B-roll ideas: 28 shots to film for talking heads and vlogs, by setting

B-roll is the footage you cut to while someone keeps talking. It hides jump cuts, shows what the speaker is describing, and gives the eye something new every few seconds. Most creators film too little of it, or film the same three shots every time. Here are 28 b-roll ideas grouped by where you'll be when you film them, each with a prompt that places the shots in Vyra.

Vyra describes every clip when you upload it, so you can ask for b-roll by what's in it. "Use the shots of my hands on the keyboard" works without you naming files. My tour of the Brown University painting studios was almost all b-roll and got 262K views.

How to use this list

1. Pick the setting you're already in today and film four or five shots from that group.
2. Hold each shot for at least 5 seconds. You'll use 1 to 2 seconds, and the extra gives you room to trim.
3. Film each shot twice, once wide and once close.
4. Upload the b-roll with your talking head, paste a prompt into Vyra, and say which lines each shot should cover.

1. Hands on the keyboard from the side

Set the phone low and level with the keyboard, pointing across your fingers. It reads as work and covers any line about a project.

Fits talking head with b-roll.

Every time I say "working on" or "building" in my talking head, cut to the keyboard close-up for 1.5 seconds, then back to me. Keep my voice running underneath. Captions stay in the bottom third over both shots.

2. Writing the key word by hand

Film from directly above as you write one word in a notebook. Use it on the line where you say that word.

"Consistency."

Fits talking head with b-roll and explainer.

Cut to the overhead notebook shot when I say "consistency" and hold it until I finish writing the word, about 2 seconds. Turn captions off during this shot so the handwriting is the only text on screen.

3. Over the shoulder on your phone

Film your phone screen from behind your shoulder as you scroll the thing you're talking about. Comments, an inbox, an analytics page.

Fits talking head with b-roll and story time.

When I mention reading the comments, cut to the over-the-shoulder phone shot for 3 seconds. Add a slow 10 percent push-in over the shot and blur any usernames on the screen.

4. The lamp clicks on

Turn on a desk lamp in a dim room. A single click makes a clean start to a work session or a new section.

Fits vlog and day in the life.

Open the work section on the lamp clicking on, 1 second, with the click sound turned up. Then cut to my first line. Put "9:40 pm" as small text in the top left of the lamp shot.

5. Crossing off the calendar

Film a pen crossing out a date, or a sticky note being pulled off the wall. It shows time passing in one second.

Fits day in the life and founder build in public.

Cut to the calendar close-up when I say "three weeks later". Play it at 1.5x speed so the cross-out lands in under a second, then cut back to me mid-sentence.

6. The pour

Coffee, tea, or water poured slowly into a glass, filmed from the side in window light. It's the most reliable opening shot in vlogging for a reason.

Fits vlog and cinematic b-roll.

Open on the coffee pour for 2.5 seconds at 60 percent speed, with the pour sound up and no music yet. Bring the music in on the cut to the next shot.

7. Chopping with the sound up

A tight shot of a knife on a board, filmed close enough that the sound is crisp. Cut it to the rhythm of your speech.

Fits day in the life and silent vlog.

Use the chopping close-up under my voiceover about my morning. Cut between three angles of it every 1 second. Keep the chopping sound at 40 percent under my voice.

8. The view from inside the fridge

Put the phone on a fridge shelf facing out and open the door. A playful angle that breaks up a long talking section.

Fits relatable video and vlog.

Cut to the inside-the-fridge shot when I say "and then I got hungry". Hold it for the full door open, about 2 seconds, then hard cut back to my face with a 10 percent punch-in.

9. Plating from above

Film the plate from directly above as you set food down. Flat, clean, and easy to put text over.

Fits vlog and tutorial.

Use the overhead plating shot as the background for a title. Put "what I eat on a painting day" in the center in white, then cut back to me after 2 seconds. Keep the shot square to the frame in 9:16.

10. Walking away from camera

Prop the phone on a wall and walk away from it down a street. The viewer feels like they're following you.

Fits vlog and storytelling video.

When I start talking about leaving home, cut to the walking-away shot for 3 seconds. Fade the street sound in under my voice and keep captions in the top third so they don't cover my body.

11. Feet at street level

Hold the phone near the ground as your feet step past. Good for any line about starting, going, or moving on.

Fits day in the life and travel recap.

Cut to the low feet shot on the word "go", for 1 second. Sync each footstep to a beat of the track for the next 4 steps, then cut back to me.

12. The sky through a window

Point the phone at the sky through glass at a few times of day. It works as a cheap time stamp between sections.

Fits vlog and silent vlog.

Between each section of my vlog, insert one sky shot in time-of-day order, 1.5 seconds each. Add the time as small text in the bottom right of each one and fade the music down 20 percent during them.

13. The door opening onto the street

Film from inside as you open the front door. The light change marks the move from home to the world.

Fits vlog and day in the life.

Cut to the door shot when I say "headed out". Ramp the exposure change with a 6 frame brightness keyframe so the outside light blooms, then cut to the first outdoor clip.

14. The window seat

Film out of a train, bus, or car window with the phone against the glass. Movement fills dead air during a long thought.

Fits travel recap and storytelling video.

Lay the window shot under the longest stretch of my voiceover with no face on screen, up to 6 seconds. Add a soft lowpass to the road noise and keep captions centered in the middle third.

15. The before shot

Film the empty desk, the blank page, or the messy room before you start. Without it, the result has nothing to compare against.

Fits before and after and process video.

Open with the before shot for 1 second, then cut to me saying what I'm about to make. Place the matching after shot at the end, framed the same way, with a 2 second hold.

16. The tool close-up

A brush loading paint, a needle going through fabric, a wrench turning. Fill the frame with the tool and the material.

Fits process video and speed paint.

Cover every jump cut in my explanation with a tool close-up. Pick the close-up whose description matches what I'm saying at that moment, 1 to 2 seconds each, and never repeat the same clip twice.

17. The locked timelapse

Leave the phone on a tripod for the whole session. One timelapse becomes ten pieces of b-roll at different points in the work.

Fits art timelapse and process video.

Split the tripod timelapse into 2 second pieces. Each time I start a new point in the voiceover, cut to the next piece in order so the work progresses as I talk. Speed each piece up to 8x.

18. The mistake up close

When something goes wrong, keep filming and get close. A spill, a crack, a wrong line.

"This is where it went wrong."

Fits story time and lessons learned.

Cut to the mistake close-up when I say "this is where it went wrong". Freeze the last frame for 1 second and drop the music out for that freeze, then bring it back on my next sentence.

19. The late-night workspace

Film your workspace at night with one light on. It sets a mood that daylight footage can't. My reel called "This is why I paint at 2am" used this kind of b-roll and got 9.5K views.

Fits all-nighter painting vlog.

Use the night workspace clips as the opening 4 seconds, one per beat, with a cool color grade. Then cut to my first line. Add the time in the top right of each opening clip, ending on "2:00 am".

20. The cleanup

Rinse the brushes, sweep the floor, close the laptop. A cleanup shot tells the viewer the session is over.

Fits process video and silent vlog.

End the video on the cleanup clips, 3 shots at 2 seconds each, with the water and scrubbing sounds up and the music fading out over the last 4 seconds.

21. Hands opening the box

Film the unboxing from above with only your hands in frame. It covers the start of any review or recommendation.

Fits unboxing and UGC hook and demo.

Cover my intro line with the overhead unboxing shot. Cut each time the flaps open or something comes out, on the beat, and keep my voice running underneath with bold captions centered.

22. The slow turn

Turn the product slowly on a table, or turn it in your hand against a plain wall. Every side gets a moment.

Fits product demo and art supplies review.

Use the slow turn while I list the features. Speed it to 1.5x and add a label for each feature as I say it, small white text pointing to the part of the product it describes.

23. In use, from your eyes

Hold the phone at chest height and use the product as you normally would. The viewer sees it the way they'd see it.

Fits POV video and UGC hook and demo.

When I say "here's how I actually use it", cut to the first-person clips and stay on them for 6 seconds. Put my voice over them with captions, and add a 1.2x zoom on the moment the product does its main job.

24. The macro detail

Get as close as the lens allows to the texture, the label, or the stitching. It works as a transition between talking points.

Fits art supplies review and cinematic b-roll.

Use the macro detail shots as dividers between my three talking points, 1 second each, with a soft whoosh sound. Put the number of the next point in large text over each one.

25. Next to something for scale

Place the product beside a hand, a coin, or a mug. Size is the question everyone has and nobody asks.

Fits product demo and unboxing.

Cut to the scale shot when I mention size. Hold it for 2 seconds and add a thin outline around the product with its dimensions as text beside it.

26. Looking out the window

Sit by a window and look out, filmed from the side. It covers any line that's reflective or sad.

Fits storytelling video and story time.

Cut to the window shot for the line where I talk about how I felt that week. Hold it 4 seconds, drop the music to 15 percent, and let my voice carry it with captions in the lower third.

27. Walking into frame and sitting down

Start on an empty chair, then walk in and sit. A clean way to start a talking section without a cold open.

Fits talking head and vlog.

Start the talking section on the empty chair, then play me walking in and sitting. Cut to the main talking angle the moment I'm seated and start the captions from my first word.

28. The candid laugh

Ask a friend to film you laughing or reacting off-camera. One honest second makes a scripted video feel lived in.

Fits vlog and relatable video.

Find the clip where I laugh off-camera and place it right after my joke, 1.5 seconds, then cut back to the main angle. Keep the laugh audio and duck my voice track under it.

FAQ

How much b-roll do I need for a one-minute video? Around 8 to 15 shots of 1 to 3 seconds each. Film twice that so you have choices.

Should b-roll match exactly what I'm saying? It works best when it shows the thing you're describing, or the place you're in. Random pretty shots read as filler.

How long should each b-roll shot stay on screen? One to three seconds in short-form video. Hold longer only when the shot shows something the viewer needs to read or see change.

Can I use b-roll from other days? Yes. Keep a folder of reusable shots like your desk, your tools, and your walk, and pull from it whenever a new talking head needs cover.

Related

• /how-to/shoot-b-roll
• /formats/talking-head-b-roll
• /formats/cinematic-b-roll
• /ideas/vlog-ideas