So, you want to get the perfect office backdrop for your video, right?

Then you´ve come to the right place, I´m going to talk about how you can create an awesome office background for your videos in order to give a more professional look to your content.

Let´s start!

1. Set Your Paper Backdrop

Your very first step to set your office backdrop at home and give a more professional look to your videos is to choose the RIGHT backdrop.

No, I´m not talking about the typical one-color seamless paper backdrop that you place behind you and start shooting.

There are many great options you can look at to see what I mean, here are a few that I like:

Yep, those are office printed backdrops from Backdrop Express, they actually look pretty cool to be a fake background.

Also, if you combine one of these good-looking backdrops with the next point I´m going to talk about (which is the blurry background effect) people won´t notice the difference!

You can use one of these backdrops and set the scene with some real props, like your own desk, maybe a light stand, or any other piece of furniture that can add some realism to your background.

There are many things you could add to it in order to make it better and you´ll surely get a super professional look for your videos.

2. Blurry Your “Office” Out

The secret to HOW there are many videos on YouTube and other platforms that succeed on getting that professional look we are familiarized with depends on the right focus the subject gets in contrast to the background.

In fact.

It´s probably one of the most effective ways to get a really cool background, and make yourself the center of the image at the same time, just by blurrying everything out.

Now, how can you do the same but still get the office look?

Well, if you own a bookshelf or you can stand in front of your desk with your computer over it or any other piece of furniture that might give you the “office” type of look then you are set.

Your very next step will be to properly blurry those things in order to capture people´s attention by making them look at YOU, while you keep the professional background.

Here´s how:

• You can get as much light as you can to enter the lens of the camera, whether you invest in a better lens for your DSLR that has a lower f-stop number, which means that the aperture will be wider, or that you simply set the default aperture to the lowest number it can go.
• Another thing you could do is to film in plain daylight by standing in front or near a big window, in case you´re shooting at home. Plus, putting some distance between you and your background will help.
• Finally, there´s one more factor that affects background sharpness, and that is the focal length of your lens. If you put enough distance between you and the background and shoot with a long-enough length you can get some blurriness, although you may need a large office space.

Here´s what the guys at Wistia did with their office background:

As you can see there´s a notable difference with the seamless paper background.

If you get that blurry effect you will easily make people focus on you and what you have to say to your viewers, so go ahead and try it!

3. The Proper Use of Green Screens

You´ve probably heard of green screens before but not exactly HOW you should use them to make your backdrop look awesome, right?

Well then, let me help you with that.

Here´s a step by step process of exactly what to do:

1. First, you can buy any standard green screen online quite easily or use a green sheet, if you have one or can tint one.
2. Then, make sure that you can stand (at least) three feet away from the green screen in order to avoid casting any shadows that might mess the editing process later on.
3. Keep your camera centered to capture the entire green screen on your shot.
4. Shoot your video and move onto your computer to start editing.
5. You can use free software like Shotcut, which has a great chromakey feature to remove and replace your green screen with ease. That being said, there are other software options you can consider if you are interested, more on that in a second.

In case you still have doubts here´s a super explanatory video from Primal Video on green screens you might want to check out:

As I promised, software…

…You´ll find that most editing software has a chroma key feature.

If you don´t want to spend money, there are great scripts you can download for Windows Movie Maker at no cost and can get the job done quite well.

Now, if you have some money to spend, software such as Wondershare Filmora would do.

However, if you want to shoot a high-end video and want to get the best footage you possibly can, then you should invest in software such as Final Cut Pro, or Adobe Premiere Pro.

4. Decor The Back

Another thing you can do with your background in order to give it a full office look and make the way you want it is to decor it.

There are many subtle things you can do to get your room or any other part of your office in the right office vibe.

Here´s what you should do:

• First, find a corner, space, or spot where you can set your camera and use as a background you could easily decor. The way you choose your spot not only depends on how much space is needed but also what type of lens and camera you are using. Meaning that if you use a DSLR with a zoom lens or just your phone to record then you want to make sure how does your frame look and start decoring around that exact space. There are times when you don´t need too many things to decor your background due to the fact that your shot is a close-up. Like Pat Flynn did on his YouTube channel:

• Second, try to use the wall first. You can choose the right color to set the mood for your video and paint it, here´s a post where I talk about background colors for video. Maybe hang some pictures or a minimalist bookshelf, two very affordable options to get started. You can also place a plant next to it, dangling frames, or simply cover the entire thing with a cool wallpaper.
• Finally, if there´s enough space on your shot add some complementary furniture. A simple desk or something like a corner shelf stand can work pretty wall to complete the scene.

The goal is to decor your background the way you want it to look, there is no right and wrong, the more work you put into your office background the better it´ll look. Period. 🙂

5. Rent or Borrow

Last but not least, if everything else did not work you can always rent a place for an hour or two to shoot your videos.

I know many people that have done just and got really quality results without worrying about how their background looked.

You get to choose your background so it makes everything much easier.

Actually.

Let me illustrate my point with an example.

There are many companies like LiquidSpace that allow you to rent an office, even if it´s just for an hour, and use however you want to work.

They have several locations so you´ll get to pick.

Plus, you can find many other options like these, just go ahead and Google it!

On the other hand, if you know someone that already rents an office or has access to one then asking for an hour or two of their time to use it for video shooting might be a good idea.

I mean, what do you think professional filmmakers do whenver they want to film a busy streets in the middle of the day, they ask for permission.

If you want to get a custom office background for your videos without actually owning one then you HAVE TO think creatively.

Ask your family, friends, and known associates if they know someone that might be willing to borrow their office space for an hour or two, even if it´s on the weekend.

I´ve personally done just that for many clients that wanted a specific look for their videos and it worked great!

Final Thoughts

Now that you what you should do it´s only a matter of taking action!

My only suggestion is that you try it out, see if any of the options I´ve laid out might work for you and if not try a different approach.

You´ll probably find that (at least) one of these will probably serve you well.

I hope this information was helpful!

Matt Porta