Glossary
B-roll
Supplementary footage shot around a main production — establishing shots, cutaways, and process shots. Production archives hold large volumes of b-roll that never reached the public web.
Productions shoot far more than they publish — establishing shots, cutaways, process footage, alternate takes. That surplus sits unpublished in archives and asset managers, giving it the not-in-the-crawl property by default. It often carries fewer third-party elements than the finished cut, such as licensed music, though people in frame still need clearance checks.
Why it matters
Unused footage has licensing value independent of the programme it was shot for.