> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://cotovan.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How to Add B-Roll in Riverside: Overlay vs Insert to Timeline - URL: https://cotovan.com/post/how-to-add-b-roll-in-riverside-overlay-vs-insert-to-timeline/ - Published: 2026-08-12T14:34:49.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-12T14:34:49.000Z - Author: Cristi Cotovan - Tags: Riverside.FM Articles There is a bit of confusion around inserting videos and photos in Riverside. Sometimes you want a clip to sit *on top* of what you already have, playing at the same time as your episode. Other times you want it to take its own place in the main timeline, pushing everything else along to make room. Those are two completely different results, and Riverside handles them differently. The good news is that both live in the same place, and once you know which gesture triggers which behaviour, you will feel right at home in the [new Riverside editor](https://cotovan.com/post/riversides-new-editor-a-complete-walkthrough-of-the-redesigned-workspace/). Here is how each one works, and when to reach for which. ## Overlay or timeline insert: the difference An **overlay** is B-roll in the classic sense. The clip sits above your existing footage on its own track and plays simultaneously with your episode. Your audio keeps running underneath, your speakers keep talking, and the overlay covers part or all of the canvas. An **insert** is a separate clip in the main timeline. Riverside makes room for it, pushes everything after it further along, and plays it on its own. Nothing plays underneath it. This is what you want for a pre-recorded advert, an intro, or any segment that needs its own slot in the show. I have covered [adding images as B-roll using scenes](https://cotovan.com/post/how-to-add-b-roll-in-riversides-new-editor-using-scenes/) before, but for video, I've made this separate guide, so let's walk through it properly. ## Method 1: click to add a video as an overlay The fastest route is a single click, and the only thing you need to get right first is your playhead. Wherever the playhead sits is where the clip lands. Open your media panel from the right-hand rail. You can pull from **Your media** — recordings, uploads, images, audio clips and anything from previous projects — or from **Stock**. It genuinely does not matter which source you use; the behaviour is identical. ![Riverside editor with the Your media panel open, showing recordings, videos, images and audio, with the playhead parked at 0:20 in the timeline](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/2026/08/riverside-your-media-panel-playhead.jpg) Your media holds recordings, uploads, images and audio from every project. Before you click anything, check where the playhead is sitting. ![The Stock panel open in Riverside showing a grid of stock video thumbnails and stock images](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/2026/08/riverside-stock-media-panel.jpg) The Stock panel works exactly the same way. Same click, same drag, same two drop zones. Now click the clip you want. Riverside drops it in at the playhead, on a track above your existing video, and it immediately covers the canvas. ![A stock video inserted as a full-canvas overlay in Riverside, with the overlay clip visible on a separate track above the main episode](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/2026/08/riverside-video-overlay-inserted-at-playhead.jpg) One click and the clip lands at the playhead as an overlay, sitting on its own track above the episode. At full size it hides everything underneath, which makes it look like a timeline insert. It isn't. Grab a corner handle and pull it in, and you will see your episode still playing behind it. You can [resize, reposition and crop](https://cotovan.com/post/crop-reposition-reframe-video-editing-riverside/) the overlay however you like on the canvas. ![The overlay clip resized to a smaller rectangle on the Riverside canvas, with both speakers of the main episode visible behind it](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/2026/08/riverside-resize-overlay-on-canvas.jpg) Shrink the overlay and the truth shows: both the B-roll and your episode are playing at the same time. ## Method 2: drag it in and pick your drop zone Clicking always gives you an overlay. If you want the other behaviour, don't click — **drag**. Press and hold on the clip in the media or Stock panel and start dragging it towards the canvas. As soon as you do, Riverside splits the canvas into two labelled regions: **Add overlay** across the top, and **Insert to timeline** across the bottom. ![Riverside canvas split into two drop regions during a drag, labelled Add overlay on the upper area and Insert to timeline on the lower strip](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/2026/08/riverside-add-overlay-vs-insert-to-timeline.jpg) Start dragging and the canvas offers you two choices. The top region overlays; the bottom strip inserts into the main timeline. Drop it on the lower strip and Riverside makes room for it in the main timeline, pushes the rest of the show along, and places the clip in its own slot. That is exactly the behaviour you want for a recorded advert or a [sponsorship read you produced separately](https://cotovan.com/post/insert-a-sponsorship-ad-in-riverside-with-b-roll-and-music/) — you don't want that talking over your episode. ![The stock clip now sitting as its own clip at the start of the Riverside main timeline, with the original episode clip pushed to the right](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/2026/08/riverside-video-inserted-into-main-timeline.jpg) Dropped on "Insert to timeline", the clip takes its own place at the playhead and everything after it shifts along. ## Method 3: split the clip and insert with precision Dragging to the timeline drops the clip at the playhead, which is fine for the top of the show. When you need something dropped at an exact point in the middle of a conversation, make the room yourself first. Park the playhead where you want the break, select the clip, and split it. Press **S** on the keyboard, or click the Split button in the toolbar above the timeline. ![The Split button highlighted in the Riverside timeline toolbar with its tooltip showing](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/2026/08/riverside-split-clip-button.jpg) Split the clip at the playhead with the toolbar button or the S shortcut. Now you have two clips and a seam between them. Now [zoom in on the timeline](https://cotovan.com/post/how-to-zoom-and-pan-the-riverside-timeline-with-your-mouse/) and hover your mouse over that seam. A small **plus** button appears on the split. Move the playhead out of the way if it is sitting on top of the seam and hiding the button. Click the plus and Riverside asks what you would like to drop in: Stock, Music, Text, Upload, Your media, a New scene, a chapter marker, or an empty section. ![The plus button menu open at a split point in the Riverside timeline, offering Stock, Music, Text, Upload, Your media, New scene, Add chapter and Empty section](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/2026/08/riverside-plus-button-insert-menu.jpg) The plus button on a split opens every insert option at once — including uploading a fresh file straight into that gap. Pick your source — I'll use Stock here — and choose the clip. It lands precisely in the gap you created, not at the playhead, not at the start, exactly where you split. This is also the route to take when you want to drop in a file you edited elsewhere and re-uploaded, or a piece you already used in another project. The same menu handles [intros, outros and music beds](https://cotovan.com/post/how-to-add-intros-outros-hooks-and-music-in-riverside/) too. ![The stock video placed exactly at the split point in the middle of the Riverside timeline, between two halves of the original episode clip](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/2026/08/riverside-video-inserted-at-split-point.jpg) The clip drops into the gap you made, sitting cleanly between the two halves of the split. If you’re eager to learn more about Riverside and wish to have ****a one-on-one Riverside coaching session**, feel free to [book a call with me](https://cotovan.com/coaching). I’m here to help you with any questions you have and to guide you through the best workflows, tips, workarounds, or just answer any questions you may have! [Book a session ](https://cotovan.com/coaching) ## You can still stack an overlay on top These methods are not mutually exclusive. Once you have inserted a clip into the main timeline, you can still drag another piece of media in and drop it on **Add overlay** — and it will play on top of whatever is underneath at that point. ![An overlay clip on the upper Riverside track sitting above the inserted stock clip in the main timeline below](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/2026/08/riverside-overlay-track-above-main-timeline.jpg) Overlay track on top, main timeline underneath. Nothing stops you from using both in the same spot. ## Where you place it decides whether it gets a transcript This is the part that catches people out, and it is worth committing to memory. A clip sitting on the overlay track will **not** produce a transcript. Even if it has audio, and even if that audio contains speech, it will not appear in the transcript panel and you will not be able to text-edit it. If you need a clip to be transcribed and editable by text, two things have to be true: it has to go into the **bottom track**, in the main timeline, and it has to have arrived in Riverside through **Recordings**. That is the pathway that triggers transcription. A clip pulled from Stock, or dropped in from somewhere else, will not be transcribed — there is no way to force it at the moment. Riverside will, however, happily [transcribe your own files](https://cotovan.com/post/transcribe-your-own-files-with-riverside/) once they come in through the right door. ## The takeaway Two rules cover almost everything: - **Set the playhead first, then drag.** Dragging gives you the choice between overlay and timeline insert, so you decide the behaviour instead of guessing at it. Clicking always gives you an overlay. - **For precise placement, make the room first.** Split the clip where you want the break, hover the seam, click the plus, and pick your source. Stock, uploads, media from previous projects — it all goes in the same way. Everything else — resizing, cropping, repositioning — you can do after the fact on the canvas. The only decision you cannot undo casually is whether the clip lives on the overlay track or in the main timeline, because that is what determines transcription. If you are still setting things up, you can [try Riverside here](https://cotovan.com/riverside). And if you would like to learn Riverside with me one-on-one, I offer [coaching sessions](https://cotovan.com/coaching) — complete beginner to advanced, the new editor, and whatever you are currently stuck on. ## Related guides [How to Add B-Roll in Riverside's New Editor Using ScenesHow do you drop a B-roll clip, an image, or a video on top of just one part of a podcast episode, hide the host and guest for that section, and do it without cropping, stretching, or forcing the media![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/icon/Cristi-2-31.jpeg)Cristi CotovanCristi Cotovan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/2026/07/feature-thumbnail-1.jpg)](https://cotovan.com/post/how-to-add-b-roll-in-riversides-new-editor-using-scenes/) [Insert a sponsorship ad in Riverside with B-roll and musicInsert a sponsor or coaching ad into a Riverside episode, even when the ad is just audio and an image. Add it to the timeline, lay an image over it as B-roll, balance the audio, and finish with music ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/icon/Cristi-2-31.jpeg)Cristi CotovanCristi Cotovan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/2026/06/_ytthumb.jpg)](https://cotovan.com/post/insert-a-sponsorship-ad-in-riverside-with-b-roll-and-music/) [Master Precision Editing in Riverside: The Complete GuideRiverside has become one of the most powerful browser-based editors for podcasters and video creators. But recording is just the beginning — the real magic happens in the edit. In this comprehensive g![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/icon/Cristi-2-31.jpeg)Cristi CotovanCristi Cotovan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/2026/02/riverside-precision-editing-tutorial-thumbnail.jpg)](https://cotovan.com/post/master-precision-editing-in-riverside-the-complete-guide/) [How to Add Intros, Outros, Hooks, and Music in RiversideIn this tutorial, I walk through the complete workflow for adding intros, outros, hooks, background music, and YouTube end screens to a podcast episode in Riverside. Whether you record your intro dir![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/icon/Cristi-2-31.jpeg)Cristi CotovanCristi Cotovan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/2026/03/riverside-intros-outros-hooks-music-tutorial.jpg)](https://cotovan.com/post/how-to-add-intros-outros-hooks-and-music-in-riverside/) [How to Use Riverside Scene Templates to Speed Up Podcast EditingEvery time you start a new episode edit in Riverside, do you find yourself rebuilding the same scene layouts from scratch? Speaker name overlays, side-by-side arrangements, solo speaker close-ups — it![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/icon/Cristi-2-31.jpeg)Cristi CotovanCristi Cotovan![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/5b/aa/5baa4306-14e9-442c-8242-49463a36912f/content/images/2026/02/riverside-scene-templates-thumbnail.jpg)](https://cotovan.com/post/how-to-use-riverside-scene-templates-to-speed-up-podcast-editing/) If you're eager to learn more about Riverside and wish to have a one-on-one Riverside coaching session, feel free to book a call with me. I'm here to help you with any questions you have and to guide you through the best workflows, tips, workarounds, or just answer any questions you may have! [Book a session ](https://cotovan.com/coaching) ## Free Riverside Tips, Tricks, and Training in Your Inbox I create regular training content on [Riverside.fm](https://cotovan.com/riverside) \- if you're trying to learn the platform, I intend to teach all the ins and outs. Subscribe here and when a new article or video goes live, you'll be the first to know! Subscribe for free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.