A-roll

[ ey-rohl ]

noun

1. primary video footage for a story, television show, or film, shot by the principal film crew and the director, recording both video and audio of the people interviewed for a news story or the lead actors in a film or show: Compare B-roll ( def 2 ).

   The producer needed two crews to shoot A-roll and B-roll simultaneously to match the tricky weather conditions in the exterior scenes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of A-roll¹

First recorded in 1980–85; as opposed to the B-roll containing stock footage or background video

Example Sentences

The A-roll and the B-roll don’t quite match.

From Los Angeles Times

All is a-swing and dipping and a-roll.

From Project Gutenberg

So as she watched them in the waltz, seasoned artificialist as she was, Katharine for a breath had had need of all her address to keep the ball of conversation sparklingly a-roll.

From Project Gutenberg

Pitiless surge and driving hail, A ship a-roll in a dazing roar, A shoulder split on an iron rail, And a hobble to death on the further shore.

From Project Gutenberg

The thissledown by wind's a-roll'd In Fall along the zunny plaïn, Did catch the grass, but lose its hold, Or cling to bennets, but in vaïn.

From Project Gutenberg