How to up your video game with branded b-roll
– By #RSA
In our last blog article, we discussed how relying too heavily on stock footage in your video projects can lead to a disconnect and even possible disappointment from your viewers.
Today, consumer habits are driven heavily by how much trust they have in a particular company or business. One great way to build trust with your consumers is by showcasing your company culture.
Video marketing is one of the most effective ways to showcase company culture because it allows you to give a real-life view into your business, its people, and what you stand for.
The best way to provide a glimpse into your company culture is through the use of branded b-roll. In this blog, RSA will discuss the different types of b-roll and how you can capture your own b-roll footage for your business or organization.
What is B-roll?
B-roll is any footage that is considered secondary to your primary footage. B-roll is supporting imagery that helps establish a storyline. For example, if you were making a commercial for a restaurant to talk about their couple’s night, you could utilize footage of two people on a date smiling at each other across the table. The commercial isn’t about the people on the date, but they help provide context to the story. B-roll footage is used in almost all forms of video from television sitcoms and movies to the stories you watch on the nightly news.
B-roll footage is especially important when you are creating any type of video marketing for your business. Not only does b-roll help to establish emotion, but it also keeps the viewer interested. No one wants to watch the same clip for more than a few seconds. B-roll allows you to cut between shots, keeping the viewer interested in the story you’re telling.
Types of B-roll
There are two main types of b-roll. B-roll that was shot by a camera crew for use in a specific project, or stock footage.
Now before we go any further, utilizing stock footage in a video project isn’t all bad. Stock footage can be a great addition to a video project to help provide a human element and elicit emotion. In fact, RSA’s own video production department uses stock footage in some of our video projects.
The problem with stock footage is when you rely on it too much you aren’t painting an accurate depiction of your company. This makes it difficult for your audience to connect with you. Consumers like to know the who, what, and why behind the businesses they purchase from or work with. By showcasing the real people, products, and services behind your business, people feel like they can trust you. And trust is one of the most important aspects of healthy customer relations and superior reputation management. While you can utilize stock footage to help complement your video project, most of your video should be comprised of branded b-roll.
How to Capture Branded B-roll
There are two main ways you can go about capturing branded b-roll. The first is by filming regular day-to-day operations, or you can stage certain shots to get the exact footage you’re looking for. One thing that is nice about capturing organic b-roll is that you can capture a greater quantity and variety of footage. However, staging b-roll gives you the opportunity to set up the perfect shot. Whatever route you choose, there are a few important things to keep in mind.
Variety: If you are staging all your b-roll on one day make sure you have a large variety of people for your shoot, or at the very least, have your staff bring a few changes of clothes. If you have the same three people in every single one of your shots it will make it very obvious all your b-roll was filmed at once. Plus, this footage won’t have as much longevity because you will only be able to use it a couple of times before it starts to get repetitive.
People: A clip of a room full of people is much more interesting to watch than footage of an empty ballroom. People like to see other people. When shooting your branded b-roll make sure your shots include your employees. Film your employees working together on a project, helping a customer, giving a presentation, etc. This footage is not only more interesting to watch but it helps showcase the people behind your organization and creates a connection with your viewers.
Talent Releases: If you are filming anyone that does not work for your organization make sure to have them sign a photo release form. These can be created by your company or found on the web. Talent release forms grant you legal permission to use someone in your video materials. This is an important step to make sure you don’t run into any issues down the line and have to reshoot the footage.
Longevity: To save yourself time and money try to capture as much b-roll as you can in one shoot. Again, capturing a large quantity of footage that showcases a variety of different people, locations, products, etc. will allow you to use your video for a longer period of time. The more variety for footage you have, the longer it will last before you need to schedule another video shoot.
Quality: Many phones have amazing cameras that allow you to capture high-quality-looking videos on your own. However, if you are going to take the time to capture branded b-roll using a professional video crew will ensure your video turns out great! If you decide to do it yourself, make sure your end product is well lit, contains a variety of medium, wide, and close shots, and the footage isn’t blurry or fuzzy. Always remember, if you are going to do something do it right.
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