Monday, November 23, 2020

Review: Liven Up Your Zoom Background With A Green Chromakey Backdrop

Have you ever wondered how it seems everyone in a virtual meeting has THE perfect office as seen from the background of the camera. The perfect bookshelves, the perfectly clean office, the perfectly arranged room which shines from behind on the computer screen.

It is an illusion. An illusion provided by a green chromakey backdrop ala the green screen we are used to seeing in the creation of movies with special effects. The green screen is now available for online meetings and the ZOOM platform does make it very easy to switch in and out your favorite background.

Green Chromakey Backdrop

As working at home is the new normal for many or for seasoned virtual workers, the Chromakey Green Backdrop is a great gift or stocking stuffer! This is the gift any virtual employee will appreciate and may not want to buy, but will love receiving.

A gift certificate to iron (see below!) and install the backdrop would be an added bonus!

How To Hang The Backdrop

What is key for this backdrop is your iron! Yes, I am not a fan of ironing. But as noted by many of the over 2,000 reviews the backdrop must be free of wrinkles to work properly. Have you ever been in a ZOOM meeting where one person seems to fade in and out of their background? A wrinkle is probably to blame. 

The illusion is slightly ruined when a face starts dropping in and out of the gorgeous window we thought?! was in the office. After the ironing is complete the installation of the Green Backdrop is very easy.

Installation Tips

Avoid breezes, fans, air ducts and heat return ducts! Air flow will create the same effect as a wrinkle. Viewers will suddenly find yourself in your actual room instead of the virtual background of your choice when the air conditioning or heat turns on.

My green backdrop is now hung with an inexpensive curtain rod at the top of the wall. If you'd like to try out the backdrop first before investing in a hardware or putting holes in the wall then the backdrop can be adhered to a blank wall with painters tape. Again, the backdrop still needs to be ironed.

chromakey muslin backdrop

The permanent but portable solution is to purchase a backdrop frame on wheels. This looks similar to a rolling luggage rack and allows the backdrop to be easily moved from room to room or from desktop to a laptop in a different room. The backdrop does come with hanging clips for the installment option which works best for your virtual office.

Where To Find Fun And Free Zoom Backgrounds

Once your backdrop is ironed and ready to go then the fun can begin with shopping for backgrounds. A multitude of free resources exist to download backgrounds. Travel from the artic to the tropics to the office you wish you had! with the click of a download.

A few favorites to shop for ZOOM backgrounds:

Unsplash Sleek and modern

Pexels  Huge variety from all parts of the world!

Good Housekeeping  (Hallmark fan alert, there are Hallmark backgrounds!)

and ZOOM 

Shop around the web and find the background to make your virtual meeting just a little more interesting!

Green Chromakey Backdrop





Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”


7 comments:

  1. The ancient Proverb "Necessity is the Mother of Invention" fits well here. Someone saw a need and found a way to fill it. :) Such clever backgrounds in this virtual world of ours.

    Actually, I've been familiar with Chromakey for some 40+ years. My hubby worked in television and at times did both news and weather. We've many a time toured the TV studios and watched him stand in front of a blank green screen that, if you looked at the TV camera, showed a weather map. It is quite fascinating. Interesting now to see it used as a compliment to Zoom.

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  2. Very Cool! This is not something I ever would have thought I would need, but we have all had to "enjoy" online meetings and chats. I hate having to find a place in my house that is not to personal (with photos) or that would not look distracting as a background. A green screen is something we could all use for sure.

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  3. Wow, that would be lovely I think. It could cover up my myriads of books that are not shelved properly and look untidy at the best of times. I did not know this existed, so thank you for sharing this "find" with me. Next time I am involved with a Zoom meeting they just might see Paris in the background. Just for fun!

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  4. Well this is the coolest thing! - I think I want to put the mountains in Switzerland in mine, lol - confusion ensues. Or anything nutty that's not suppose to be in a house - a mall parking lot? WOW, honestly a cool tool.

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  5. Early in my career, I had a studio for making corporate training videos, so I'm very familiar with "green screens." But I had no idea they made scaled-down home versions for videoconferencing! I may just have to get one of these for my husband (who is in Zoom meetings all day long for work). He's used Zoom's optional use-your-own-background feature and loves it, but it's definitely a bit flaky (and has a hard time distinguishing hair from the wall behind him, lol).

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  6. This technology is new to me. What a fabulous tool. I sure need it!

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  7. I had never heard of this and I think it is really cool! You could really have some fun with this with different backgrounds. Thank you!

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