Video conferencing apps have emerged greatly in a short time frame mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among all the video conferencing apps available today, Zoom appears as one of the best ones and is used by millions of people every month all over the world. If you are also one of the Zoom users, then you should know about different video camera hacks that Zoom allows you to do. These hacks will help you get an enhanced video meeting experience. In this blog, we will discuss the top 10 video camera hacks in Zoom you should know about.
1.Use Snap Camera to add Lenses in the Video
Snap Camera is Snapchat’s app that allows you to add different lenses and effects on your face when you are in front of the camera. Snap Camera can be integrated with Zoom, which makes those lenses appear on your face while you are in a Zoom meeting. To do so, first download Snap Camera and then complete the installation process. Now open the Snap Camera app and you will see dozens of lenses you can choose from. Afterward, when you are in a Zoom meeting, click the up-arrow shaped icon next to the “Stop Video” button. There you will see the option “Snap Camera” under the “Select a Camera” section. Once you click it and choose any lens from Snap Camera, you will see that the same lens will appear in your Zoom camera. So, the person with whom you are having a meeting will see your face with the lens you picked from Snap Camera.
2.Built-in Video Filters
Zoom also has a few built-in video filters. To access them, click the up-arrow shaped icon next to the “Stop Video” button when you are in a Zoom meeting. Now click “Choose Video Filter” and a pop-up window will appear showing up dozens of filters you can choose from.
3.Studio Effects (Beta)
Zoom has some advanced video filters under its “Studio Effects” option. But currently this is in beta mode. To access Studio Effects, go to the same “Choose Video Filter” settings and then click on “Studio Effects (Beta)” located in the bottom right corner. You will see different advanced filters, such as changing eyebrows or adding mustache, bread, and lip color. These filters are designed to make you look more decent in the meetings.
4.Looping Video Background
If you want to change the background showing behind your face in Zoom, you can add a looping video to it. Click the up-arrow shaped icon next to the “Stop Video” button when you are in a Zoom meeting. Now click “Choose Virtual Backgrounds” and a pop-up window will appear showing up a few virtual background images and videos. You can add your own images or videos by clicking the “+” icon located on the right side. But the issue is that the video you upload will not flow in the loop. To have looping videos, you can use Microsoft PowerPoint. Launch PowerPoint and click on creating a new slide. From the top ribbon, click Insert > Pictures > Stock Images. A pop-up window will appear showing dozens of images. From there, click on “Videos” from the top menu bar. You will now see dozens of looping videos and can choose the one you like. Select any video and click “Insert”. The selected video will be inserted into the PowerPoint slide. Now, right-click the mouse and click “Save Media as” and save the video on the Desktop. Afterward, upload this video into Zoom as mentioned above and it will appear as the looping video in Zoom.
5.Touch Up your Appearance
Zoom also allows you to touch up your appearance. To do that, click the up-arrow shaped icon next to the “Stop Video” button when you are in a Zoom meeting and then click “Video Settings”. There you will see the checkbox narrating “Touch up my appearance”. Tick the checkbox and then you can adjust the touch up using the slider next to it.
6.PowerPoint as Virtual Background
With Zoom, you can have a meeting in front of a PowerPoint presentation. This feature is a built-in feature of Zoom that does not require any third-party add-in or other tools to access. When you are in a Zoom meeting, click on “Share Screen” and then go to the “Advanced” option. Now click on “PowerPoint as Virtual Background” and choose the PowerPoint presentation you want to show as virtual background. Afterward, you will see the slides in the background of your Zoom meeting along with a small pop-up window showing your camera screen.
Note: For the next 4 hacks, we are going to use OBS (Open Broadcaster Software). With this tool, we will be able to create different video screens and then transmit them to Zoom. So, download it free from the OBS website.
7.Overlay Branding on Video
After downloading OBS, launch the tool. You will see a black screen currently. So, you have to add your camera source here so that your camera video starts showing there. Click on the bottom “+” icon from the “Sources” section and then click “Video Capture Device”. Keep the default name if you like and click “OK”. Now you can choose the camera device you want to show from the bottom and then click “OK”. Your camera video might seem over-sized, so you can resize it by clicking on the new source name you just created (the default name is “Video Capture Device”). From there, click “Resize output (source size)” and then click “Yes”. This way, your camera size adjusts to the perfect aspect ratio.
Now to add your company branding logo, click on the “+” icon from the “Sources” section and then click “Image”. Keep the default name if you like and click “OK”. Now navigate the image file from your computer, direct it to OBS, and then click “OK”. It will take you back to your OBS main screen, where you can now see the image along with your camera video. You can adjust the location and size of the image. The last stage is to transfer it to Zoom. From the “Controls” section in OBS, click on “Start Virtual Camera”. Now go to the Zoom meeting. Click the up-arrow shaped icon next to the “Stop Video” button. There, click on the option “OBS Virtual Camera” under the “Select a Camera”. This way, you will now see your camera video along with the logo you set up in OBS. But you might notice that it is backward. This is because when you see your video in Zoom, it appears as a mirror video. But to all of your meeting participants, it will appear right, so you don’t have to worry about it.
8.Pre-Record Yourself
You can pre-record yourself using the OBS and then play that recording in Zoom. Launch OBS and add your video source into OBS as you did in the previous hack. The next step is to record yourself. From the right-hand side, click “Start Recording”. It will start recording the video. After you have recorded the video, click “Stop Recording”. Now you have to add that video as another source. Click on the bottom “+” icon from the “Sources” section and then click “Media Source”. Click on “OK” and then navigate to the folder where you saved the recorded video. To make the video loop, tick the checkbox narrating “Loop”. Once you have set all settings, click on “OK”. Now you will be back on OBS main window and you will see your recorded video playing in the loop (if you selected the loop checkbox). You can show this video as pre-recorded video in Zoom by clicking the option “Start Virtual Camera” as we did in the previous hack.
9.Transparent Whiteboard
You can have a transparent whiteboard in Zoom while meeting which will help you draw on the camera screen. To do that, you need any kind of application where you can draw, such as Paint, OneNote, etc. We will go for “Paint”, as it is installed by default in Windows. Now open OBS, click on the bottom “+” icon from the “Sources” section and then click “Window Capture”. Now click “OK” on the pop-up window where it asks about the new source name. In the “Window” section located at the bottom, choose “Paint” and then click “OK”. The Paint window will appear on the OBS main window. You can adjust the white area so that it fills up the screen.
Now you have to change the white color into transparent color. From the “Sources” section, click on “Window Capture” and then click the option “Filters”. Within “Filters”, click on the “+” icon and then “Color Key”. You can keep the filter name default and click “OK”. It will open up a prompt. From the “Key Color Type” section, click “Custom Color” > “Select color” > choose the white color > “OK” > close the pop-up window. This way, you will have the paint in front of your screen but it is now transparent, so the white part is not shown. Now as you paint on the video screen, it will show up the marks you are making. Lastly, you can click the option “Start Virtual Camera” to transmit it to Zoom.
10.Show Ending Credits in your Video
You can add ending credits in your video in Zoom to let the meeting participants know that the meeting is ending. To do that, launch OBS, click on the bottom “+” icon from the “Sources” section, and then click “Text”. Keep the default name if you like and click “OK”. Now add the text you want to show as ending credits and then click “OK”. Resize the text to make it look the way you want. To make it scroll, click on “Text” from the bottom, then click on “Filters”. Within “Filters”, click on the “+” icon and then choose “Scroll”. You can keep the filter name default and click “OK”. Here you can set horizontal speed or vertical speed of your choice and then click “OK”. Lastly, you can click the option “Start Virtual Camera” to transmit it to Zoom.
