We're all in Zoom video meetings these days that take up way too much time. Unfortunately, your boss insists on seeing your face among dozens of other colleagues listening intently to updates on TPS reports.
Use this method to get out of boring meetings by uploading a pre-recorded video of yourself to Zoom.
You may have seen this method in movies, where the hero, in order to win, inserts a fake video with a frozen image of the terrorist into the surveillance system, fooling the guards while the prisoners are freed.
For this trick, you won't need anything more than the computer with the camera that you already use for Zoom meetings. However, it should be a modern work-from-home laptop with a CPU with at least 8 threads to handle the video background. Almost any Intel 7th-gen or equivalent Kaby Lake R laptop will do, as well as older quad-core computers. Basically, if computer can't meet the Zoom virtual environment requirements, it won't work for this trick.
To create the video loop, we will use Zoom itself, which you can download for free from the Zoom Download Center. We recommend that you always have the same background, or simply use one of Zoom's virtual background images. From the main Zoom screen, click the orange New Meeting button.
Position yourself in the frame. While looking at the camera, press Alt + R to start recording or click the Record button at the bottom of the window. Zoom will show that it is recording in the upper left corner (don't worry, this won't show in the video itself). Keep looking at the camera. Blink your eyes and tilt your head slightly or nod your head to show that you are paying attention.
While you should make these small, subtle gestures to appear alert and present, you shouldn't overdo it. Don't make sudden movements or strong expressions of excitement, which could cause boss to notice you and ask for your opinion. Also, don't grumble, smile, or display emotions that indicate you want to participate.
Record yourself doing this for a minute or two, then press Alt + R to end the recording or use the Stop Record button.
When you exit the meeting by pressing Alt + Q, Zoom will automatically convert the recorded video and then open the folder it is stored. Copy this file to a folder of your choice.
Zoom unfortunately inserts black frames at the beginning of the recorded video. This will cause the screen to go black for a second every time it restarts. While some may assume it's a video conferencing, this behavior can make your boss suspect something strange is going on.
Use Windows 10's built-in video editor to remove them. It's actually part of the underrated Photos and should be included for free in recent builds of Windows. Just click the Windows and search for Video Editor.
In the Video Editor, click + Add to Project Library, select From this PC, and place it in the location where your Zoom recording is saved.
To trim the video, drag it from the Project library to the timeline. Normally, you could link multiple videos together here in the Storyboard, adding music or effects, but all you need to do is trim the black frames. To do this, right-click on the video you just dragged to the Storyboard and select Trim.
Windows will now open this single file in Trim mode, which allows you to trim out unwanted sections. First, grab the small circle and line cursor for the timeline at the bottom and drag it just past the black screens of the video. Once that's done, drag the blue trim indicator below it to match the scrubber. Video Editor will trim anything before the blue trim indicators at each end of the video. If, for example, you threw a piece of recording at the end, you can trim it by dragging the trim tool to the right to a trim point.
Click Done in the Trim mode, which will take you back to the main video editor screen. Select Finish video in the top right corner of the Video Editor. Windows should default to 1080p and high quality. Accept this, then choose where you want the finished video to go. Windows will now export the video.
The final step is to add the video to Zoom. To do this, launch Zoom (it's probably minimized to the Windows system tray, so double-click it) and you should see the four familiar icons. Click the gear icon in the top right corner of the Zoom window. Select the Virtual Background category on the left, click the + button, and select Add Video.
Place it near where your edited video is. We recommend placing any virtual Zoom backgrounds in a place that won't be moved. Zoom will always look in this folder for your backgrounds, so if you move this folder to a desktop cleanup, your background will be lost.
There’s one last step, and that’s to cover your camera. Remember, this virtual video background is a video that’s getting your attention. Zoom will automatically overlay your existing camera image on top of this video, so your boss will know something is wrong by seeing “two different images.” If laptop has a privacy shutter, close it or simply put some opaque tape over the camera.
Now you’re ready to join that boring company meeting. Make sure you mute your microphone, as anything you say won’t match the video on the screen. While you can technically take a nap during the meeting, we recommend at least keeping the audio on the stream. That way, you can hear if your boss asks a question. If that happens, you can turn your camera back on and then cut the video. This will show you live in the meeting.
