Ask any editor what saves a corporate video in the edit, and most will say the same thing: b-roll. It’s the footage that plays over a voiceover or interview — the wide shots, the close-ups of hands working, the product on the line, the team in the office. Get enough of the right b-roll and a film feels rich and effortless. Get too little and you’re stuck staring at a talking head for two minutes, wishing you’d shot more.
So how much do you actually need? Here’s a practical answer, based on how we plan shoots so the edit never runs dry.
The rough ratio: 5 to 10 times your final runtime
A useful starting point is that you want roughly 5–10 minutes of usable b-roll for every one minute of finished video. A two-minute company overview, then, wants somewhere in the region of 10–20 minutes of varied b-roll to cut from.
That sounds like a lot, but it goes quickly once you account for variety. You’re not shooting one long take — you’re gathering many short, deliberate shots you can layer under the story.
It’s about coverage, not just quantity
Raw minutes matter less than whether you’ve covered the story from enough angles. For each key moment or location, we aim for a small set of shots:
- A wide shot to establish the space
- A mid shot to show the action or person in context
- A close-up or two for detail — hands, faces, a screen, a product
- A moving shot (gimbal, slider or slow pan) to add energy
Four or five angles of a single activity gives an editor real choice. One wide shot of the same thing gives them nothing to work with.
Match the b-roll to the script
The biggest waste on a shoot is filming lots of footage that never gets used because it doesn’t relate to anything being said. If the voiceover talks about precision, we shoot precise, detailed work. If it mentions the team, we get genuine shots of people collaborating — not stiff, staged group photos.
That’s why we like to know the rough script or key messages before the shoot day. It turns b-roll from “film everything and hope” into a focused shot list that maps to the story. You end up shooting less and using more.
When you need more (and when you need less)
A few things push the b-roll requirement up:
- Longer videos — a five-minute recruitment film needs far more variety than a 60-second social cut.
- Multiple locations or departments — each one needs its own coverage.
- Interview-led films — the more talking heads you have, the more b-roll you need to break them up and keep it visual.
And a few things reduce it: a tightly scripted, graphics-led piece, or a short social clip built around one strong scene, can work with much less.
The real cost of under-shooting
Skimping on b-roll feels like it saves time on the day, but it moves the problem to the edit — where it’s harder and more expensive to fix. An editor with thin footage has three bad options: hold shots too long, repeat the same clips, or lean on stock footage that doesn’t match. None of them make your company look its best.
Shooting enough coverage while the crew is already on site is almost always the cheaper choice. The camera’s set up, the location’s yours, the team’s ready — that’s the moment to be thorough.
The takeaway
Aim for 5–10 minutes of purposeful b-roll per finished minute, cover every key moment from several angles, and tie every shot to the story you’re telling. Do that and the edit has room to breathe — which is what makes a corporate video look polished rather than padded.
Planning a video and not sure what to capture? Tell us what you need and we’ll build a shot list that gets your edit everything it needs — no more, no less. Or call the team on 02380 016560.