How to find b-roll in your footage without scrubbing every clip
On a wedding or event, the b-roll is scattered across every camera: details, the venue, the room filling up, the drone pass. Basecut tags every clip by kind of shot and how it was filmed, notes what is in it, and lets you search by description, so the b-roll lands in its own bin in your editor.
Last checked 2026-10-26, against Basecut 4.1.1.
Where a step names Basecut, it is our product, so judge that part on your own footage. Tagging b-roll before the edit is worth doing whatever tool you use.
The tags you can filter by
| Tag type | Values | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Kind of shot | Interview, b-roll, action, establishing | Splitting talking clips from cutaways. |
| How it was filmed | Drone, gimbal, tripod, handheld, vehicle | Finding the smooth moving shots and aerials. |
| Rating | Hero (5 stars) to junk (1 star) | Putting the strongest details first. |
| What is in it | Objects, text on screen, landmarks, place | Searching for one specific shot. |
Step by step
1. Import the whole shoot, every camera
Point Basecut at the cards or the job folder. B-roll is usually spread across the main camera, a gimbal and a drone, so bring them all in one run. The originals are never changed.
2. Let every clip be tagged
Basecut tags the kind of shot (interview, b-roll, action, establishing) and how it was filmed (drone, gimbal, tripod, handheld, vehicle), rates it from hero to junk, and notes what is in it: objects, text on screen, landmarks and the place, when the camera recorded GPS.
3. Filter to b-roll and establishing shots
Use the tags to narrow the shoot to b-roll and establishing clips, then sort by rating so the strongest details come first.
4. Search for the specific shot you need
Type a short description in the Library: "table settings", "venue sign", "drone over the venue", "candles". Search matches the notes and the meaning of your words, across every shoot you have analyzed, so last month's venue b-roll is findable too.
5. Send it to your editor organized by shot type
Set "Organise clips by" to shot type, rating or both. Resolve gets bins, Premiere Pro gets label colors and a sequence per verdict, and Final Cut Pro gets keyword collections, so b-roll sits in its own place when you start cutting.
Where it goes wrong
- The line between b-roll and action is a judgment call. A dance-floor shot may be tagged either way, so search by what happened as well as by tag.
- Place names need GPS in the file. Many cinema cameras do not record it, so use folder names or a venue description instead.
- Tags describe the shot, not whether it fits your story. Picking the cutaway that matches the moment is still your edit.
For building a searchable library across many shoots, see How to organize hours of video footage.
More guides
Questions people ask
Can software tag b-roll automatically?
Yes. Basecut tags every clip by kind of shot (interview, b-roll, action, establishing) and by how it was filmed (drone, gimbal, tripod, handheld, vehicle), and those tags become bins or keyword collections in your editor.
Can I search footage by what is in the shot?
Yes. Search reads the notes saved for each clip (what happens, objects, text on screen, landmarks, place and spoken words) and matches by meaning as well as by words, on your own computer.
Does it search older shoots too?
Yes. Search covers every shoot in your library, and folder names are searched too, so a venue or client name narrows it down.
Can it find every shot of a specific person?
Not today. Face search ships switched off, so search by what the person is doing or saying instead.
Does tagging upload my footage?
Not with Argus, Basecut's own AI, which runs on an Apple Silicon Mac with 16 GB of memory or a Windows PC with an NVIDIA card with 10 GB or more of video memory. Basecut Cloud, included on paid plans, is a faster option that sends reduced-size copies of clips to Google. Search always runs on your computer.
Your b-roll, already in a bin
Basecut tags every clip by kind of shot and how it was filmed, makes it searchable by what is in it, and sends it to Resolve, Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro organized. Mac and Windows. 14-day free trial, 5 free exports, no card.
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