118 PCWorld MAY 2020HERE’S HOW MAKE A FUNNY ZOOM BACKGROUND
the Video Projects box, where you’ll
want to click Finish Video to save and
export your video. You may as well
save it in 1080p quality, though you’re
certainly free to choose another
format. Remember, this is a
background video, so the quality
doesn’t have to be top-notch.
From here, you’re done. Open the
Zoom app again, even if you’re not
connected to a meeting, and double-
check that your video looks the way you
want. Remember that a video
background may annoy your
coworkers—even if that’s the intent!—so
you may want a calmer, more businesslike
background as a secondary option.
Or you may want to take it a step
further: PCWorld’s Gordon Mah Ung figured
out how to make a custom Zoom Background
looping video of yourself (go.pcworld.com/
zmlp), so you can look like you’re in the
meeting even if you aren’t. Use wisely!HOW TO USE AN
ANIMATED GIF AS A
ZOOM BACKGROUND
You’d think if Zoom supported video
backgrounds that it would also support
animated GIFs natively, but for some reason
it doesn’t. No worries: Our own Gordon
Mah Ung has figured out a workaround. You
can use the power of existing online tools to
convert your favorite animated GIF to a fileformat Zoom will support (go.pcworld.com/
gfzm). Occasionally Zoom may resist your
efforts, but worst case, you just try again.
In any event, it’s fun just to explore, create,
and develop a background to suit your mood
or the situation. You can use a custom
background to define your sense of personal
style—after all, chances are your coworkers
won’t really see what you’re wearing, anyway!
Note: We used the following YouTube
videos to illustrate this story: Guardians:
Inferno (go.pcworld.com/gdin), Cute
Puppies Playing in Backyard (4K) (go.pcworld.
com/cute), Orbit (Uncut) (go.pcworld.com/
orbt), and Starfield - 2 Hours Deep Space
Travelt (go.pcworld.com/star).Reddit/r/GIFs is a great place to find GIFs.