30 B-Roll Ideas for Talking Head Videos

B-roll is any footage that plays over or between shots of you talking, to show what you are describing. For talking-head videos, the best B-roll falls into five groups: proof (show it is real), process (show how it is done), place (show where), emotion (show how it feels) and data (show the numbers). Below are 30 ideas across those groups, most of which you can shoot on a phone in an afternoon or create without a camera at all.

What B-roll is for

B-roll is not decoration. Every cutaway should do at least one of these jobs:

• Clarify something that is hard to picture from words alone.
• Prove a claim, so the viewer does not just have to trust you.
• Reset attention with a visual change during a long explanation.
• Hide a cut so jump cuts feel smooth (see jump cuts explained).

The test is simple: if you removed this cutaway, would the viewer lose anything? If not, you probably do not need it.

Proof B-roll (shows it is real)

1. Screen recordings of the app, website or dashboard you are talking about. Blur personal information.
2. Screenshots of results: a before-and-after, an email you received (with names hidden), an analytics chart from your own account.
3. The physical object on your desk, filmed close up as you mention it.
4. Receipts, tickets or documents with sensitive details covered.
5. Your own past content: an old video or post you are referencing.
6. Behind-the-scenes clips of you doing the thing you teach.

Process B-roll (shows how)

7. Hands doing the task: typing, writing, cooking, assembling. Hands are one of the most watchable shots there is.
8. Overhead desk shots of a notebook, a plan or a sketch being drawn.
9. Step-by-step screen captures, sped up where steps are repetitive.
10. Time-lapses of something that takes a while, like a workspace being set up.
11. Close-ups of settings: a camera dial, a phone settings screen, a slider being moved.
12. Mistake then fix: show the wrong way briefly, then the right way.

Place and context B-roll (shows where)

13. Establishing shots of your city, office, studio or the place a story happened.
14. Walking shots: you entering a room or walking down a street, filmed from behind.
15. Details of the environment: a sign, a door, a coffee cup, a window with rain.
16. Your workspace from a few angles, useful as neutral cutaways in any video.
17. Travel or event clips when you mention a trip or a conference.
18. Maps you create yourself, with a simple animated line between places.

Emotion and reaction B-roll (shows how it feels)

19. A second angle of you reacting, nodding or thinking, filmed in the same session.
20. Close-up of eyes or hands for tense or reflective moments.
21. Slow everyday moments: pouring tea, closing a laptop, looking out of a window. Great for stories about burnout, decisions or change.
22. Licensed stock of people in situations your viewer recognizes, such as commuting or working late, used sparingly.
23. Old personal photos (yours, with consent from anyone in them) when telling your backstory.
24. Illustrations or generated images that depict a specific moment you describe, when you have no real footage of it.

Data and text visuals (shows the numbers)

25. Key phrase on screen: the one sentence you want people to remember, in large text.
26. Animated numbers counting up to a figure you mention.
27. Simple bar or line charts made from your own data.
28. Checklists where items tick off as you say them.
29. Comparison cards: two columns, "before" and "after," "myth" and "fact."
30. Diagrams: arrows and boxes showing a process or relationship.

Text and data visuals are technically motion graphics rather than filmed B-roll, but they do the same job. More in motion graphics for YouTube.

How often to use B-roll

Pace depends on format and content:

• Short-form (Reels, Shorts, TikTok): frequent visual changes help hold attention. Many creators change something on screen every few seconds, whether a cutaway, a text pop or a zoom.
• Long-form YouTube: more relaxed. Stay on your face for stories and opinions; bring in B-roll for explanations, lists and proof.
• Emotional moments: often best with no B-roll at all. Your face is the content.

The most common mistake is matching B-roll to the topic rather than the sentence. If the video is about saving money, a generic piggy bank clip says nothing. If the sentence is "I cancelled three subscriptions in one evening," a screen recording of hitting "cancel" says everything.

Where to get B-roll without copyright trouble

• Shoot your own. The safest and most authentic option. Batch-shoot 20 to 30 generic clips of your workspace, hands and city and reuse them for months.
• Screen-record your own screen. Avoid showing other people's copyrighted content in full, and blur private data.
• Licensed stock libraries. Read each license; free does not always mean free for commercial use, and some require attribution.
• Create it. Text, charts, diagrams and simple animations you make yourself are fully yours.
• Generated visuals. Many tools now create images from a description. Check the tool's terms for commercial use, and avoid generating real people or brand logos.

Avoid grabbing clips from movies, TV or other creators' videos. "I only used a few seconds" is not a license, and it can get your video claimed or removed.

A simple B-roll shot list for one afternoon

If you have never shot B-roll, start with this list. It covers most talking-head topics and can be reused for months:

1. Your hands typing on a laptop, from the side and from above.
2. Writing in a notebook, close up.
3. Your phone in hand, scrolling (with a neutral screen).
4. Pouring a drink, opening a door, walking out of frame.
5. Your desk from three angles.
6. A window with natural light, and the view outside.
7. A slow pan across your bookshelf or workspace.
8. Your city or neighborhood: street, café, park.

Shoot each clip for about 10 seconds, steady, in the format you publish most (vertical or horizontal). Name the files clearly so you can find them later.

If shooting and placing B-roll is the part you never get to, an auto-editor can handle the visual layer for you. ShotFlick reads what you say in your raw talking-head clip and adds visuals, text and motion graphics in the style of the theme you choose, so every sentence that needs a picture gets one.