How to Add Virtual Background Support for Video Conferencing Software That Does Not Allow It by Default (macOS and Windows)
OVERVIEW
Sometimes, you must join a meeting but can’t find a Virtual Background support in the Video Conferencing Software that you are using for the meeting, for example if you are using GoToMeeting, Google Meet and etc. And maybe you are switching between Video Conferencing Software that support it, for example, Microsoft Teams, Zoom and etc. and just want to have one standard Virtual Background for your camera regardless of which app you are using so you don’t need to worry about that at all!
In this blogpost I am going to show you how to overcome those challenges and add Virtual Background support for Video Conferencing Software that does not allow it by default, and how to add one Virtual Background to your camera itself to rule all the Video Conferencing Software, for macOS and Windows.
Requirements
None.
Demo
STEP 1
To start things up, you need to download and install Snap Camera and open it! But make sure no other software is using your camera before opening it, other wise problems would occur!
Type Virtual Background in the search, and choose any lens that you like! Your outcome should be similar to the screenshot below.
Now go to your Video Conferencing Software, GoToMeeting for example, and from the settings from Camera dropdown choose “Snap Camera”!
We have now used an existing Lens, that is half the mission, but now is the time to create our very own Lens!
What we are trying to achieve is to go from figure (1) to figure (2) as per the example below. Note that the example below is just for illustration purposes.
Input example
Output example
STEP 2
Download and install Lens Studio.
STEP 3
Open Lens Studio and click the “LOGIN TO MY LENSES” button at the top right corner of the app.
STEP 4
After you have successfully logged in, get back to Lens Studio and go to Templates.
STEP 5
Choose “Segmentation” from the templates, and if you don’t find it, simply use the search bar to search for “segmentation” and click that.
Wait for it to finish loading the project.
STEP 6
You will find a lot of interesting stuff after the project loads, but don’t worry, at this stage what we need to do is very simple!
- Uncheck the option that says “Use Background Color”.
- Click on “Image Texture” to change the background picture.
STEP 7
After you click on “Image Texture” you are gonna get a popup, just click the “+” icon and then click “From Files” and choose your desired media file.
For example I am going to use a picture of the Ancient Egyptian Pyramids.
Now that you have already chosen your picture, click “Ok”.
STEP 8
Now you’re all set, just few more steps and you’re done!
Unchecked the option called “Tiled” and keep the option “Fill” selected as it is the best from my experience!
And here you go!
STEP 9
Now that you have created your Virtual Background, it is time to publish it! But before we do that, let’s change the Project Info to add a catchy name and icon. Click on Project Info.
Now you can choose an Icon, a Name, choose which camera it is intended for, optionally add a hint, then click Apply!
STEP 10
Now let’s publish the lens you just created to Snap Camera, the app that is going to do all the magic! Basically click “Publish Lens” and wait for it to progress.
It will then take you to a browser to complete your publish, you basically have to click “Submit New Lens” because that is what you are doing!
You will then get to review the submission form and insert some tags to make your lens searchable in Snap Camera and Snapchat! All you have to do then is to click “Submit Lens”!
And wait a little for the review process, usually a few minutes.
You can use the actual Lens I created in this blogpost by typing “Egyptian Pyramids” in your Snap Camera search box, or copying and pasting the following link to your Snap Camera search box, or even by taking a picture of the following picture.
Resources
Summary
I only showcased in this blogpost how to create a Virtual Background and use it, but you can create much more with the mentioned tools! I hope this blogpost was beneficial to you and I wish you a very happy new year! 🎅
