Filming live has its own set of hurdles and challenges as opposed to filming in a controlled, staged environment. When recording something like a wedding, there is no chance to shout cut! or re-do scenes. Once the moment has passed, it won’t be coming back.
When editing live shots, one has to pay special attention to the scenes that need to be cut. An accidental sneeze, or an out-of-place sound can easily ruin the mood and rhythm of the film. When one has no choice but to cut out the ruined footage, how can one go about piecing the film back together?
This is where the B-roll, or the ‘safety footage’ comes in. The B-roll refers to shots that the filmmaker initially has no intention of putting on the finished version of the video. But the B-roll becomes extremely important when patching up scenes that need to be cut. This acts as a video band-aid of sorts. Do this well and no one will be able to spot the mistakes in your video.
photo credit: clarkambulance.com