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 love was greatly diminished—evidently this was not the force which kept the wheels of industry a-roll.

From Project Gutenberg