B Roll Footage Ideas and Instagram Reels Filming Tips
Are you a small business owner who's ready to commit to posting Instagram reels successfully? B roll footage is one of my favorite hacks to capturing clips that feel natural and personal. This post covers lots of b roll footage ideas as well as Instagram reels filming tips that will save you time and energy.
What is b roll?
Never heard of b roll? B roll footage are those behind-the-scenes, organic clips. They are versatile and can be repurposed in a variety of ways. B roll is beloved by so many business owners because it's easy to capture, requires little effort, and it feels natural to the viewers on the other end.
B Roll Footage Ideas
Here are some b roll footage ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
Day in the Life
Day-in-the-life content is one of my FAVORITE types of content to create and consume. Believe it or not, people love to see the behind-the-scenes moments. It may feel boring to you, but those mundane tasks and routines are actually what connect us all.
How do you capture day-in-the-life b roll footage? Set your phone up on a tripod and carry it around with you throughout your day. Take short, 5-10 second clips as you go about your workday. At the end of the day, you can stitch these clips together and add trending audio with text or a voiceover.
Getting Ready
We've all seen a GRWM (get ready with me) video. Film clips of yourself doing your hair, putting on makeup, or whatever else you do to get ready for the day. These clips feel more personal to the viewer, like they're getting a glimpse into your routine.
Working from Anywhere
While I have my fair share of clips working in my home office, I try to record myself whenever I work from other places like coworking spaces, friends' houses, coffee shops, planes, etc. This gives me plenty of options and some variety in my feed, so I'm not always showing the same spot. Here’s an example clip of me working from my sister’s house, and here’s an example clip of me working from a coworking space.
Making Food or Drinks
Record some shots of you making your morning coffee or lunch. Sometimes I'll let my camera record for a few minutes straight, and then I'll cut out some of the white space in the video to add the jump cut effect.
Travel Clips
Going on vacation? Record some b roll footage! I usually ask my husband (bless his heart) to record some quick, 10 second clips of me when we're traveling. Traveling is something I love to do and it ties in well with my branding, so it only makes sense to include some clips of me in the airport, on a hiking trail, or exploring a cool museum.
Client Calls
You may or may not want to actually show your client when you're on a call, but you can take a quick 10 second clip of you talking while on Zoom. This establishes you as an authority by showcasing your work with a client, and it also doesn't add any extra work for you to film!
Reels Filming Tips
Many small business owners avoid filming reels because it takes too much time, but let's work smarter and not harder. Here are some of my best reels filming tips to create more in less time.
Plan Ahead and Batch Content
If you're always flying by the seat of your pants, of course reels filming will take up so much time. Instead, plan ahead! My favorite way to do this is first to use a content calendar. This allows you to plan out your concepts for each reel and assign it a due date, so you never have to create at the last minute. Click here to snag the content calendar template I use and recommend.
Next, create a checklist of all your video clips you need to film that correspond with those reels on your content calendar. I like to film reels for 2-4 weeks at a time. I also have a free guide teaching you how to batch a month of reels in a day that you can snag here.
Lastly, batch your content! That was implied, but don't film one reel a day. Try to knock out as many as you can in the time you have available. This means you only have to get ready and set up your camera once, and then you're prepared for weeks to come.
Record at Different Angles
Most of my best reels were shot at different angles. I usually use around 3 different angles for the same scene, and film the exact same scene 3 times. Then during editing, I'll go in and cut it seamlessly at each angle. This is more entertaining and engaging to watch, and it creates a system for reels filming.
Use the 0.5x, 1x, and 3x Lenses
Since you're filming at different angles, you can also experiment with the lenses. If your phone has this capability, try using the 0.5x, 1x, and 3x lenses. This gives you so much variety and again, results in more engaging reels that people actually want to watch.
Lay out All Your Outfits at Once
Does anyone actually care if you have the same outfit on in all your reels? Probably not, but if you DO want to change it up, lay out all your outfits at once before you start filming. I usually wear jeans and put a pile of different shirts on my bed, so I can easy swap out shirts for each reel. I'm not saying you absolutely need to do this, but it's easier to lay things out at once instead of looking for a new shirt after every video.
How to Make a Social Media Plan
Did these reels filming tips help, but you still don't know what to post on social media? This is exactly what my 60-minute strategy sessions are for! During our strategy session together, we can cover your overall marketing strategy with a heavy focus on your content. You'll gain social media clarity and end up with tons of notes and action items to implement immediately after your call.
Click here to book your strategy session, and I can't wait to help you with your social media plan!
