A few years ago, virtual meetings were a rare occurrence. Most companies only used them for clients that were too far to meet easily, or when they needed a quick turnaround on a critical business decision. Ever since the pandemic started, virtual meetings have become an almost everyday occurrence, even with many staff members heading back to the office. Since many workers were forced into this situation, we’ve unwillingly grown accustomed to it. In some ways, virtual meetings are now the preferred choice for many.
Unlike the office, our homes aren’t a stable environment. Other people likely live with you, and often, your house has the potential to erupt into uncontrolled chaos. People have started to utilize green screen backgrounds for their virtual meetings to combat this. Backgrounds help hide the madness, and there’s no better way to utilize those than with a green screen.
If you haven’t made the jump to using a background yet, but are wondering why there’s a growing trend of green screens in virtual meetings, we’re here to set the record straight. Once this investment makes more sense to you, you might consider joining the trend yourself.
What Do Virtual Backgrounds Achieve?
Whether you own a green screen or not, most video call platforms offer their users a set of virtual backgrounds to freely choose. Why do people feel the need to use them, especially if their room isn’t a total mess?
Allows for More Professionalism
Even though a person might have a clean work environment, it might not meet their professional standards. Most people weren’t ready to work at home, so they might be working in their living room or a spare room-turned-office.
A perfect example is a gaming room. These make for great home offices since they usually have desks and computers that an employee can use. However, if they designed the space with gaming in mind, it won’t look very professional to have a gaming poster hanging up in your background during an important call. Virtual backgrounds remedy these types of issues without redesigning an entire room.
Creates a Controlled Environment
Ensuring your space is presentable whenever you have a virtual meeting can be challenging. Whether someone planned a gathering last-minute, or you didn’t have time to tidy things up before a conference call, keeping a room spotless before a meeting is tricky. Virtual backgrounds offer an easy option for those who need to hide a mess on short notice without quickly cleaning or moving to a different part of the house.
Provides More Marketing Opportunities
There are many other reasons to use a virtual background that don’t include hiding something. You can take advantage of the ability to use any backdrop you want to show off your brand or try out some other marketing strategies with your potential clients or customers. You can even use this type of branding for your staff meetings to build company loyalty among your employees. Regardless of how you go about it, this overlooked marketing techniques is worth a shot.
Grants People Fun and Creativity
Another reason for using virtual backgrounds that some people forget about is the creative opportunities. Meetings can sometimes be boring, but using a fun backdrop can help spark conversations or lighten up the mood of an everyday gathering. While professionalism is important, knowing when and where to have some fun with your background will help make virtual meetings enjoyable.
What Makes Green Screens an Upgrade?
Once people better understand these reasons, the next question is why they should spend money on a green screen if you can accomplish all of this without one. Despite this, the growing trend of green screens in virtual meetings continues to rise. Here are some reasons why these backdrops can help make your meetings even better.
Produces a Seamless Look
One of the biggest complaints about virtual backdrops is they look bad, even if you use a professional one. While the technology of projecting a fake background on any environment has come a long way, it’s certainly not perfect. These computer-generated surroundings tend to have weird cuts around the subject of the video, especially if you move around a lot or have background objects that are the same colors as your clothes.
Green screens help eliminate these issues. The solid color and consistent depth make it easier for the virtual background to be consistent. If the lighting is right, you could even convince someone that it’s your real background. The tech just works better on a green screen.
Adds to the Level of Control
While virtual backgrounds give users a sense of control over their environment, they’re still not perfect without a green screen. Ceiling fans or people moving around in the room will also mess with the consistency of these backdrops, which is sometimes uncontrollable.
A green screen will eliminate all of that by blocking them out entirely. Plus, if you get yourself a portable green screen and stand, you can easily take your backdrop with you anywhere you go, whether it’s to another room or another location altogether.
Another important aspect to note is that green screens affect background sound levels. Just like how you can’t control moving background objects, you can’t stop various loud noises from occurring. Although green screens aren’t meant to be soundproof, the temporary wall behind you will dampen some of the background noise in your home, adding to the level of control that green screens provide.
When Shouldn’t You Use a Virtual Background?
Even though a green screen will help make your virtual background nearly undetectable, there will still be times when you shouldn’t use them. If you’re doing a sales call with a new client, an interview for a new position, or simply virtually meeting someone new, it’s best to avoid changing up your natural environment.
These first meetings are largely built on trust, and if the person can tell that you’re using a fake background, it might break that trust, even if you have nothing to hide. The day might come when green screens are so advanced that no one can tell you’re using one. Until that day comes, it’s best to be as open and honest as possible in virtual meetings.
