A content creator was quoted $800 for 30 seconds of custom B-roll. Using the workflow below, she created footage of the same quality for under $25, and her video outperformed previous content by 285% in engagement. If you’re still paying premium prices for B-roll, here’s how successful creators are cutting costs by 75%.
Content creation has been reformed by artificial intelligence. If you haven’t hopped on the bandwagon yet, you’re missing out on one of the most powerful marketing tools available today. Since AI video generation became accessible to everyday creators, this technology has become a must-have for marketers, content creators, and businesses to produce high-quality visuals without incurring significant costs.
If you’ve never created AI-generated B-roll before, the thought of handling complex prompts and technical settings might feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.
We’ll walk you through how to incorporate AI B-roll into your content strategy, with a step-by-step guide on how to create stunning visuals using Midjourney and Runway and deliver precisely what your audience expects.
What is AI B-Roll in 2025
AI-generated B-roll is an alternative to expensive stock footage that lets you create custom visuals from simple text descriptions. Instead of scrolling through endless stock libraries hoping to find something that matches your vision, you can generate exactly what you need in minutes.
Midjourney for image creation and Runway for video animation have changed the way we approach supplemental footage. Midjourney excels at creating highly detailed, artistic images that appear professionally shot. At the same time, Runway brings those static images to life with smooth, natural-looking motion through image-to-video technology that rivals traditional cinematography.
When AI B-Roll makes strategic sense (and when it doesn’t)
- Perfect for: Product demos, lifestyle shots, abstract concepts, brand-specific scenarios
- Skip AI for: Human testimonials, complex interactions, live events, ultra-luxury content requiring cinematic perfection
- Pro Strategy: Use AI for 60-80% of B-roll needs, invest savings in high-impact hero shots.
Benefits of AI B-roll creation
- Cost-effective. Traditional B-roll production can get expensive fast, especially when you factor in licensing fees for good stock footage or the cost of hiring videographers and renting equipment. AI-generated B-roll operates on affordable subscription models that make professional-looking content available to creators of all sizes. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars for a few clips, you can generate unlimited custom footage at a much lower price.
- Control. Stock footage forces you to compromise on your creative vision because you’re limited to what’s already been shot. With AI B-roll, you have complete control over every visual element – from lighting and composition to subject matter and style. If you can describe it in a prompt, you can create it.
- Speed and efficiency. The traditional process of sourcing, licensing, and editing stock footage can take hours or even days to complete. AI generation delivers results in minutes, so you can iterate quickly until you get exactly what you want. This speed advantage is particularly valuable for time-sensitive projects or when you need to make last-minute changes. Also, when combined with professional video editing software, these AI-generated clips integrate seamlessly into your final production.
Our analysis of over 200 creators reveals a threefold increase in the volume of content output.
Tools Overview and Setup:
Midjourney for Image Generation
Midjourney’s latest Version 7 is a massive leap forward in AI image generation. The platform has completely rebuilt its core technology to deliver results that feel almost magical when you first see them.
The precision in interpreting your text prompts is excellent – V7 produces images that match your descriptions closely, especially for complex subjects that previously challenged AI systems. The photorealism and texture quality make pictures look incredibly realistic, while faster processing speeds keep your creative workflow moving smoothly.
What’s exciting for B-roll creation are the standout features that open up new creative possibilities. The platform now includes text-to-video generation and 3D modeling features, allowing you to do more. These advanced AI models directly compete with other platforms, such as Stable Diffusion, offering creators multiple options for their projects. The personalization feature learns from your feedback and gets better at creating images that match your style.
The new Draft Mode is worth mentioning because it generates images 10 times faster at half the cost. This is perfect for brainstorming and experimenting with different concepts before committing to high-quality renders.
Subscription Options and Pricing
Midjourney uses a tiered subscription system that grows with you. Although there is no free version available, the entry-level pricing makes it accessible to most creators.
- The Basic Plan is an entry-level plan with limited processing time, perfect if you’re starting or have occasional usage needs.
- The Standard Plan offers more processing power, priority access, and the ability to run multiple generation jobs simultaneously. This tier is ideal for regular content creators who require reliable access without incurring premium costs.
- For professionals and agencies, the Pro and Mega Plans have the highest priority access, fastest generation speeds, unlimited relaxed mode processing, and private image generation.
Prices range from $10 to $ 50 or more per month, depending on your processing needs and feature requirements. The good news is that all subscribers get access to the latest model versions, including V7, without any upgrade fees.
Discord Setup and Basic Commands
Midjourney runs on Discord, which might seem unusual at first, but is an excellent collaborative environment for creative work. Once you join the official Midjourney Discord server, you’ll have access to generation channels where you can create your images.
The primary command you’ll use is /imagine, followed by your text description.
For example: /imagine sleek fitness tracker with glowing display in modern gym setting –ar 16:9. The system generates four variations based on your prompt, and you get to choose from them.
Parameters give you precise control over the output.
Use –ar for aspect ratio (important for B-roll since you need to match your video format), –q for quality settings when you need extra detail, and –seed for replicating consistent styles across multiple images.
The interface buttons below generated images let you upscale your favorites, create variations, or rerun prompts with modifications. The community channels have resources for learning prompt techniques and getting help from experienced users.
Best Practices for B-Roll-Specific Prompts
Creating B-roll imagery requires crafting strategic prompts that focus on elements that translate well to video content. The key is to be descriptive and specific, considering how your images will be used in motion.
Start with clear subject descriptions, environmental context, lighting conditions, and mood specifications. Instead of “product shot,” try “close-up of premium skincare bottle with soft studio lighting and minimalist white background”. This level of detail helps the AI understand your exact requirements.
Include technical details that matter for video production, camera angles like “macro lens”, “overhead view” or “wide establishing shot”, composition guidelines like “rule of thirds” or “centered composition”, and subtle motion hints if you plan to animate the image later.
Always use aspect ratio parameters that match your video needs. –ar 16:9 for standard horizontal video, –ar 9:16 for vertical social media content and –ar 1:1 for square formats.
Use Draft Mode for rapid concept exploration before creating high-quality versions. This saves you time and money, allowing you to test multiple creative directions freely.
Runway ML Platform Overview
Runway ML is the leading platform for AI video creation, with its Gen-4 model producing professional-quality results with visual consistency across sequences. What sets Gen-4 apart is its ability to preserve character details, object properties, and environmental elements across frames, solving one of the biggest challenges in AI video generation.
The platform excels at turning single images into dynamic video sequences while maintaining style and visual coherence. Using a reference image as your starting point, Runway can generate consistent motion that maintains the original’s aesthetic qualities. The motion feels natural rather than artificial, and you can seamlessly integrate AI-generated content with traditional footage for hybrid production workflows.
One powerful feature is the use of visual references combined with text instructions to maintain consistent subjects and environments across multiple clips. This means you can create a series of B-roll segments that feel cohesively designed rather than randomly generated.
Earlier models like Gen-3 Alpha and Turbo are still available for faster, more experimental generations when you need quick results or want to test concepts before committing to premium processing time.
Keyframes Explained
Runway’s keyframe system turns static images into animated sequences by letting you define motion paths between different visual states. Think of it as creating smooth transitions between multiple snapshots of your desired animation.
You can set start, middle, and end keyframes, and the AI will intelligently insert the motion, style, and composition changes between these points. This provides precise control over timing and motion curves, allowing for natural acceleration and deceleration.
The ability to create complex animated sequences from separate static images is handy for B-roll creation. You might start with a product close-up, transition through a lifestyle context shot, and end with an environmental broad view—all generated from individual Midjourney images but connected through intelligent motion interpolation.
Text prompts guide the motion characteristics and transformations, allowing you to specify camera movements, object animations, or environmental changes. The timeline interface is intuitive and easy to adjust.
Pic-to-Video Features and Limitations
Runway’s pic-to-video feature animates static images by generating video frames that simulate camera movements and object motion, creating a seamless video experience. You can add pans, zooms, parallax effects, and rotations along with sophisticated visual effects that create depth and dynamism from still images.
The motion brush tool is clever, it lets you animate specific parts of an image while keeping others static. You might animate flowing fabric in a fashion shot while keeping the model perfectly posed, or add subtle product rotation while maintaining a stable background. Style transformations can be applied to existing content to create creative effects. The platform supports video generation up to 15 seconds in length, which is ideal for social media content and short-form video applications.
Knowing the limitations helps set realistic expectations. Current video length caps are typically 15 seconds, but this is improving with each update. You might occasionally encounter visual artifacts or unnatural transitions that need to be refined or regenerated. The quality of your input image impacts motion smoothness, so starting with high-quality Midjourney images is key.
While highly advanced AI-generated video doesn’t yet replicate ultra-high resolution cinematic footage or extremely complex real-world dynamics, for B-roll purposes, the results are more than sufficient for professional content creation.
Pricing and Credit System
Runway operates on a flexible credit-based subscription model that scales with your usage. The free tier offers limited monthly credits, making it perfect for testing and learning the platform as well as getting comfortable before committing to paid plans.
Paid subscriptions offer varying monthly credit allocations, faster GPU processing, priority queue access, and advanced features, such as Gen-4 video generation. Each generation task consumes credits based on complexity and duration, so costs are predictable based on your planned usage.
Enterprise plans offer custom pricing and dedicated resources for high-volume users who need guaranteed performance and priority support.
Additional credits can be purchased when extra capacity is needed, and the dashboard makes it easy to monitor consumption and manage usage. This flexible system allows you to scale according to project needs without being locked into expensive fixed monthly costs.
Creators typically save $200-$ 500 per project compared to using stock footage.
Now that you understand the strategic value and have the right tools, let’s dive into the step-by-step execution that transforms your content creation process.
Midjourney to Runway Workflow
Phase 1: Planning Your B-roll Sequence (15 minutes)
1. Identifying B-roll needs from your main content.
B-roll creation starts with understanding exactly what your main content needs to succeed. B-roll isn’t just visual filler; it serves specific purposes that enhance storytelling and keep the viewer engaged.
Analyze your script or main footage to identify segments where supplementary visuals will add value. B-roll isn’t just visual filler; it helps to illustrate key points, provide smooth transitions between cuts, add visual interest during potentially dry sections, or provide context that allows the viewer to understand your message.
Suppose your main content is about a beauty product launch.
You may also need perfect B-roll footage of the product in natural light, detailed texture close-ups, lifestyle shots that resonate with your target audience, or demonstration clips that highlight key benefits. The key is to be strategic, not random. Every piece of B-roll should serve a purpose in your overall narrative structure.
2. Shot list and visual style guide.
Once you know what B-roll you need, create a detailed shot list that serves as your creative roadmap. This document should specify the subjects you want to feature, the types of shots you need (close-up, wide, static, or motion), the mood for each segment, and any essential elements, such as colors, lighting, or props.
Create a visual style guide alongside your shot list that defines the look and feel of your B-roll. Include color palettes that match your brand or main footage, textures that support your message, lighting styles that create the right atmosphere, and camera movements that help your storytelling goals.
This style guide is crucial when working with AI tools because it helps you craft prompts that generate visually consistent content. Without it, you’ll end up with disconnected footage that feels random rather than purposeful.
3. Aspect ratios and video lengths.
Your distribution strategy should determine your technical specs. Different platforms have different requirements, and optimizing for each maximizes the impact and engagement of your content.
For YouTube and standard video content, the 16:9 aspect ratio is the most suitable. Vertical videos for TikTok, Instagram Reels, or Stories need a 9:16 ratio. Instagram posts and Facebook often perform better with 1:1 square formats.
Ensure your B-roll matches these ratios to avoid awkward cropping or letterboxing, which can reduce the viewing experience.
Video length is equally important. Each B-roll clip should be long enough for the viewer to process the information without overstaying its welcome. B-roll clips are usually 3-10 seconds long, but this varies based on your content’s pacing and visual complexity.
Consider your total B-roll needs to cover your main footage. This planning prevents scrambling to fill gaps during the edit.
Phase 2: Base Images in Midjourney (30-45 minutes)
1. Crafting B-roll imagery prompts.
The quality of your Midjourney output depends heavily on prompt crafting skills. For B-roll imagery, specificity produces better results than generic descriptions.
Instead of prompting “tech gadget,t” try “sleek wireless earbuds with LED charging indicators on a marble surface with soft natural lighting”. This level of detail helps the AI understand not just what to create but how to present it. Include context about the setting, style, or period that matches your visual style guide. Use descriptive adjectives for mood and atmosphere—terms like “cinematic”, “warm”, “high contrast”, or “ethereal” help establish the feeling you want to convey.
Consider mentioning the intended use in your prompts. Phrases like “product photography”, “lifestyle shot,” or “cinematic B-roll” can influence the AI to generate compositions that work better for video.
2. Using parameters for consistent style and quality.
Midjourney’s parameters give you control over aspects that directly impact your B-roll. The aspect ratio parameter (–ar) should match your target video format consistently—there’s no point generating square images if you need widescreen footage.
Quality settings (–q) allow you to balance detail level with processing time. Higher quality settings produce more detailed images but consume more processing power. For initial concept exploration, standard quality is sufficient, but final B-roll images benefit from higher-quality settings.
The seed parameter (–seed) is handy for consistency across related images. Using a consistent seed number helps replicate styles and create variations that feel cohesive rather than scattered.
Style presets and version flags help align all your images with your established visual guidelines so your B-roll feels intentionally designed rather than randomly assembled.
3. Advanced prompting techniques: camera angles, lighting, composition
Professional B-roll requires attention to cinematic techniques that make images feel dynamic and engaging. Specify camera perspectives in your prompts—“bird’s eye view”, “macro detail”, “wide establishing shot”, or “intimate close-up”—to simulate real camera work that adds visual interest.
Lighting descriptions add depth and mood to your images. Try “golden hour backlighting”, “dramatic studio shadows,” or “soft window light” to create the atmosphere your content requires.
Composition guidance, such as “centered symmetry”, “dynamic diagonal lines,” or “negative space emphasis,” helps create images that feel professionally composed rather than accidentally generated.
These advanced techniques bridge the gap between AI-generated content and professionally shot footage so your B-roll looks polished and intentional.
4. Quality selection and upscaling.
Not every generated image will meet your standards, and that’s perfectly normal in the creative process. Review your outputs carefully, focusing on clarity, composition alignment with your shot list, and consistency with your visual style guide. Use Midjourney’s upscaling features to increase resolution and detail. This step is vital because upscaled images look sharper when animated in Runway, and the extra detail helps the video generation process produce smoother results.
If images don’t meet your expectations, don’t hesitate to adjust your prompts or parameters and regenerate. The iterative process is part of the creative workflow, and minor modifications often yield better results.
Phase 3: Creating Keyframes in Runway (20-30 minutes per clip)
1. Importing Midjourney images into Runway.
The transition from static images to dynamic video starts with correctly importing your selected Midjourney images into Runway. Open a new project in your Runway dashboard and select Gen-3 Alpha or Gen-3 Alpha Turbo for keyframe animation.
Drag your curated Midjourney images into the Assets panel or directly into keyframe slots. The first image serves as your starting keyframe, establishing the visual foundation for your entire sequence.
You can add up to three keyframes (start, middle, end) to define how your sequence evolves. For best results, ensure your images have similar subjects, style elements, or compositional features. Think of your first image as the primary reference image that establishes the visual foundation for your entire sequence. While dramatic differences can produce interesting experimental effects, similarity between keyframes typically yields smoother results.
2. Setting up keyframe sequences.
Arrange your imported images in the order that best tells your story or illustrates your message. Runway’s interface lets you reorder keyframes in the timeline so you can experiment with different sequence flows until you find what works best.
The text prompt you write becomes crucial at this stage—it guides the AI to generate natural transitions and define the motion between your keyframes. Effective prompts describe fluid motion, camera work, or environmental changes that reflect your creative vision.
For example, you might prompt “smooth camera push-in with gentle rotation” for a product reveal or “dynamic lighting transition with subtle parallax movement” for a more atmospheric effect. The prompt should focus on motion and transformation rather than the static images themselves.
Choose suitable durations for your keyframe sequences based on your content requirements. 5-second clips work well for simple transitions, while 10-second clips are more suited for more complex or subtle changes that require time to develop.
3. Motion direction and intensity controls.
Control over motion characteristics separates professional B-roll from amateur attempts. Runway gives you several ways to influence how your animations develop and feel. Describe motion in your text prompts—”slow dolly zoom,” “dynamic whip pan,” or “gentle orbital rotation”- to help the AI know what kind of movement you want.
Use Runway’s timeline controls to fine-tune speed and easing of transitions. Adjusting motion curves allows you to create natural acceleration or deceleration that feels organic, rather than mechanical or artificial.
The keyframe transition controls the smooth start and end of motions, avoiding abrupt changes that jar the viewer out of the experience and break immersion.
The AI will analyze shared visual elements between your keyframes to interpolate motion intelligently. Consistent lighting, colors, and composition across your source images will ultimately pay off.
Phase 4: Pic-to-Video Generation in Runway (10-15 minutes per clip)
1. Choosing the right settings for your content.
Converting Midjourney images into dynamic videos requires selecting the right Runway model and settings that align with your content goals. Gen-4 is better suited for high-quality and longer durations (5-10 seconds) with greater motion fidelity, making it perfect for polished B-roll. Gen-3 is faster and more cost-effective for initial testing and creative iteration.
When uploading your base image, ensure it meets quality standards and aligns with your project’s style and aspect ratio requirements. This image will be the first frame and visual anchor for the entire video, so quality here affects your final results.
Focus your text prompts on motion characteristics rather than scene description, since the image already provides all the visual details. Descriptions like “smooth, slow zoom with subtle camera drift” or “dynamic rotation with natural lighting changes” work better than trying to describe what’s already in the frame.
Video length depends on your content strategy and platform requirements—shorter clips for social media B-roll, longer sequences for more cinematic applications where you want the viewer to absorb the visual information gradually.
2. Motion controls and camera movements.
Effective motion control is about communicating your vision to the AI through precise, descriptive prompting. Use explicit directional instructions, such as “steady zoom out with slight tilt,” “clockwise rotation around subject,” or “subtle handheld movement,” to achieve specific cinematic effects. Runway’s AI analyzes visual continuity and depth information in your images to create smooth transitions and natural camera movements. Consistent lighting, color grading, and composition in your base images will pay off here since the prep work in Midjourney is so essential.
After generation, Runway allows for post-processing refinements—you can trim clips to achieve perfect timing, adjust playback speed for different pacing, reverse footage for creative effects, or add subtle camera shake for added realism.
3. Quality assessment and re-generation strategies.
Not every generated video will meet your standards on the first attempt, and developing a systematic approach to quality assessment saves time and improves your overall results. Review each clip for visual coherence—motion should appear smooth, contextually relevant, and consistent with your established visual style.
Evaluate resolution and detail levels, using Runway’s upscaling capabilities to enhance video quality to 4K when needed for professional applications or high-resolution displays.
Watch for artifacts, glitches, or unnatural movements that can break the illusion and detract from your content’s professionalism. If you notice issues, adjust your prompts for more precise motion instructions or try using a slightly different base image with better composition or lighting.
Small changes in prompt wording, motion descriptors, or input images can produce dramatically different results. Embrace the iterative process—continue generating until the output matches your creative vision, learning from each attempt to refine your approach and improve future results.
The beauty of AI-generated B-roll lies not just in its cost-effectiveness or speed, but in the creative control it gives you over every aspect of your visual content. With the workflow outlined above, you’ll be able to produce professional-quality supplemental footage that perfectly complements your main content and engages your audience in ways that generic stock footage cannot match.
Conclusion
AI-powered B-roll creation with Midjourney and Runway represents a fundamental shift in how we approach video content. You now have the tools to generate custom, professional-quality footage that perfectly matches your vision without the traditional costs and time constraints of video production.
The workflow outlined here, from strategic planning through final video generation, gives you complete creative control over your visual storytelling. As these AI technologies continue advancing rapidly, mastering them now positions you ahead of creators still relying on expensive stock footage or traditional video shoots.
Maximizing your AI investment
While AI democratizes B-roll creation, the difference between amateur and professional lies in the finishing touches. Brilliant creators seamlessly combine AI efficiency with professional editing to deliver broadcast-quality results.
The Hybrid approach that’s winning:
- Generate custom B-roll using AI (75% cost savings)
- Enhanced with professional color grading and seamless integration
- Scale content production without compromising quality
Vidpros clients using this hybrid approach see an average engagement increase of 285% while producing three times more content. We specialize in using AI-generated content, refined through professional editing, to ensure your B-roll integrates seamlessly with your main footage.
Ready to combine AI efficiency with professional finishing? Book a call with Vidpros today!
