Some More Complicated Miscellaneous Webcam Learnings

Although it became somewhat over-edited, I tried writing a "simple" introduction to better use of Webcams for Zoom (and similar) meetings - here.  It covers things like "don't point your camera up your nose."

In this new blog, I memorialize some more complicated learnings over the past couple weeks.

The first simple blog will get you as far as indicated below.  I started with a really terrible home office lighting setup and I improved it quite a bit with just a few, very simple, 30-second tricks.  However, it took a week to figure them out.

click to enlarge

What's this new blog?  I memorialize some things you may want to know after you've figured out how to place your camera properly, light yourself properly, and maybe, if you're on ZOOM, use a virtual background (I prefer dark and not too busy, for professsional meetings).

###

WEBINAR PROGRAMS AND CAPABILITIES

My clients use ZOOM, and WEBEX, and one uses BLUEJEANS.  Other companies may use Microsoft TEAMS.   Each one of these requires a separate app on your laptop.

To my knowledge, WEBEX and BLUEJEANS only take your direct camera output and don't have many options - no backgrounds, I don't think.   If you want fancy stuff for these programs, you have to insert a special program like MANYCAM between your camera and the webinar software (virtual camera, below).

ZOOM gives you several background options, such as VIRTUAL BACKGROUND and also CHROMAKEY background.   But what are those?  (To skip ahead, you can buy software that will intercept your camera and add backgrounds PRIOR to sending the image to Webex or Blueeans.)

WHAT ARE VIRTUAL BACKGROUNDS?

>>>>ZOOM INSTRUCTIONS

For Zoom, click on the Gear button (in Windows) and you'll see a list of options - General, Video, Audio, Virtual Background.  

General is just that - Start Zoom with Windows; show your connected time.   Video shows what you're currently webcasting and lets you pick CAMERA via a drop down menu.  It also let you start meetings with video off, forcing you to turn it on, confirming you want to be seen.

Virtual Background (VBG).  This lets you put your face and shoulders on top of a background, either one provided by Zoom, or any JPEG you might want to import (via the PLUS + button).  Note that the Aurora and Beach pictures provided by Zoom are actually movies as backdrops.  To turn off Virtual Background, click the top left button in the thumbnails panel which is "Black/None."  For a simple video of using VBG in Zoom, here.

Virtual Background is a recent innovation.  Prior to Virtual Background, you had to have a green screen backgroup to do this image impositions.

In my experience, Virtual Background works better inside Zoom, than inside the separate commercial programs Chromacam ($29) or Manycam ($69 up).  But Virtual Backgrounds never works perfectly and there's often a "swimming pixels" effect around your head.  Being in front of a simple background, a black piece of cardboard, can help.

ChromaKey or Green Screen.  Staying within Zoom/Virtual Background, there is a button "I have a green screen."  This means you are in front of a bright, uniformly lit green screen.   This should give a much cleaner image imposition.   Note that when you click "+" I have a greenscreen,  a new logo appears, "Manually pick the color of the background if the detected color is not accurate" and a tiny color button.   The button shows you the color that Zoom thinks your green screen is.  If you click the color button, and move your mouse over the video, you can "eyedropper" the color of your green screen.   ChromaKey is a brand name and "I am using Green Screen" is a synonym.

<<< END ZOOM INSTRUCTIONS

WHAT ARE VIRTUAL CAMERAS?

If you just have a simple laptop, your choice under VIDEO/CHOOSE CAMERA will be just one choice - typically "Integrated camera" (in Windows) or "Facetime camera" (in Mac). 

Because I had problems with my main laptop's camera, and because in my office the laptop is four feet lateral to my keyboard and double screens, I got a second, standalone USB camera, a Logitech C920.  (These are normally $80 and currently scalped for $200.  If you get one, get a C922). 

When I plug in the C920 into the USB, my VIDEO/CHOOSE CAMERA now gives me two choices, Integrated Camera or Logitech C920.

This brings us to Virtual Camera.   If you use CHOOSE CAMERA with Real Cameras, you are stuck with whatever the camera is showing, and whatever tools your web meeting program has (or lacks).

If you happen to have Logitech C920/C922, you can download Logitech Capture, which is a virtual camera version of your C920/C922.

If you select the C920 camera directly, in Zoom, you can use controls in Zoom. But if you select the Logi Capture Virtual Camera as a "camera" input to Zoom, you can open theCapture software and tweak the camera on the fly during your Zoominar (or other webinar).  You can adjust magnification, brightness, color balance, etc, within Logi Capture ,and it immediately becomes part of your webinar.  Weirdly, Logi Capture has a Green Screen function, but it only turns your greenscreen background to gray or black behind, Logi Capture doesn't let you replace it with anything.

##

There are three standalone ways, in rising cost and or complexity, for creating a Virtual Camera.  A virtual camera will show up in your Camera Select Drop Down Menu just like a real camera.  However, the virtual camera will let you play with camera settings or backgrounds before the image goes to a program like Webex or Bluejeans.   That's the point.  The value of a Virtual Camera depends on how powerful its video options are. 

Simplest Virtual Background (Not Recommended)
I got ChromaCam software, from Personify, which is about $29.  It lets you use some Virtual Backgrounds, but they are not as clean as what is already built into Zoom.   It also gives you a "blur background" function.  Some programs like Microsoft Teams have "blur background" built in. It has no greenscreen function though, only virtual background.

Medium (More $$)
Software called MANYCAM is both more powerful, and more expensive, than ChromaCam/Personify.  I shelled out for this because I wanted something to use as a virtual camera to manipulate the webcast before it reached Webex or Bluejeans.   Licenses are $69 up.  Note you need ManyCam Studio at higher cost to get green screen functionality, which I discuss further below, including how to register ManyCam.  When that is all done, it is a virtual camera:

Select ManyCam as if it was its own physical camera in your drop down menus.   Be sure, of course, that ManyCam itself is getting input from your best real camera.  See more about ManyCam at bottom.

Hardest (Time and Labor! I haven't done this and never will)
You will hear about something called OBS STUDIO.  This very complex using, elaborate shareware that is popular with dedicated webcasters or Youtube video makers.   It has plugins that will let you:
* Use iPhone as your camera
* Use DSLR as your camera
* Use virtual background
* Use OBS as a Virtual Camera
However, I would not touch this unless you are prepared to spend many hours learning a system.

What is GREEN SCREEN?

I got a pop up round green screen for $50 from Webaround (mine from Amazon). 

Green Screen: Wrinkles?

You'll read that green screens have to be perfect, no wrinkles, lit by six even lights, etc.  For webinars, Zoom, etc, that's not necessary.

Green Screen: Light?

In my narrow, badly lit mini home office, it doesn't work well, Uf I wanted to invest in lighting, it would be perhaps 100 watt bulbs clamped left side and right side to shelving above my desk. 

But: Good news.  My office is exceptionally bad.   I took the Webaround green screen with my laptop to a brightly lit window, and to a shaded porch outside my house, and it worked fine.

Green Screen: Software

Good:  Zoom with Green Screen function clicked on the Virtual Background page.   Note you may need to tap the "color box" and "eyedropper" the screen to get the best result. With Zoom you get one color.  If you're fairly evenly lit it will be OK.

Not so Good:  In the Logitech Capture "virtual camera" software, the green screen function did not work as well, plus, the question is sort of moot, all it does it export a black (or dark gray) background around your head.

Best:  ManyCam!  It took some trial and error.  Turn on Virtual Backgrounds and enable Green Screen.  Here's the trick:  Like in Zoom, you get an eye dropper function.  Unlike in Zoom, you can use the eyedropper function multiple times.  So if your green screen has lighter and darker tones, click all of them until it works well.   It's additive.  Note:  It's additive forever. To start over, click the "reverse circular arrow" button.   (If you have added in too many eyedropper clicks then it's a complete failure and you'll tear your hair out unless you tap the "reverse circular arrow.")

LOGITECH C920 QUICK TIPS

These basically work out of the box.  It will work even if you don't download the Logitech Software (branded Logitech Capture.)

You can get into CAPTURE software to adjust your camera "zoom" (magnification" and set color balance, contrast, etc.  However, you have to start CAPTURE before starting your secondary program (like Webex or Zoom) in which Capture will appear as a Virtual Camera in the Camera selection pull-down.   Remember, as far as I can tell, Capture has a green screen function but it only sends your face on a black background (play with the bars below the green screen button).   Also, it doesn't let you tweak the green screen color.  What you can do in Capture is toggle your zoom buttons, color temperature, etc.   (You could also do this in ManyCam if you buy it).

OTHER WEBCAM CHOICES  - DSLR, iPhone

As some YouTubers note, Logitech C920 (and more recently C922) have dominated the amateur webcam market for years.    The latest and most expensive Logitech camera is StreamCam (2019, I think). 

If you put time and effort into it, you can use a DSLR or even a Smartphone as your web camera.  However, this takes time and effort to figure out the available software and in the case of DSLR, requires some hardware like a adapter from the DSLR's mini or micro HDMI output to your laptop.  Search youtube for topics like "DSLR for Webcasting" or "iPhone for Webcasting."

The simplest YouTube video for hooking up a DSLR is here.  But he doesn't discuss power supply; you usually need extra parts to power a DSLR for streaming.

More About ManyCam

Registration is a little tricky.  I bought with my business email, but I signed in with Google (and my Gmail email).   You have to go back to the email you purchased with and click "verify account" before the license starts working.   I got a fairly expensive version ($149) which allows 3 computers for lifetime.  Once it is installed and the license is up, it has a lot of software controls including virtual background (once again, not quite as good as what is built into Zoom already) and other controls.

Options on the Top Bar:
   Zoom slider magnification)
   Color Adjustment / Contrast, hue, etc
   Video frames per second and resolution
   Gear (Account, options to show in option menus, etc)
Options in Side Bar
  Presets, layers, video sources
  Audio (many options, noise suppression etc)
  Draw and Text (impose text, pencil, on image)
  Time (stopwatches, etc)
  "ChromaKey" (Turn on and off; blur background; Virtual background (with or without Green Screen)
  "Lower Third" (add text panel to lower third) eg like CNN
  Effects
  Gallery (believe this is screen shots, etc, you've made)
  Favorites (add your favorite buttons to this panel)

In ManyCam, to adjust Logitech C920 contrast, I can't find it on the main menus.  The workaround is to hover over the main ManyCam streaming video image, right click, select Properties, and on that next popup find Contrast.

As mentioned above, ManyCam has a more powerful greenscreen option than other choices here.  ChromaCam has no green screen option (built for teenagers).   Logitech C920 software has a green screen option, but it is a fixed brightness and frequency (not good), and doesn't let you insert any virtual background (duh!), it just makes the green into black.   Zoom has good virtual background and also good Green Screen option.  In Green Screen mode it lets you select ONE point of reference for color.   ManyCam has the most powerful Green Screen adjustment (short of OBS Studio).   It lets you clear the settings for green (circular undo arrow), then select multiple green screen reference points.

A to Z SOFTWARE SUMMARY (some repetition)

SIMPLEST
  Native camera and Zoom.
    Zoom gives you only some basic controls, like Virtual Background.   The Virtual Background is pretty good, Zoom is the best I have seen in virtual background software. 
    If you want to graduate to Green Screen, there is a button for that, but it's not the best green screen (ManyCam is).  Note that the Zoom Green Screen button turns on a small color button that helps you tune your green screen with a "color eyedropper."
   But with Zoom alone, you'll search in vain for contrast control, zoom control, or things like blur-background.

   Laptop plus Buying a Separate Camera (E.g. Logitech C920/C922)
   Move to this if your computer doesn't have a camera or it is not good.   My Lenovo X1 has a poor camera and in my office I set it up 4 feet lateral to my screens and desk.    My Microsoft Surface 7 Camera is basically about as good as Logitech.   Select Logitech as your Zoom camera (easy, a pull down option).  If you can buy a C922 not a C920, and they're all being scalped at 3X prices in April 2020.

Next Level:  Using Logitech CAPTURE Software
   You probably installed Logitech Capture Software.   You can ignore it and use the C920 directly as your camera.  But why ignore it?  Try it by, before opening Zoom, you open Capture and then select "Capture" as your virtual camera after you open Zoom.
    The advantage is that Logi CAPTURE gives you a range of camera controls you can use before, or while, on Zoom.  These include electronic zoom, once you are zoomed pan and tilt, and controls like brightness, warmth, contrast.   These are powerful and helpful and you realizes that when you see them as options for the first time.
   In Capture,  there is a "green screen" button but all it does is turn your green background black, so it's pretty useless for amateurs who won't be, ahem, layering video layers.

Alternate Next Level:  Purchase Virtual Camera Software
    Here, InstaCam is for 12 year olds, ChromaCam is inexpensive but gives poor virtual camera (worse than Zoom itself) and no green screen.

    ManyCam is more expensive, and note, you need the Studio version to get green screen. 
    Like CAPTURE (which was free) in ManyCam you get access to controls like Zoom and Brightness you can use during your Zoom meeting to touch up.   Note you have to right click on the ManyCam video image and select Properties to get some key camera controls like contrast. 
     You get Virtual background without green screen, but it's not as good as Native Zoom virtual background.
      In ManyCam, you get BETTER green screen than any other options.  This is especially important for home office, where your green screen setup is likely pretty amateur (not lit with precise evenness).  You can "eyedrop" multiple points around the screen until the green screen is optimized.        ManyCam has a nice blur background feature located under Virtual Image since Blur Background is a type of virtual image making an artificial front plane (face) and rear plane (everything else.)  I found a tiny amount of background blurring was best (like 5% of the sliding bar).   Also, Virtual Image [planes] works really well when the amount of background blur is small.  It makes your properly focused face "pop" which is nice on the postage stamp images you usually get in Zoom meetings.

ManyCam with mild use of "blur background"

Professional Level:

As I mentioned, there is something called OBS studio freeware, which looks incredibly complicated and has lots of plug in options (e.g. plug in DSLR).   This is over my head.  If you want to edit video and overlay 5 layers of video, this is your level.

  
  
  
  
  
 


 

Some Simple Webinar Video Tips

Some tips listed here are very simple, a few others would take a little more effort.
I had to work on this for a while, since my starting position in my home office was so bad I couldn't just use it as-it-was:

click to enlarge

Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2020
Subject: Video Tips

In a period of boredom, I browsed some YouTube videos on the topic of looking good on Webinars.  I had to.  My native office setting has a bright window immediately behind my head, and puts my laptop (with its camera) four feet to my side as I use standalone monitors and keyboards for my desk.

Summary

1( CAMERA
If you're laptop camera is pretty good, you're set.   If you have different options (a laptop, an ipad pro) try that. 

If you think a camera is your limiting factor, you're kind of stuck since cameras aka "webcams" are back-ordered for months.  However, see CAMERA 2 info at bottom.

2) POSITION
One of the most important things is position.   Your camera should be at your eye level of a couple inches above.  With a camera on a laptop laying on a desk, this is often not the case.  So find something to elevate it - for example, a file box, a couple reams of paper, etc.

It's a cliche, but avoid being too close or too far.  Often, a little further back looks better than people guess.   Faux pas: Camera pointing up your nose.  (You'll see this far too often).

3) LIGHTING
This is the second most important thing.  Have bright light directly ahead of you (in front of you) and directly behind the camera.  Do not have a window behind your head.   If you can, consider putting an office lamp or table lamp behind your laptop or camera.  Or use a table in front of a natural window (or move to such a location selectively for your most important calls). 

Look at yourself and experiment.  You can put a phone on Selfie mode and try different locations without dragging your laptop around.

4) BACKGROUND
Should be simple as possible.   The classic seems to be some bookshelves with a few books and a vase.  See what you can do.  Darker background can be good.   (If it's quite dark, then avoid very dark or black clothing). 

A deep background (seeing a full room behind you) can work. 
Obvious and easily straightened up clutter = a no-no. 

5) SUBTLE MAKEUP
Men - be the one wearing a button down shirt not a t-shirt and, did you shave?
Makeup? This is a personal choice but let's say, don't automatically rule it out (thinking of women here and just quoting YouTube material that says this).

6) WHAT ABOUT AUTO or VIRTUAL BACKGROUND?
It's usually kind of corny, but can work.

You may have started seeing one participant in Zoom with a backdop of the Eifel Tower.  This is called "Virtual Background."

In Zoom, first of all, you must be on a fairly new laptop*, or using iPhone 8 up.  If you are, log in to Zoom (do this independently of a call link).  See Settings (often a gear figure or a three dot symbol). Find the option for: Virtual background - turn on.  It may quickly download some extra software to enable this utility. 

Zoom gives you a couple few stock photos (ocean, clouds) or you can include any photo you can find.

Bruce tips:  Photo background should be not too cluttered and not too bright.   Consider desaturating a color picture (it seems to help).   Zoom backdrop pictures don't migrate - you must load your background in each device you use for Zoom.

Example above of several Zoom crimes.  (Ignore the dim reflection of myself in front of my own screen).   One guy is using an interesting virtual background (iceberg), but his face is dimly backlit.  In fact, 3 of the 4 people who aren't me, have badly backlit faces.

One (lower middle) was well lit, but camera pointing up at him from low on the table top.

My picture?  Not a prize winner, but note I am:

• Front lit (I face a table in front of a window).  This is the quickest win.
• Camera elevated by a box to near eye level.   This is also a quick win.
• (I'm using a separate camera here, a Logitech 920, but it's about the same picture quality as my new Surface 7 laptop.  The 920 does have software for a standalone zoom (magnification) function which I used.)
• (I didn't use a virtual background, but I'm still researching that.  Probably a dark and not colorful and not too busy one.  They work much better if you also use a green screen.)
• Fun fact.
• (While my picture on camera looks ok, the "studio" I was filming from was a jerry-rigged, goofy area with a Microsoft Surface, propped on a box by a window, plugged in under a nearby lamp, and tilted precariously to the correct angle by some odds and ends like a marker under its back kickstand.  
• (The darkish background is our family room with the overhead lights turned off.)

##

MORE


7) CAMERA 2

Your laptop camera may be fine, or may be weak.   In normal times, a $60 Logitech camera (920 or 922) is a fast cheap upgrade for older laptops.  Sadly, these are currently scalped for $200 if you can find one.  It clips atop your monitor or other location and plugs in with a simple USB.

Logitech cameras come with their own software with a range of adjustments (contrast, brightness, field of view.)   Also, the Logitech software, I'm told, comes with Auto Background feature even if the particular brand of webinar program you use on a particular business call does not. 

To be sure your system is using the add-on camera, webinar programs generally have "settings, video," which lets you use a pull down option to pick a camera (e.g. pick "internal" or pick "Logitech.")

You probably want your camera very close to your screen, since you are both on camera and watching something on the webinar and you want your line of sight to be close.  However, there are items like an InnoGear Webcam Stand (Amazon) or various tripod clamps that give you options other than literally resting your little webcam on the rim of your laptop.


##

*

Zoom Virtual Background "Freeze Frame" on Older Laptop
On an older laptop, the Zoom Virtual Background option will not appear, or, will default to "Virtual Image" which does nothing more than put a frozen snapshot of your face in front of the background and you lose video altogether.   (Don't ask me how long it took to figure this out.)  However, on my older laptop with a Logi 920 camera, Zoom virtual background did work, so it's not solely based on the laptop chip.

##

Silly Virtual Background Makes Points

Below, Edward Gorey cartoon as Zoom virtual background.  While silly, it fits a few rules: No distracting colors, darkish, gray, one feature of interest not too many.  I moved my laptop to a table where I face a window for lighting.

##

Green screen test: with green toy.

I don't have a green screen, but I tried the software button, and nothing happened.  Well, nothing green was there.  I looked around for something green, and found this little figure, bright green.  (It's the Berlin green-for-walk guy.)  When I tap the software green screen button, he turns black.

Top pic has "green screen" turned on, magically turning green stuff to black

Happy Day! My German Language Anecdote is Read on German Podcast

Very happy day for me, and I'll jump to the punch line.  A paragraph-long anecdote I wrote in German, about a snowy midnight in Berlin when I suddenly encountered Angela Merkel, was read aloud to an audience of thousands in April 2020. 

How this happened, I'll give a few bullet points of background and then show the anecdote in English.

______

• For several years, Kari Schmidt in Berlin has run a YouTube channel, Easy German,  They now have over 600,000 subscribers and are supported by ads and by the donation service Patreon.  It's a lively series of ten minute videos (in German, with English subtitles) aimed at intermediate German listeners.
• Easy German YouTube homepage here.
• Since 2019, they've added a weekly one-hour German podcast (with hosts Kari and her colleague Manuel and sometimes her colorful Polish husband Janusz) - Easy German Podcast.  The podcasts are edited and are released with transcripts, vocabulary, etc. 
• Easy German Podcast homepage here.
• The all-German conversations are just a bit slowed-down, just a bit clearer-pronounced, to aid learners.
• Under COVID, they've added frequent 15 minute daily updates, chatting, unedited, called Zwischdings (the in-between-things).
• Zwischdings has recently had a regular feature, Merkel Updates, what interesting or amusing noise about the Chancellor there might be.

OK.  Regarding Merkel-Updates, I wrote and sent in a paragraph story in German about an encounter with the Chancellor, a few inches from me, suddenly, on a snowy midnight in 2013.   

My heart nearly stopped when, the next day, a Zwischending was released with the title - "Ein Mercedes im Schnee" - Mercedes in the snow - it had to be my anecdote. 

Kari and Manuel joked they were now getting personal "Merkel News" even from listeners overseas, and introduced mine as "From our listener Bruce in California," and read the whole thing.  They may have corrected a mistake or two as they read, but it was basically what I wrote.  As a life-long German hobbyist, this was a peak experience for me.   

####

The Anecdote

Merkel Anecdote - Merkel in the Snow

I live in California, but in February 2013, I spent a week in Berlin.  One night I saw a rare documentary ("Dresden, Come Together, 13 Februar") at Kino Krokodil, with about 3 in the room.   Another night, I went to a lecture at Deutsches Historisches Museum/DHM by Museum Island.   Walking home at 10 pm, in light snow, up the empty middle of am Kupfergraben.  On my right, a black Mercedes sat quietly.  Less than a meter from me, a woman inside the car on a cell phone.  Merkel!  Our eyes met for a moment, I continued walking in the snow, up the street, to my hotel.

##

Almost exactly as read on the podcast:

Ich lebe in Kalifornien, aber im Februar 2013 habe ich eine Winter-Woche in Berlin verbracht. Eine Nacht, sah ich im Kino Krokodil/Prenzlauerberg einen seltenen Dokumentarfilm (heisst "Dresden, Come Together, 13. Februar") mit ungefähr drei Personen im Raum. An einem anderen Abend besuchte ich einen Vortrag im Deutschen Historischen Museum / DHM bei Museum Island. Um 22 Uhr nach Hotel zu gehen, bei leichtem Schnee ging ich die leere Mitte des am Kupfergrabens Strasse hinauf. Zu meiner LLinken, ein stiller schwarzer Mercedes. Weniger als einen Meter von mir entfernt sitzt eine Frau darin, auf einem Handy. Die Merkel! Unsere Augen trafen sich für einen kurzen Moment, und ich ging weiter im Schnee die Straße entlang zu meinem Hotel.

###

Footnote.  Why I Know German

When I began my pre-med freshman year, at Creighton University, my Jesuit advisor let me know that he understood, if you major in biology or chemistry, it was good to take German.  So my class list included German.   Somewhere along Thanksgiving, I noticed there were 500 students in Chem 1010, 500 in Biology 101, and only one of them in German.   When I transferred to Stanford, I took some more German classes, lived in the German theme dorm, and kept it up in residency in neuropathology.  When a disease was named after a German doctor from the 1880s, I would look up the old German paper and struggle through it.   In the past 5 or 10 years, I've become a Berlin-lover, with multiple weeklong trips, and my German has gotten much better (at age 60!) with the abundance of Youtube videos and podcasts at your fingertips.