I'm suggesting a low cost way to get this done (below). There are professional set design and staging supply houses that can sell you the backdrops (& lights like Leo LaPorte's Twit), but that might cost a lot more, so..

Easiest thing to do is get some 1/4" thick (or thicker) white foam core boards and attach either decorative paper or fabric to the board/s. A good Art supply store or your local fabric store will have some great patterns that you can use as a backdrop (to hide an ugly wall or cluttered cubicle wall.)

Try to select a paper or fabric pattern that is subtle or muted -- like a neutral colored stucco or textured or marbled wall pattern. You don't want your viewers to be distracted by the background. Don't select a pattern that is too loud (in color) or has too busy a pattern. You may need to buy/try a few different colors and patterns before you settle on one. So be open to more than 1-2 colors or patterns. Avoid metallic colors, as they may reflect too much.

The architecture Art supply stores have foam core boards in sizes 4ft x 8 feet x 1/4" thick, but those might be special order (depending on where you live. In big cities, they are often in stock at the pro supply stores.) You can cut the large foam core boards down to size with a $2 utility knife and a straight edge. You can also take 30x42x 1/4 in sheets of foam core and hinge them together as required with heavy plastic shipping or duct tape on the back of the boards. (Like you did for your grade school science project. If the boards aren't attached to a wall then you can use a scrap piece of foam board to make an easel back for the boards so they stand upright. )

Many fine art supply & framing stores will sell decorative large size papers in sheets of 30x42 or larger. (Some papers come on a roll like wallpaper, but wider.) If you go to the art store, you may be able to find a few different paper patterns that you like. To attach the paper to the foam core boards, use contact cement (from the drug store or any office supply store) or spray glue to adhere specialty print paper to the boards. If you use spray glue, do it outside or in the garage-- and away from motors and gas fired appliances.

Fabric as a backdrop, in my opinion is preferable to paper (for your situation), as the paper may (over time) have a tendency to wrinkle, crease or tear (easily). Also the fabric may be preferable as it is less likely to have glare & reflection issues (once lighted). The fabric is good because you can stretch it tight (kinda like stretching canvas over a frame.) With fabric, you can probably just staple or thumb tack it to the foam core-- instead of using glue. (Hot gluing the fabric to the back of the foam boards will work too.)

Stretch the fabric tight across the front of the foam boards so there aren't any wrinkles. Make sure to stretch the fabric around to the back of the foam core board and staple or use thumb tacks on the back of the board (concealing the fasteners.)

See if you can find a neutral fabric with a minimal (or faint) pattern or design. Medium beiges, tans, soft yellows, cremes, or other soft colors, light greys or pastels might work well. (Lighter colors reflect more light too, which matters when you are trying to be seen.) Fabric will probably come on a roll that is 52-72 inches wide. The wider the better.

Regarding the width of your back drop, take into consideration if you will ever need to have a second person in the web cam shot-- say if you are interviewing or talking to someone next to you. That is where the wider back drop comes in to play.

You may need to buy 3 yards +/- of fabric. Take your measuring tape and figure out how much material you will need before you go to the fabric or art store.

You could use velcro to tack up the Fabric or paper covered foam core boards up to your office cubicle panels. If your walls can take thumb tacks, you can tack them up (if you don't mind the holes in the walls) that way too.

Or you can get a few presentation easels/tripods (or make the easels from wood molding strips) to hold the panels behind you.

And you may want to consider one or two swing arm lamps for supplemental lighting. $10 Construction Clamp lights from the hardware store work well too. (Pro LED lights are best, but if you are on a budget, a few $15 swing arm desk lamps w/ halogen PAR light bulbs will do fine. CFLs might work OK, but the color on CFLs tends to look amateurish.)

You might just have to try a few colors & lights and see what works best with your equipment. Experiment with both the backdrop color and the lamp (light bulb) type. Poor lighting (and the wrong light bulb type) can make a good backdrop pattern look crummy.

If you can bounce the light off the ceiling or make it indirect, that would be preferable to pointing the light directly at you. But an additional light source so your viewers can see you is a good idea. Have someone help you experiment with light settings before you go "live" to see what looks best.

Try to buy a whiter light bulb (not a yellow incandescent old school light bulb.) The whiter the light (i.e. the less yellow the light color), the more it looks like natural sunlight.

Commercial photographers backdrops vary by size, color, material, from about $50 - 200 or more. But you need a way to hang/support the material (e.g. an easel.)
http://www.backdrops.us/backdrops/servlet/CategoryServlet?action=shopping&category=4103

Pro Video / Photography backdrop equipment - http://store02.prostores.com/servlet/tubetape/StoreFront

Hope that helps !
Source(s):
- Worked as a Stage Manager and lighting & set designer for a theatre company
- worked as a theatre set designer in college
- 24+ years of design experience & was an art major in college
- Also worked as an exhibit designer for a fine art museum and a few major retailers (i.e. did store window displays, design etc.)
- Paper Source specialty Paper store (if you have a bricks & mortar store in your area, you are lucky) - http://www.paper-source.com/
If not, try Paper Source's online store or your local art store that caters to professional artists (not grade school kids).
- Easels - http://www.easels.us.com/
- Commercial Backdrops - (you can get plain backdrops too) -
http://www.qtsp.com/Fabric_Backdrops___________/fabric_backdrops.html
- Paper Backdrop w/ Stands - http://www.horizonbackgrounds.com/
- Muslin Backdrops (stands are extra) - http://www.obnphoto.com/background_kits.html#grey_velour
- Paper Source (specialty papers) - http://www.paper-source.com/cgi-bin/paper/paper/lokta-nepal-papers.html

Asker's Rating:

Permalink | Report