WHAT IS B-ROLL?

This is the latest in a series of backgrounder “Service Summaries“about video, audio and interactive multimedia services, all of which comprise iCD Media’s portfolio of products.

Mike Cavender, executive vice president, is a 25-year career veteran in television news management and production. He’s managed TV newsrooms in Atlanta, Washington, DC, Tampa and Nashville and is the recipient of more than 50 awards, including 6 Emmys, for his work. He’s also a past chairman of the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), the international trade association for electronic news professionals.

Jim Brams: Mike, we hear the term “B-roll” in the PR field. Can you explain just what it is?

Mike Cavender: A B-roll package is edited story video, without narration, for use on television or another visual medium, such as the Internet. It’s often used to provide producers with visuals of a company’s product or service. Interviews (soundbites) with the company or client spokesperson sometimes are included in a B-roll feed. A fact sheet or even a suggested script can be sent with the B-roll feed to aid producers and writers in preparing a story.

Sometimes a B-roll package is produced to mark the launch of a new product or service. Other times, it may just be comprised of “background” visuals on a company or organization that is held in the station’s news library until it’s needed for a breaking news story.

B-roll packages are important elements in the PR practitioner’s arsenal because they can provide broad exposure for the client in a cost-efficient manner.

JB: How do you produce B-roll?

MC: Just like a VNR or any video product, localism and quality production are important keys. We strive to help ensure usage by providing producers with information that explains how the client’s story is important to their local audiences.

JB: How is B-roll commonly stored?

MC: Many TV stations still maintain their library footage on videotape, although an increasing number of stations are using digital files stored on their servers. When we do a B-roll feed, we use both analog and digital distribution to provide those options to the stations.

JB: What should a client think about when planning B-roll?

MC: Work closely with your provider in terms of making available the best pictures and sound possible to support the story. Is it (or can it be) a visually interesting story? What about it will stimulate a producer’s interest in running it? What is the local effect or impact and how can that be shown? All of these questions are important thought-starters for producing an effective B-roll package.

JB: Are there advantages to providing a B-roll package to stations instead of a narrated VNR?

MC: There can be, depending on the type of story you’re offering. A number of stations that won’t typically run a 1:30 narrated VNR package may be inclined to use :15 or :20 of B-roll video to support a briefer version of the story. In larger markets especially, we’ve found that B-roll footage is more likely to be used than the VNR on the same subject. Again, an experienced provider can help you make a decision on what video format is most suited to your message and to getting that message out.

JB: B-roll? That’s a funny name, Mike. Where did it come from?

MC: Years ago, when TV news staffs shot 16mm film, stories were edited to two reels of film prior to air. The A-roll contained all the sound, which was recorded on a magnetic strip along one edge of the film. A-roll was used for such things as the story’s interviews, the reporter’s “stand-up” and other scenes with important sound. The B-roll contained the rest of the pictures that illustrated the story. It was often shot with a small wind-up camera – which the director could cut away to while the sound continued from the A-roll. Hence, the terms B-roll and A-roll!

JB: Thanks very much, Mike.

For more information about how B-roll or other broadcast deliverables could be used in your PR plan, contact Mike Cavender, Executive Vice President, iCD Media, LLC, 1000 Windward Concourse, #475, Alpharetta, GA 30005. Call or e-mail Mike at (678) 762-1717 or mcavender@icdmedia.com.