Definition

Video or film shot from a secondary camera. B roll is intermixed with footage from the principal camera (the A reel) and edited to produce a finished program, usually known as the "master."

Source: Society of American Archivists. Glossary of Archival and Records Terminology. Accessed on June 21, 2018. https://www2.archivists.org/glossary/terms/b/b-reel.

Introduction

In traditional film editing, A/B rolling is a technique to hide splices. The A roll starts with the first segment of film. It is the first roll to be printed onto raw film stock. The B roll starts with the second segment of film. It is the second roll to be printed onto raw film stock. Video editing does not require printing or splicing film, but A/B rolling is still used generally to refer to editing video projects that involve multiple cameras.

A roll and B roll footage are typically considered "working files" created during the course of an audiovisual production. 

Related terms

Learning resources

1. The University Archives Manual addresses A roll and B roll in the page on archival appraisal of sound recordings and moving images.

References

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