---
name: b_roll_strategy
description: Plan and shoot b-roll that actually carries a video — coverage systems (5-shot, 9-shot, wide/medium/tight), shot-list generation with coverage math, and cutting-on-action continuity technique. Use when planning a video shoot, building a b-roll shot list, figuring out how much coverage to shoot, or editing cut points so cuts disappear.
---

# B-Roll Strategy

## Purpose

Turn a script or shoot plan into enough *usable* coverage that the edit never goes flat — and turn that footage into cuts the viewer never notices. This skill covers three jobs: **coverage planning** (what to shoot), **coverage math** (how much), and **cutting on action** (how it joins).

## Workflow

1. **Map the A-roll.** Get the script beats or talking-head/VO segments with approximate durations. Every beat with a jump cut or VO stretch is a coverage obligation.
2. **Assign coverage per beat.** Use one coverage system per scene (see `references/shot-patterns.md`):
   - 5-shot sequence for process/activity scenes (popularized by Michael Rosenblum).
   - 9-shot rule (2 establishing / 2 wide / 2 medium / 2 close-up / 1 unique angle) for location or general coverage.
   - Wide/medium/tight triple for anything unscripted: "the wide tells where, the medium tells who, the tight tells what."
3. **Do the coverage math.** For each beat: count the jump-cut points and VO stretches; each one needs a distinct insert (no repeating the same macro twice unless it's a deliberate style). Add a 20–30% coverage buffer — some shots always fail. Use `bin/broll_plan.py` to generate the shot list from a beats JSON file.
4. **Prioritize.** Mark every shot P1 (video fails without it — payoffs, thumbnail, hook), P2 (plan depends on it), P3 (nice-to-have). On a rushed shoot day, P3s die first.
5. **Shoot disciplined.** Hold every shot at least 5–10 seconds (teaching standard: 20 seconds) — short holds produce clips that start late or end early and can't be trimmed. Record ~20 s of room tone. Two usable takes per insert, minimum.
6. **Cut on action.** When joining shots, cut *in the middle of* a movement, not at its start or end (see `references/cut-cheatsheet.md`): end shot A as the action is under way, start shot B in the middle of the same action. The viewer's eye follows the motion and the edit disappears.

## Output Contract

- **Shot list** (markdown table): `# | Beat ref | Shot description | Type | Framing/Movement | Priority` — every row names a specific shot ("hands adjusting the tripod knob, close-up, 4s"), never "misc b-roll".
- **Coverage totals**: shots needed, buffer included, estimated raw shoot time at 20-second holds.
- **Continuity checklist**: 180-degree rule, 30-degree rule, eyeline matches, spatial/temporal consistency — verified before the shoot, not discovered in the edit.

## Operating Rules

1. Name the exact overlay per beat — vagueness is the #1 reason b-roll goes unused.
2. Never let a beat depend on a shot that doesn't exist yet; if it's not on the list, it's not in the edit.
3. Cutting on action only works if the action actually overlaps both shots — plan pairs of shots *designed* to cut together.
4. When the coverage math says you're short, say so and trim P3s — don't quietly under-shoot.
5. If the script has more VO than visuals can support, flag it back as a script problem; b-roll can't rescue a density mismatch.