What is a movie “B-Roll”?
When I was interviewed by a local news station for a story about computer safety several years back, the cameraman not only filmed me answering the questions, but also requested that I do some “normal” computer things that he could film after the interview was over. This included a close-up of my hand on the mouse, moving it and clicking; a scene of me reading a web page and scrolling down (probably the station’s site, though it’s been so long I don’t remember anymore); and a few other little bits like that. This footage, called B-roll, was shot so they could edit that in while the news anchor in the studio was introducing the story… while Gina Morss was saying something to the effect of, “There’s a lot to do on the web, but the sites you visit could harm your PC. How can you keep your computer safe?”, the camera might start with her in the news room, then cut to the clip of me scrolling down a web page somewhere in the middle, before switching to me as she finishes her question. The
