What Is A-Roll Footage? And How YouTubers Can Effectively Use It
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As a YouTuber, it’s important to understand the ins and outs of video production—after all, what is YouTube but amateur television? Within that, a-roll plays an incredibly important part in video content creation.
A-roll is the most created and used type of footage, but not the most talked about. That role belongs to b-roll. However, given a-roll is so commonly used, you should probably understand what it is as well as the different types of a-roll shots.
What Is A-Roll Footage?
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A-roll is the primary footage that captures the main subject of the video. Think about when you’re watching a video and there is footage of people talking directly to the camera. That is considered a-roll—it’s incredibly straightforward and helps to drive the story along.
There are several different types of a-roll, but they all serve the same purpose of showing the viewer the main plot points.
How Is A-Roll Different From B-Roll?
Black and White Recording of Hallway
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B-roll is considered to be the secondary footageof a video. Its primary purposes are to add to the storyline, immerse the viewers, and enhance the main footage.
While a-roll is direct and usually planned, b-roll is more crafty in filming style. It can provide visual aid through recordings of scenery, background movement, and other small details that will complement the story.
One cool aspect about b-roll footage is that it can be used to hide any awkward edits or a-roll that didn’t go quite as planned. It acts like a patch hiding the mishaps from viewers.
However, even though b-roll is fun and exceptionally useful, it doesn’t have a place in a video without a-roll.
How A-Roll Affects YouTube Videos
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A-roll is more than just footage of a person doing an activity—it helps influence the effectiveness of your video. It has several functions which allow a creator touse storytelling to make a quality YouTube video.
A-roll gives you the opportunity to make a connection with your audience. Sometimes, having b-roll can be cool to create emotion, but there are times when your viewers are going to want to watch your reactions, hear what you think about a situation, and physically see you in your environment. It gives them the feeling as if they’re a part of your story, and you’re talking to them.
Additionally, this connection through a-roll will allow you to establish trust with the audience. You’ll have the chance to share your experiences and thoughts while also being a part of the video.
With that being said, adding a good mix of a-roll and b-roll will give visual variety. Instead of having a full video of b-roll and a voiceover, you can blend the two styles of footage to create a more engaging and exciting experience.
Different Types of A-Roll Shots
You may be thinking that if you just point the camera and press record, you’ll have all the a-roll footage you’ll need for a good YouTube video. That’s not entirely true, though.
You’ll need to consider the type of a-roll shot you want for each type of situation you’ll be recording—and there are so many to choose from.
Below are just a handful of the different a-roll options you can choose when recording yourself or another person. Using them effectively in your YouTube videos will take your content to the next level.
Talking Head Shot
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A talking head shot is when a person is directly facing the camera while speaking to the audience. Usually, the person’s head and shoulders are framed in the shot, so the focus is on what they are saying.
You see this style of shot frequently in vlogs when the person is sitting down talking to the camera and explaining their video’s topic.
Medium Shot
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A medium shot will show the person in the frame from the waist up, whether they’re talking or not. This type of shot allows the background to still be prevalent with a closer look at body language.
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A long shot, also called a wide shot, can be one of the most fun shots to get when you have a spectacular background. It shoots the subject from a distance and allows the scenery to be the focal point of the shot.
Imagine setting up your camera from a distance and walking out on a ledge of a mountain. This type of shot was made for that iconic moment.
Close-Up Shot
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Taking close-up shotsis exactly how it sounds—a closer look at the subject’s face. This shot allows the audience to get a more intimate look at the emotions and reactions to situations.
Over-the-Shoulder Shot
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Using over-the-shoulder shotsis fun because it gives the audience a new perspective to view what the person in the video is seeing. It’s taken from behind a person, so you can still see their head and back, with the camera angled over their shoulder to see the object they are facing.
The biggest thing with this style of shot is just making sure the focus is right. You don’t want to have the object the person is facing blurred out the whole time because then the audience won’t understand what they should be viewing.
Point-of-View Shot
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A point-of-view shot acts like the first-person perspective in a video game. The camera acts as your eyes and allows the audience to view what you’re viewing.
If you’re looking and talking about a leaf on the ground, the camera will look down at the leaf just as your own eyes would.
Insert Shot
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An insert shot is ideal for when you want to get a close-up of an object or a specific moment in a scene. It helps to add details that may go unnoticed if you use a different shot style.
For example, if you’re making coffee in a French press, it would be cool to have an insert shot of you pouring the coffee into your mug.
Reaction Shot
Reaction shots help to capture emotion and facial expressions when something is occurring in the video. It’s a great way to help your audience feel the same emotions that the people in the video are feeling.
There could be a surprise birthday party in your video. When people jump out to surprise the birthday person, that would be the moment you would catch the reaction shot of them being shocked and excited.
Walk-and-Talk Shot
You see walk-and-talk shots a lot on YouTube. It can be done by a camera person following the main subject who is talking. However, you’ll also see it done by someone walking with their camera in their hands pointed at their face, and they’re talking into it.
This style of shot helps to create movement within the video, so it feels as if the storyline is continuing with the person walking.
Use a Variety of A-Roll Footage to Create an Engaging YouTube Video
No matter the storyline or what equipment you have, a-roll is necessary to create a compelling YouTube video. There are so many shots to choose from, too.
For best practice, plan your a-roll footage and capture b-roll that will complement it, and you’ll be sure to have a well-round, successful video.
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