5 Reasons you need to build a video library for your business
Here’s a simple yes or no answer question: Do you have a video library of generic footage for you business?
If you answered “No”, then you need to correct that. There is so much value in having b-roll footage ready to use at any time and you can build a collection during one day of filming.
Here is what you need to know about building a video library. 
What is b-roll?
B-roll is the industry term for footage that can be used anywhere during a video. There is purposeful b-roll – footage that will be used to illustrate what we are hearing in a video. For example, when we hear a restaurant owner talking about the skill of the chef, the b-roll footage will be of a chef cutting or sautéing or running the kitchen. B-roll that is generic – with no specific purpose – can be used for any kind of video. An example of this is footage of your store, your products, or your customers from various angles and shots (think close-up, extreme close-up, eye-level, overhead, etc.)
Case Study: Clean Club Calgary
We have worked on many projects with Clean Club Calgary. Over the years we’ve created content for their YouTube and social media channels. We’ve produced videos for onboarding new clients and for explaining systems such as the procedure for getting an estimate and booking an appointment. The owner, Judith Virag, asked for a full day of filming footage. We were going to shoot everything job-related: pulling up to the home, unloading the car, washing, mopping, dusting, vacuuming. The shot list was long, comprised of filming the same actions but from a variety of angles and using many different effects: close-ups, artistic shots, slow-motion, etc. The goal was to build a library of footage to be used at any time. After a day of shooting, I pulled everything into my production bay, choosing the best and colour correcting every clip. In the end, Judith had a library of almost 100 clips.
5 Reasons you need a video library
- Media interviews are easy to book when you can tell the producer you already have b-roll footage. Judith has had television appearances and is booking more. “I am going to work with CTV again. It helps me so much [to have a video library],” she says. “They like me too because I have all the videos and pictures. So handy.”
- Footage can be edited into social media ready stories and reels. We recently created two for Clean Club Calgary, using the footage we shot months ago.
- You own the footage. Forever. To do whatever you want with it. No royalties to pay, no claims of copyright to worry about. Forever and ever, amen.
- You have control over who accesses, shares, or alters the video. You have 100% creative control. You can easily make changes and create new video.
- A hub of video is an easy way to manage and store all your video assets. You’ll be more driven to access and use your video assets if you have a significant number of them collected in one, easy to access place.
If you need more information or want to chat about the options for building a video library, please book a free discovery call.