film: daylight falling across the space you work in, which sets the mood before anything happens.
- 19.
The sign outside
Film: the shopfront, the street sign, or the view from the gate, wherever you are allowed to film.
- 20.
On the way there
Film: the walk, the trail, or the drive there, from the passenger seat or on foot, never while you are driving.
Proof shots
Where it goes: the end, where the claim gets proven. Film them from the same angle as the opening so the change is obvious.
- 21.
Before and after, same angle
Film: the same spot twice from a marked position and in the same light, with nothing staged between takes.
- 22.
Side by side
Film: the two versions or results next to each other in one frame, so the viewer compares them directly.
- 23.
The result doing its job
Film: the finished thing in use: the shelf holding the books, the bike climbing the hill, the cake being sliced.
- 24.
The time-lapse
Film: a slow change from a fixed position with your phone's time-lapse mode, such as dough rising or paint drying.
- 25.
The real reaction
Film: a client, friend, or customer seeing the result, only with their consent and without staging the surprise.
Where B-roll goes depends on the format
A shot list starts from the structure of the video. Format Finder's library holds 65+ proven viral formats, and each one decides how much of the video the footage carries. Three of them show the range:
Sharing Life Hacks
Open on a situation the viewer recognizes, then demonstrate the trick step by step until the result shows.
B-roll to plan: Process shots carry almost the whole middle. Plan one shot per step, plus the result.
Common Problem, My Solution
Show a familiar problem, show yourself working on the fix, and end with the fix working where the problem was.
B-roll to plan: Opening, process, and proof shots. Film the first and last shots from the same angle.
Come With Me Vlog
Invite the viewer along for one activity, narrate your decisions as you go, and end on the outcome.
B-roll to plan: Place and process shots under your narration, with one outcome shot to close.
On camera or off, the format tells you which groups to film and how many shots from each.
A worked example: one Reel planned shot by shot
The plan below is a two-column script for a ceramics account: every line on the left gets the shot on the right. Write yours the same way before you pick up the phone.
| Line (voiceover or on camera) | B-roll shot |
|---|---|
| “My pots kept sticking to the kiln shelf, so I changed one step.” | Opening: a close-up of a pot fused to the shelf, then a hand trying to lift it. |
| “The glaze was running onto the foot of the pot.” | Detail: the pot turned over to show glaze on its base. |
| “Now I wax the foot before I glaze.” | Process: overhead hands brushing wax around the base. |
| “Then I dip it and sponge the foot clean.” | Process: the dip from the side, then a close-up of the sponge wiping the base. |
| “Same shelf, next firing.” | Proof: the kiln opening, filmed from the angle of the first shot, and the pot lifting off clean. |
| “Follow for the next glaze test.” | On camera, or the finished pot in use on a table. |
The first and last shots share an angle, so the change is visible without a word. The same footage works under a voiceover or as cutaways while you talk to camera at the pottery wheel.
B-roll ideas by niche
Here is what to film in five niches, with the line each one has to hold.
| Niche | B-roll to film | Keep it honest |
|---|---|---|
| Real estate agents | The walk up to the front door, light through the main window, kitchen and storage details, the street, and the nearest park or shops. | Film a listing only with the seller's permission and within your brokerage's rules. Keep family photos, mail, and security details out of frame. |
| Photographers | The location scout, camera settings on the screen, the setup from behind you, and the delivered image. | Show a client, a venue, or finished work only with permission. |
| Food creators | Ingredients laid out, overhead prep, the sizzle, the cross-section, and the plated dish. | Film the dish you actually made, and disclose any brand partnership. |
| Service businesses | Tools laid out, hands at work, the reveal, and the clean-up. | Get consent before a client's face, hands, or home appears on screen. |
| Coaches and educators | The notebook or whiteboard, the screen with the example, and the book or tool you mention. | Show the example you describe, and skip decoration between sentences. |
For whole videos to put these shots in, the real estate video content ideas guide, the content ideas guide for photographers, and the food content ideas guide pair proven formats with each niche's own permission and sourcing rules.
B-roll for talking-head and interview videos
When you talk to camera, cover the lines that describe something the viewer could see, and stay on your face for the hook, an opinion, and the call to action. Each cutaway also hides a jump cut.
For an interview, film the B-roll after the conversation, once you know what the guest talked about: their hands at work, their workspace, and every object they mentioned. Ask before you film anything private.
Step 1: Give every line of the script a shot
Write the script in two columns, the line and the shot that proves it, like the ceramics example above. A line with no shot beside it ends up under leftover footage, which is where generic B-roll creeps in. If a line has nothing to show, rewrite it or keep it on camera. A three-step tip needs an opening shot of the problem, one process shot per step, and a proof shot of the result.
Step 2: Decide where you stay on camera
Mark each line as face or footage. Keep the hook on camera when your face and voice are what stop the scroll, cut to B-roll when you start explaining, and come back for an opinion or the call to action. In a voiceover Reel every line is footage, so the opening shot carries the hook alone: open on the problem or the result, and save any slow establishing shot for later.
Step 3: Film each shot from three distances
For every action, film a wide that shows where you are, a medium that shows what your hands are doing, and a close-up of the detail. Start recording before the action and keep rolling after it, so the edit has room to trim. Prop the phone up or hold it steady, film upright for vertical video, and keep the light the same across a sequence. The three distances cut together cleanly and give you a spare when one take is soft or shaky.
Step 4: Upload the clips in story order
Delete the takes you will not use, then import the rest in the order the script needs them. In Format Finder's One Click Editor, each clip goes to the main timeline or the B-roll lane, which also takes graphics. Music and voiceover go in the audio bin. Order matters there: when a cut is all voiceover with no on-camera footage, Format Finder places your B-roll in the order you uploaded it. When B-roll only covers part of a talking-head cut, placement follows relevance instead.
Step 5: Check whether the B-roll held viewers
Judge the video against your own past posts on the same app. Your platform analytics show where viewers left, so look at what was on screen at that moment. A drop right after a cut to B-roll suggests the shot is the problem: it was too slow, too generic, or did not match the line. Change that shot in the next video and keep the topic, so you learn what the footage did. The TikTok video analysis guide explains how to pair a video with a screenshot of its retention data and turn the biggest drop into the next test.
Film your own B-roll
Downloaded clips look like an easy way to fill a shot list. Both platforms push the other way, and each says so in its own rules.
- Instagram. Its original content guidelines put photos or videos you took first among their examples of original content, and say content it judges unoriginal may be ineligible for recommendations to people who don't already follow you. The same page says you are responsible for getting permission before using someone else's work.
- TikTok. Its integrity and authenticity guidelines make reused or unoriginal content posted without creative edits, such as clips that show someone else's watermark or logo, ineligible for the For You feed.
If you use a licensed stock clip, keep the license and let your own footage carry the story. Get permission before a person, a client's home, or a business appears on screen, and hide names, messages, and account details in screen recordings.
Common mistakes with B-roll
- Generic footage over specific words. A coffee pour under a line about tax deadlines gives the viewer nothing to watch. Match the shot to the line.
- Covering the lines that need your face. Cutting away from the hook or the call to action removes the person the viewer came for.
- Shaky handheld moves. Prop the phone up, or move slowly and on purpose.
- Filming sideways. Reels and TikTok play vertically, so frame every shot upright.
- Before and after from different angles. Mark the spot, match the light, and never show a result you did not get.
Does Format Finder do this for you?
Format Finder plans the shots and edits the footage. You film it. Its library holds 65+ formats that have actually gone viral across 161,000+ student creators at OnePeak Creative. Save an idea and Format Finder writes its script (hook, body, and call to action) and a shot plan. Choose faceless content and every idea is built on B-roll of the work, before and after shots, close-ups of tools and process, scenery, voiceover, or on-screen text, with the spoken lines written as voiceover or on-screen text.
The One Click Editor cuts and captions the clips you upload, with a separate lane for B-roll and an audio bin for music and voiceover. Format Finder does not generate footage, so every shot in the edit is one you filmed.
The 25 shots above work for any video. Format Finder starts from a format with a performance record and plans the shots for your niche and your idea. See how Format Finder plans a video shot by shot.
Built for short-form creators
Plan the shots before you film
Pick a proven format for your niche and Format Finder writes the script and shot plan. Film your clips, then the One Click Editor cuts and captions them.
Ideas, scripts, and creator examples do not guarantee views or revenue.
Frequently asked questions
- What is B-roll in a Reel or TikTok?
- Footage that plays over or between your main shot to show what you are talking about: hands at work, the place, the product, or the result. The main footage, usually you talking to camera, is the A-roll.
- What are easy B-roll ideas for Instagram Reels?
- Shots you can film where you already work: overhead hands, a screen recording, a texture close-up, the walk through your door, and a before and after from the same angle. Give each one a line in your script.
- What B-roll should a realtor film?
- The walk up to the front door, light through the main window, kitchen and storage details, the street, and nearby parks or shops. Film a listing only with the seller's permission and keep personal items out of frame.
- How do I use B-roll in a talking-head or interview video?
- Stay on camera for the hook, opinions, and the call to action, and cut to B-roll for lines that describe something visible. For an interview, film the guest's hands, workspace, and the objects they mention afterward.
- Can I use stock footage as B-roll?
- Only with a license that allows it, and let your own footage carry the story. Instagram lists videos you took as original content, and TikTok makes reused clips posted without creative edits ineligible for the For You feed.
- Does Format Finder create B-roll for me?
- No. Format Finder does not generate footage. It writes the script and shot plan for a saved idea, and its One Click Editor cuts and captions the clips you film, with a separate lane for the clips you use as B-roll.
- Do the same B-roll ideas work on Reels and TikTok?
- Yes. Both play vertical short-form video, so one shot list works for both. Film every shot upright, then compare each version with your own past posts on that app.