When you picture someone creating a vlog, you probably picture a person holding a camera directly pointed back at them as they speak to it and share their story. Many vlogs contain this type of A-roll footage, but it doesn’t make for very engaging content if the view of a talking head is the only thing you see. That’s why some of the best vloggers incorporate dynamic B-roll footage into their content. This footage can support your A-roll and really bring your vlog to life. It also provides something to cut-away to if you need to make discreet edits to your A-roll. Creator Lizzie Peirce (@lizziepeirce) uses B-roll footage to make compelling videos for her YouTube Channel. In this video, the popular vlogger and Sony Vlog Challenge Contest judge shows how you can film a sequence from start to finish. Watch as she breaks it down below, and create and submit your own vlog to the Sony Vlog Challenge Contest by September 27 for your chance to win a Sony ZV-E10 camera.

Popular vlogger and Sony Vlog Challenge Contest judge Lizzie Peirce shares how to film a B-roll sequence from start to finish, and how you can use it to take your vlogs to the next level.

Peirce walks through each shot in their shot list for a B-roll sequence of actor Joelle Farrow @joellefarrow going for a run. Using the Sony Alpha 7S III and Sony 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master on the Zhiyun Weebill 2 gimbal, she explains what movement she will make to capture the footage she needs. “For the first shot, we’ve got the gimbal in sling mode and we’re going to do a really slow push-in toward the hill and Joelle will walk up and kind of arrive at the top of the hill, stop, do some stretches...and that will be the end of our opening shot.”

Planning out your shot list can help you line up your shoot in a way that makes the most sense. Peirce explains how they group shots to make the shoot more efficient. “We’ve kind of grouped everything together to do all of the similar styles of shots at the beginning,” she explains. “Everything we need this lens for, and everything that just makes sense to do from the ground. And all of our tracking shots we’re doing afterward. So we’re kind of shooting out of order, but it makes sense to us – and that’s why we have a shot list.”

Once every shot on her shot list is completed, Peirce is able to hit the editing room to complete a full sequence of dynamic and compelling footage. When you have a solid variety of footage to choose from, you can put together a vlog that captivates your viewers.