7 Jan 2018

Our last visitor just zoomed in! What?

What? Did I hear it well? "Our last visitor just zoomed in" ? Someone joined the meeting.

New vocabulary is coming in, in this case for a meeting held through Zoom. "We zoom together"; he zoomed in (or out); let us zoom tomorrow morning and so on. Let me share (my screen) : oh no! I wanted to show you my base camp / my path / my project / not the mess from my desc! Here are the Electives from Level three. All this we have to get used to and at the beginning, explain what we mean. 

As we have to understand that we can change our background at any minute, chose the one more appropriate to each speech or occasion. Yesterday, I was Ah-counter and used, for some time an image behind me with Ahs, Ums, Hmm, before going back to blue, so not to attract unnecessary attention to me.  

This one was my first digital background. Yes, it is from home, even if not to room I use to connect to the web meetings.
It seems so "natural" that a "video monitor" a new role online, suggested me not to have the window behind me, or close the curtain. In the last months, I learned a lot what light to use and what angle to put it, what to wear depending on my background, so on.

When I am cold, of course I prefer this warm one, even if the red is not best with many backgrounds, but works for this one, a stylized version of the gate leading between our buildings.

I do not mind the shadow, because it makes me look more authentic. To many light sources do "kill" the shadows but give an artificial cardboard view of the face.

The other background I use, whenever I speak about Path is an alley nearby: path!

Of course, clearly outside.

I am sitting home, same place as in all of the others, and the black armchair is showing a bit but not enough to be distracting. 

I found out in fact, most look at my smile, which I try to be as warm as possible, very aware, that even only as listener, I am always "on". They tell, "Julie is a good listener". Of course, I also try to react to what I hear, one can't smile all the time!

But here is the background I use more often with black or blue teeshirt on me. When want to be more festive, I add a scarf. 

Blue, it is not uniform and works very well with my white hair. Mostly, my face and arms and when a bit further my hands are seen. When I will begin to try speak from farther, I'll learn new ways of doing. But for now for a meeting lasting one or two hours, sitting is the best. Plus, I can share my screen, mute the sound and click on my keyboard. 

How you do that? A digital background? or as they also use to say it a "green screen". Again "green screen" ? Indeed, what is in real behind me a Green Tissue on the wall, ironed after I did buy it for not much. Some put it on or take it out, I leave it on a corner of my living room, as in all I have only two rooms, and no place for it or my computer elsewhere. 

Pictures are easy to take, create or found, and with a click upload to "my free zoom" video backgrounds. The question arose the other day: "how one allows video backgrounds"? That is an option each has to "allow" after registering (free) to zoom and in her or his Settings allowing Advanced Features. The "digital backgrounds" allowed or not are between those features. 

I begun to learn about Zoom in June, after I protested in vain against it and the change. Now, I love it and each week learn some new feature I can use. Some work less well the first time around. It is just as with Pathways: we have to get used to them, then we love them more and more. We do not have to get all in one day! At the beginning, just do what we need most. Navigate, close a project. Then, will arrive the "more" and we can teach others soon.

1 comment:

Vic said...

Great ideas on green screen. You are the master