How to Create a Looping Video of Yourself for Virtual Meetings

Depending on how creative you are, a virtual background can make video calls that much more interesting . But they can also be used for evil. Case in point: In Zoom, you can create a virtual background from almost any image or video file. This means you can use this feature to display a looped video of yourself – perfect for when you need to be in a meeting but don’t really want to be in the meeting.

It’s a handy little trick for the age of physical distancing, and best of all, you don’t need to be a tech wizard to create your very own virtual background in Zoom. All you need is a webcam , free video editing software like Windows Movie Maker or iMovie, and a computer with enough specs to load Zoom virtual backgrounds. And Zoom, of course.

Once you’ve assembled your tools, here’s how to get started creating and adding your own looped Zoom virtual background.

Part 1: Record video

First, we need to use Zoom to record the video, which we will use as a loop. (If you are not interested in this part and just want to know how to use an image or video to create a virtual background, skip to part 3).

1. Open Zoom.
2. Create a “New Meeting”.
3. Wait for the meeting window to load by clicking the button to turn on the webcam if prompted.
4. Make sure you become famous in the video.
5. Press Alt + R to start recording.
6. Sit there with a neutral expression and make tiny movements as if you were listening intently to someone speaking during a Zoom meeting.
7. After a few minutes – long enough so that the repetition isn’t too obvious – press Alt + R to stop recording.
8. Close the meeting window.
9. Find and open your Zoom recordings folder, which can be done by returning to the main Zoom window in the desktop application and then clicking the gear-shaped settings icon> Recording.
10. Copy / paste the entry to a new folder.

Part 2: Cropping footage

Now comes the tricky part: editing the video so it loops correctly. Zoom adds solid black borders to the beginning of the video, so you need to crop them out to make your video look natural. You can do this in Windows Movie Maker or other programs like iMovie, Adobe Premiere Pro, or Final Cut Pro.

1. Open Zoom recording in any video editing application.
2. Trim the black frames of the video.
3. Save / export your video.

Part 3: Create a virtual background

1. Open Zoom again.
2. Click the gear-shaped settings icon.
3. Go to Virtual Background> +> Add Video.
4. Find and open the video that you recorded and trimmed in the steps above.
5. This will now be your webcam background while you are in meetings, however, if you are trying to use your background to make people think you are on camera when you are not, you need to cover your webcam. tape or paper so that nothing else is visible in the looping frame. It would be a little suspicious if you overlay you on top of a repeating video of you.

Done right, it should be absolutely convincing if no one is trying to talk to you during a conversation. Just watch forglitches in the matrix so people don’t start paying too much attention to your cat roaming in the background. This trick can be used for more than just creating a virtual stand for boring meetings. You can use the steps in Part 3 to transform your home office into anything from a relaxing beach to the Death Star’s control room. Unleash your twisted imagination!

[ PCWorld ]

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