How to Put an Animated Galaxy Behind You on Zoom, Teams and Meet

How to Put an Animated Galaxy Behind You on Zoom, Teams and Meet

Virtual backgrounds are easy, but they give themselves away. Your hair flickers at the edges, your hand disappears when you gesture, and everyone can tell the space scene isn't really there. A real screen behind you avoids all of that. If there's a monitor or TV in shot, WebLight's Galaxy effect can turn it into a slowly rotating spiral galaxy that your camera films like any other part of the room.

It takes about five minutes to set up, and most of that is getting the brightness right.

What You'll Need

• A monitor, TV or tablet that's visible behind you in your webcam frame
• A browser on the device driving that screen
• Your normal call app (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet or anything else). WebLight doesn't connect to it.
• Your usual front light. The galaxy is a backdrop and won't light your face.

Step 1: Turn Off Your Virtual Background

This is easy to miss. If Zoom or Teams is still blurring or replacing your background, it will hide the screen you're setting up. Switch the virtual background and background blur to None before you start, so your camera shows the real room.

Step 2: Open the Galaxy on the Background Screen

On the device connected to the screen behind you, open the Galaxy effect and go fullscreen. It starts on the Spiral Galaxy view: a real 3D galaxy made of tens of thousands of stars, turning slowly, with glowing nebulae along its arms. It isn't a looping video, so there's no visible jump every thirty seconds.

Leave Palette on Signature for now. Its violet and blue suit most rooms.

Step 3: Turn On Calm Center

In the control panel, turn on Calm Center. It darkens the middle of the frame, which is usually right behind your head.

Without it, the bright core of the galaxy can sit directly behind you. Your webcam then exposes for that bright patch and your face drops into shadow. With Calm Center on, the stars and nebulae frame you from the sides and the space behind your head stays dark.

Step 4: Bring the Brightness Down

Most people leave this too high. A screen that looks comfortable in the room usually looks too bright on camera, because the webcam sets its exposure for the whole frame, and a glowing screen pulls that exposure down.

Lower Brightness until the galaxy looks a little dim in person. Then check your self-view. You want to see the stars clearly while your face stays the brightest thing in the frame. If your skin looks grey or your camera keeps adjusting exposure, lower it further.

Step 5: Slow It Down

The default speed is fine for a screensaver, but on a call you want the motion to fade into the background. Drag Speed toward the Drift end, to around 10–20%. The galaxy still turns, just slowly enough that nobody watches it instead of you.

Set Viewing Angle to taste. Lower values show the galaxy face-on with all its spiral arms. Higher values tilt it toward edge-on, a thinner band of light that takes up less of the frame and is less distracting.

Step 6: Check How It Looks to Everyone Else

Start a test meeting on your own, or open your camera app, and look critically:

• Is your face well exposed? If not, lower Brightness or raise your front light.
• Is there moiré (rippling lines) over the screen? Move your camera slightly or change the zoom, and the pattern usually goes away.
• Is the screen in focus? A soft-focus galaxy often looks better, because it reads as depth and doesn't compete with you.

Pro Tips

• Stick with cool colours for serious calls. On Spiral Galaxy, Signature already uses the Nebula violet and blue, which is the most understated option. Aurora's teal is a little livelier. Solar's gold and rose looks warmer but draws the eye, so save it for team socials.
• Keep Music Reactive off during meetings. The switch makes the galaxy respond to sound through your microphone. That's great on a stream but distracting while you talk.
• Save Warp Drive for breaks. The Warp Drive view is a tunnel of streaking stars and looks dramatic, but it pulls attention. It works on a "be right back" screen and is too much while you're presenting.
• Lower Star Density on older laptops. If the device driving the screen runs hot or the animation stutters, reduce Star Density. The galaxy still looks full at 40–50%.

FAQ

Will the galaxy show up for other people on the call?

Yes. It's a real screen in your room, so your webcam films it the way it films a bookshelf or a plant. Make sure your call app's virtual background and blur are switched off, or they'll hide it.

Does this work with Zoom, Teams and Google Meet?

It works with any call app because WebLight doesn't connect to any of them. The galaxy runs in a browser on the screen behind you, and your call app only sees it through your camera.

Why does my face look dark with the galaxy behind me?

Your webcam is exposing for the bright screen. Turn on Calm Center so the area behind your head stays dark, lower Brightness, and make sure you have a light in front of you.

Can I use it on the same computer I'm calling from?

Only if that computer drives a second screen behind you. The galaxy needs to be on a display your camera can see, not on the monitor you're looking at.

Is it too distracting for work calls?

Not at a low speed with Calm Center on. A slow galaxy moves less than a colleague's houseplant in a draught. If you're unsure, try it first on an informal call.

Set It Up Before Your Next Call

Open the Galaxy effect on the screen behind you, turn on Calm Center, and lower Brightness and Speed until you're the focus of the frame. For more backdrops that work on camera, browse the Ambient & Atmospheric effects. If you have a spare monitor that isn't in shot, the classic Starfield screensaver is a good way to keep it busy too.