How to Turn Into a Cat (Via Video Call)
By now, you’ve probably seen a viral video of a lawyer accidentally transforming into a cat during an important Zoom hearing. If you want to emulate his feline appearance, we have good news and bad news.
On the other hand, you can easily transform your face into a feline face if that’s all you want. Unfortunately, the special cute cat overlay shown in the video is a proprietary effect only available in older Dell webcam software.
So, if you don’t have a Dell PC and webcam from around 2010, the filter you are using will look different. However, there are many other filters for kittens. Here’s a quick overview of how to find one that works in any video chat software via the free Snap Camera app available for Windows or Mac.
The Snap Camera app is made by the same people who created Snapchat, so anyone familiar with the Snapchat mobile app will recognize many of the features and filters available in Snap Camera. Snap Camera comes preloaded with a variety of lenses and filters, and you can create and upload your own, so there are tons of effects to choose from, including several feline-themed lenses.
How to use Snap Camera lenses in your favorite video chat app
- Make sure Zoom, Meet, Teams, or any other video chat applications are closed.
- Download and install Snap Camera .
- When prompted, give the app permission to access your camera and microphone.
- Once the installation is complete, select “Open Snap Camera” or open the app from your desktop.
- Browse through Snap Camera lenses until you find the one you like. You can also use the search bar to narrow your search to, for example, “kitten” or “cat”.
- After enabling the lens in Snap Camera, open the video chat app.
- In the device settings of the app, change the camera to “Snap Camera”. If you need help with this step, please click the Show me how link in Snap Camera under Go Live With this Camera.
Join the teleconference to showcase your Snap Camera filters to friends and colleagues. If a meeting requires a little more professionalism, you can turn off the lenses in the Snap Camera or go back to your regular webcam in your video app’s device settings.
Snap Camera isn’t the only way to change video during a group call. Zoom has built-in face filters and a virtual background that you can apply. Microsoft Teams and Google Meet also include unique backgrounds and blur effects that will change (or hide) your background.