Many new editors think B-Roll is just “extra footage to hide the interview jump cuts.” I certainly did when I started out. But boy, was I wrong. In the hands of a professional editor, B-Roll becomes a dramatic and emotional storytelling tool.

In this blog, we’ll break down the B-Roll editing techniques that separate beginners from pros—revealing the invisible grid that gives your footage structure, emotion, and impact.

It’s a tool that reinforces scene intention, reveals subtext, and shapes the rhythm of a scene—like the conductor of a symphony. When we truly understand how to cut B-Roll, our scenes will be 10 times better. Simple as that..

You’ve probably used B-Roll… a lot. It’s one of the main types of content we have in any unscripted scene. But unless someone has shown you the grid—the invisible structure underneath every great B-Roll edit—you're likely just decorating your timeline, not engineering it.

So in this essay we’re going to fix that. No fluff, no padding out, just pure creative editing theory.

What B-Roll Actually Is (And What It Isn’t)

Technically, B-Roll is defined as any secondary footage—shots of people, places, or objects—that support or illustrate the story. You see it everywhere: documentaries, promos, YouTube videos, branded content, social media. It’s as common as dialogue.

But while most editors treat it like wallpaper, professional editors treat it like story structure.

The Two Types of B-Roll Every Editor Should Know

Here’s something almost no one outside of professional cutting rooms talks about: There are two completely different species of B-Roll.

1. Sequential B-Roll

This is a chain of shots that show a process, a journey, or a flow of progressive action. Think of someone making a cake: flour hitting the bowl, cracking an egg, whisking, pouring the mix, putting it in the oven and then serving it.

Each shot is a link in a chain. Together, they form a mini-sequence that progresses over time. This is not just beautiful imagery—it’s story logic in visual form.

A camera operator takes an event and breaks it down into different shots with varying shot sizes and camera movement. There could be 5 shots in the mini-sequence chain—or there could be 500.

2. Illustrative B-Roll

These are standalone images. A city skyline before a scene. A building showing the location of the upcoming action. A close-up of a ticking clock. A flower pot in the corner of a room.

They're not part of a chain—they are individual shots that illustrate individual objects or places. You can’t edit both types the same way. If you’ve never consciously separated them before… that’s your first breakthrough.

Now this is all great but it means that we’re going to have to start looking at our timeline in a very different way. The way professional editors look at a timeline when designing narrative.

How Pro Editors Structure B-Roll: The Invisible Grid of Horizontal and Vertical Editing

Here’s the core idea that changes everything: Great B-Roll editing exists on two axes—horizontal and vertical.

The Horizontal Axis

This is the timeline’s shot-flow—your B-Roll chained together to show progression of action, over time. You’re building micro-stories shot by shot.

Every time you cut a chain of action—walking into a building, packing a suitcase, warming up before a fight—you’re operating on this axis. It’s about movement, transformation and progression.

The Vertical Axis

This is the emotional alignment—how your B-Roll connects directly to the dialogue underneath. And this is where mastery lives.

You’re not just laying shots on top of dialogue like wallpaper. You’re matching and reinforcing meaning to the image. Positioning B-Roll at precise moments within the dialogue arc with absolute accuracy, This amplifies the subtext of what’s being said.

Let’s look at a real life example.

The “Terrifying” Moment: How to Match B-Roll to Emotional Dialogue

You’re editing a sports documentary. A player is talking about the final seconds before a game starts. He says:

“Those few moments right before kick-off are the most terrifying seconds to go through.”

That is a hugely evocative and dramatic piece of dialogue sync. Great editors identify the best words and phrases and ask themselves “What should I cut to here?”

Yes we could use any old shot of him warming up, running drills, or lacing his boots. We could use crowd shots, a super wide shot of the stadium.

But that’s generic wallpaper. That is the least effective and least powerful way to cut B-Roll.

A pro will scan the footage and search for something that embodies that emotional and evocative language. Maybe:

•  A long, isolated stare into the distance
•  A subtle nervous tick—tapping a leg, shifting weight
•  A deep breath on a close-up, eyes closed

That’s vertical editing. You're matching image to emotion. You're making the viewer feel the word “terrifying,” not just hear it. 

Was that planned by the director? The cinematographer? The producer? Even the subject? Absolutely not. It was created by us, the editors, weeks, months or sometimes years later by bringing together two different elements and creating a powerful new meaning.

To take this even further, check out Mastering Body Language in Film Editing, where I explore how subtle physical gestures—like a shift in posture or a glance—can become powerful emotional tools in the edit.

B-Roll Editing Strategy: The Mindset Shift That Separates Pro Editors

Here’s where many editors go wrong: they think B-Roll is just there to “cover the cuts.”

Professionals know it’s there to structure the story.

You must train yourself to see every sequence as a puzzle with two layers:

1.  What is the viewer supposed to feel at this exact moment? (emotional target)
2.  What B Roll best expresses or contrasts that feeling? (image selection)

That’s not decoration. That’s design.

How to Practice the B-Roll Grid

Start with a single scene—an interview, a voiceover section, or a real-time moment. Then:

1. Break Down the Dialogue

Find emotional peaks, keywords, and tonal shifts. These are your anchor points. Go through the sequence and place locators at each evocative, or emotional, or descriptive line of dialogue.

This is a reminder for you to create some kind of strong connective glue between the sync (dialogue) and the images (B Roll).

2. Separate Your B-Roll Into Two Types

•  Sequential shots → group them into micro-narratives (each chain is a story arc).
•  Illustrative shots → identify the mood or information each one adds.

3. Build the Grid

•  Place sequential chains across your horizontal timeline to shape progression.
•  Align emotional B-Roll vertically—right on top of the exact words or moments that need emphasis.

Watch how the scene locks together like a beautifully designed puzzle. That is way more powerful.

Why Most Editors Never Learn B-Roll Editing at This Level

Because this isn’t in tutorials. It’s not in YouTube crash courses. It’s not taught in film school either. Most editors only learn this by cutting thousands of hours of footage under pressure—and being corrected by senior editors (if they’re lucky).

But it’s only the beginning.

What You’re Really Editing Isn’t Shots—It’s Emotions

The deeper truth is this:

You're not editing clips.
You're not layering footage.
You’re building emotions out of the connections between dialogue and B Roll.

B-Roll isn’t filler. It’s not a visual aid. It’s an emotional delivery system.

And when you learn to use both axes—horizontal narrative and vertical emotional alignment—you stop being an assembler and start being a storyteller.

Final Thought: The Power Behind Every B-Roll Edit

Do you want the viewer to understand what’s being said—or to feel it?

Do you want to show action—or tell a story?

The difference lies in how you use the grid. Once you see it, you’ll never cut the same way again.

Don’t waste any more time, go and practice this right now. Within an hour or two of trial and error, your scenes will radically change for the better.

Stay cool, stay safe and stay cutting.

Paddy

FAQs About B-Roll

What is B-Roll, really?

B-Roll is secondary footage—shots of people, places, or objects that support or illustrate the story. But in the hands of a professional editor, it’s far more than filler. B-Roll becomes a storytelling tool that reinforces scene intention, reveals subtext, and shapes the rhythm of a scene—like a conductor guiding a symphony.

What’s the difference between sequential and illustrative B-Roll?

There are two completely different types of B-Roll:

• Sequential B-Roll is a chain of shots that show a process, journey, or flow of action—each shot is a link in a visual mini-story.

• Illustrative B-Roll is made up of standalone images that add mood, tone, or context to a scene.

You can’t edit both the same way—and recognising the difference is your first breakthrough.

Why do professional editors use a “B-Roll grid”?

Because powerful B-Roll editing happens on two axes:

• The horizontal axis (story progression)

• The vertical axis (emotional alignment)

This invisible grid is how pros structure their edits. It’s not about decorating the timeline—it’s about engineering it. Once you see the grid, you’ll never cut the same way again.