Guide
UGC b-roll is the product shots you cut in on the words that name the product
Updated
UGC b-roll is every shot in the ad that isn't you talking to the camera: the product close up, in your hands and doing its job. It works best on the exact words where you mention what it shows.
In short
- UGC b-roll is every shot in a UGC ad that isn't the creator talking to camera, mostly the product close up, in use and showing its result.
- A good b-roll shot list covers product close-ups, your hands using it, a texture or detail shot, the result, a flat lay and a wide shot of the room.
- Each shot goes on the words that name what it shows, so the viewer sees the zip pocket while you say "zip pocket".
- Your own shots of the real product beat stock clips, because stock can't show your product.
- Cutroom's Magic Editor puts your product photos and clips on the right words for you, and adds stock clips from Pexels and Pixabay for the other moments.
What b-roll does a UGC ad need?
A UGC ad needs b-roll that shows the product working, not just sitting on a table. Influee, a UGC platform, defines b-roll as every shot in the ad that isn't the creator talking to camera.
You need less than you'd think, but it changes often. Influee says a 30-second UGC ad usually cuts to b-roll 6 to 10 times, for a second or two each.
- Product shots show what it looks like, such as the label, the packaging or the product in your hand.
- Use shots show it working, such as pouring, zipping, applying or plugging it in.
- Result shots show what changed, such as clean skin, a tidy sofa or a phone that fits.
- Context shots show where it lives, such as your kitchen, your gym bag or your desk.
What to film as UGC b-roll
Film your b-roll before you film yourself talking, and before you open or use the product. Influee's reason is simple: half the shot list is gone once the packaging is off.
Roll about 10 seconds on each shot, even though the edit uses a second or two. That gives the editor room to pick the steadiest moment.
A UGC b-roll shot list, filmed for a running belt
The shot types follow Influee's brief example. The running belt is an example product.
| Shot | How many | For a running belt |
|---|---|---|
| Product close-up | 2 | The belt on a table, the logo readable |
| Hands using it | 2 | Zipping the pocket, clipping the buckle |
| Texture or detail | 1 | The zip and the stretchy fabric up close |
| Result | 1 | Phone and keys inside, pocket closed |
| Flat lay | 1 | Belt, phone, keys and earbuds from above |
| Wide of the room | 1 | The hallway with your trainers, belt small in the frame |
Shot: Product close-up
- How many
- 2
- For a running belt
- The belt on a table, the logo readable
Shot: Hands using it
- How many
- 2
- For a running belt
- Zipping the pocket, clipping the buckle
Shot: Texture or detail
- How many
- 1
- For a running belt
- The zip and the stretchy fabric up close
Shot: Result
- How many
- 1
- For a running belt
- Phone and keys inside, pocket closed
Shot: Flat lay
- How many
- 1
- For a running belt
- Belt, phone, keys and earbuds from above
Shot: Wide of the room
- How many
- 1
- For a running belt
- The hallway with your trainers, belt small in the frame
How Cutroom's Magic Editor edits a video like this
Jacob is the AI editor inside Cutroom's Magic Editor: it edits your video for you, then changes it when you ask in a chat.
The 4 styles, as example edits
Steps
Three steps, four angles
Skit
Hook, hard stop, demo card
Verdict
The tester's verdict
Poster
Typography does the talking
Hover or tap an example to play it, without sound. These are example edits of each style; the presenters in them are generated with AI.
- Your take: one video of you talking, up to 3 minutes
- Your style: one of 4: Steps, Skit, Verdict or Poster
- Your files: screenshots, a screen recording or a logo, if you have them
- Your goal: what the video is for, in a few words, if you like
- Jacob makes it: normally 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email
- Your edit: ask Jacob for changes in a chat, then export
Then you ask Jacob, for example
- “Make this about 10 seconds shorter”
- “Put a clip on the strongest sentence”
- “Change the music to something calmer”
Each change is a new version, and going back is free. First cut 250 credits, each change 40, questions free, export 30 credits per started minute.
Where b-roll goes in the edit
Put each shot on the words that name what it shows. When you say "zip pocket", the viewer should see the zip pocket, not your face and not a random clip.
By hand, that means listening for each word and lining the shot up with it. In Cutroom's Magic Editor, Jacob does it from the words in your clip.
- In the "Your files" step you add product photos and short clips, and product photos are cut in on the right word.
- You can add up to 20 files per video. Pictures can be PNG, JPEG or WebP up to 25 MB; recordings can be MP4, MOV or WebM up to 200 MB.
- To move a shot, tap the words in the transcript and put the file on them. That's free.
- For more b-roll, ask Jacob something like "Add more b-roll in the first half". The change makes a new version.
A running belt review with the product shots on the words
The shots land on the words that name them: the pocket on "pocket", the keys inside on "keys". Jacob's stock clip goes on the run itself, where no product is named.
Drawing of an example clip, not a customer video
Before · the clip as filmed
A 40-second phone video of a runner in her hallway reviewing a running belt
“So, um, I wear this belt on every run. The zip, the The zip pocket fits my phone and my keys … (pause) and it doesn't bounce.”
struck through = what Jacob cuts
After · Jacob's first edit, Skit style
“I wear this belt on every run. The zip pocket fits my phone and my keys and it doesn't bounce.”
- On “belt”: your product photo belt.jpg in a card over your face
- On “pocket”: your clip zip.mp4 of the pocket being zipped, in the card
- On “keys”: your photo keys-inside.jpg of the phone and keys in the pocket
- On “run”: a stock clip of a running path from Pexels, found by Jacob
window: belt.jpg
Then you ask Jacob
- “Add more b-roll in the first half”v2v2: one more of your clips in the first half, the rest of the edit unchanged
Your own product shots or stock clips
Use your own shots for anything about the product. A stock clip can show a running path or a kitchen, but it can't show your belt, your serum or your app.
The worst case is a stock clip of a stranger on a line where you say "I". The viewer sees someone else while you talk about yourself, and the ad stops feeling real.
- Jacob looks for b-roll in your own clip library first, then on the stock sites Pexels and Pixabay, and puts each clip on the words it belongs to. Your own files always come first.
- The app says it plainly when you skip the files step: without them Jacob uses stock clips, and stock never beats your own footage.
- Cutroom doesn't generate AI b-roll. Every clip is yours or from a stock site.
- If a brand asks for b-roll as separate files, send your shots on their own as well. Influee's brief example asks for exactly that.
The same line with your own shot and with stock
The line "the zip pocket fits my phone and my keys", two ways. The right column is what to avoid.
What the viewer sees
- Your own shot
- Your belt, your phone, your keys
- A stock clip of a stranger
- Someone else's bag on someone else's run
Does it prove the claim?
- Your own shot
- Yes, the phone and keys fit on camera
- A stock clip of a stranger
- No, it shows a different product
Does it feel like UGC?
- Your own shot
- Yes, filmed in your own hallway
- A stock clip of a stranger
- No, it looks like an ad
| Your own shot | A stock clip of a stranger | |
|---|---|---|
| What the viewer sees | Your belt, your phone, your keys | Someone else's bag on someone else's run |
| Does it prove the claim? | Yes, the phone and keys fit on camera | No, it shows a different product |
| Does it feel like UGC? | Yes, filmed in your own hallway | No, it looks like an ad |
Questions people ask
- What is b-roll in UGC?
- It's every shot in a UGC ad that isn't the creator talking to camera: the product close up, your hands using it, the result and where it lives.
- How much b-roll does a UGC ad need?
- A shot every few seconds. Influee says a 30-second UGC ad usually cuts to b-roll 6 to 10 times, for a second or two each.
- What b-roll shots should I film for UGC?
- Start with two product close-ups, two shots of your hands using it, a detail shot, a result shot, a flat lay and a wide shot of the room. Film them before you open the product.
- How long should each b-roll clip be?
- Film about 10 seconds per shot, even though the edit uses a second or two. The extra gives room to pick the steadiest moment.
- Can I use stock footage as UGC b-roll?
- For background moments, yes. For anything about the product, no, because stock can't show your product. Avoid stock clips of strangers on lines where you talk about yourself.
- Should I send b-roll to the brand as separate files?
- Yes, if the brief asks for it. Influee's example brief asks for b-roll as separate files, so send the shots on their own in a /b-roll folder as well as cut into the edit.
Film your shot list first, then yourself, and let Jacob put each shot on its words. Your first video is free.