B-roll: the shots that cut away from the speaker
B-roll is footage placed over or between the main shots of a video, such as a close-up of an object being talked about, to show what is being said. As of 2026-09-25.
OpusClip adds AI B-roll in one click. Kapwing has a B-roll generator. Captions generates custom B-roll with AI credits, and Submagic lists Magic B-rolls on its higher plans.
In short video, B-roll does a second job: it hides the cuts. A talking head trimmed for pace jumps at every edit, and a cutaway over the jump smooths it.
Automatic B-roll reads the transcript and places footage where a word suggests it. That works for concrete nouns and less well for ideas.
The footage comes from two places, a stock library or a generator. Stock is real footage licensed for use; generated B-roll is made for the moment and costs credits.
Too much B-roll takes the speaker off screen for long stretches, which loses the personal quality that holds a viewer in short video.
Each cutaway is worth checking against what is being said, since an app can match a word and miss its meaning.
The register counts B-roll the app picks or generates apart from stock the editor picks by hand.
| App | Feature | What the page says |
|---|---|---|
| OpusClip | B-roll | AI B-roll added in one click |
| Kapwing | B-roll | A B-roll generator |
| Captions | B-roll | Custom B-roll generated with AI credits |
| Submagic | B-roll | Magic B-rolls on its higher plans |
Inclusion rule. Readings from the register used on this page. Order. The order the text takes them in.
1From the apps' pages
Get relevant AI B-Roll in 1 click, under 1 minute
OpusClip pricing page
Generate relevant, high-quality B-Roll automatically
Kapwing pricing page
Generate custom B-roll, music, sound effects, images, and more
Captions pricing page
Magic B-rolls
Submagic pricing page
- FeaturesAI B-roll added in one click
- ToolsA B-roll generator
- Frontier planCustom B-roll generated with AI credits
- AI-powered toolsMagic B-rolls on its higher plans
Apps on this page: OpusClip · Kapwing · Captions · Submagic
2Where the footage comes from
Upstream of an app feature like “B-roll”, SceneMixer describes its own generation steps:
A micro drama (vertical drama) is a serialized show of 60–120 second episodes shot for phones.
SceneMixer, The AI Micro Drama Production Pipeline (read 2026-10-13)
An AI short drama is a serialized show of 60–120 second vertical episodes whose cast, sets and footage are generated by AI. Making one takes six steps: analyze the script into episodes, lock a consistent cast with reference art, localize for your market, write and edit storyboards, generate each 4–15 second shot, then composite and publish.
SceneMixer, How to Make an AI Short Drama, Step by Step (read 2026-10-13)