Many businesses would love to be featured on TV, but it’s surprising how few make the small investment in b-roll that might get them there. Our 8020 Video PR specialist Ali Gibson explains how the right video content can help a broadcast journalist tell your story.
What is b-roll?
Watch any evening news bulletin, magazine show or social media video and you’ll see about half of each report is made up of B-roll. B-roll is a term for stock video clips painted over an interviewee or voiceover to add colour and to prevent viewers from getting bored. Today, B-roll is also an important tool for your business to communicate with broadcast journalists.
B-roll and pitching to broadcast media
Covid-19 has changed TV and online news – it’s harder to interview guests face-to-face because of social distancing and we’ve also become more at ease with seeing business leaders and experts interviewed on Zoom or Skype. But broadcast journalists are finding it harder to get footage to cover these interviews and keep them entertaining. If you‘re pitching your news story to a TV or online outlet – you’ll increase your chances if you can offer some colourful B-roll. You can also offer the footage to Radio stations for their social media accounts.
What type of footage works best?
You might already have a promotional video for your business but that doesn’t mean those shots will work for your b-roll, so keep them seperate. We recommend sharing ‘clean footage‘ – remove any graphics, music or colour filters. Not all broadcast media will use natural sound but some will, so make sure you have a background audio track recording aircraft noise or birds singing, for example. In addition, keep your shots long. If you offer a 10 second clip of your aircraft flying or a lengthy aerial of your solar energy site, the TV or online news team will have lots to choose from.
How do I send my b-roll?
And finally, share your B-roll in high quality using a file sharing site – mp4 files are usually good and make sure your footage is filmed in HD or 4K.
We’d love to know how these tips support your PR and Communications efforts so please get in touch with our 8020 video production team on LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram with your feedback or questions. Find out more about our in-house video production team here: 8020comms.com/discover/video-for-pr/