My Light-board, Whiteboard, GreenScreen Home Office Setup

I’ve had a few requests now that the home office has been moved into a bigger room to share how I setup the home office to enable remote work capabilities and leverage conference calls with a whiteboard and green screen as well as video presentations using a Light-board. For those of you that are now working from home more due to pandemic reasons, this is a good way to stay connected with your customers and business partners while making it fun at the same time. It works well with family and friends too of course.

Whiteboard and GreenScreen setup

Not much to share here other than purchasing a whiteboard of your choice and mounting it on the wall, but the whiteboard is magnetic so it made it easy to add a blue screen or green screen backdrop behind my desk.

I also have a green cloth backdrop I use more permanently as the collapsable one is good for road trips and conferences where vLogging may come into play. Keep in mind the whiteboard makes it simple as I just use some magnets to hold the cloth on the whiteboard. The placement of my Logitech camera makes it easy to both use the whiteboard with the extended boom mic for customer presentations and doubles as the GreenScreen backdrop for Zoom meetings.

I use either a Logitech conference cam or my iPad/iPhone to record the video and if you use Zoom as your conferencing application, there is an option to add a GreenScreen backdrop and choose your picture or video of choice with the latest version of Zoom. I put together a library of zoom backgrounds and videos that I use for remote presentations and customer calls here.

Light-board Setup

Now on to the fun part, the Light-board. I’ll include a list of materials that I used to build out the home office Light-board setup.

The 3’x4’ Light-board is made with a clear piece of Lexan I ordered on Amazon (see parts list below) connected to some closet organizer pieces 4’ length and I attached the glass to the strips using some picture hangers designed to hold glass being mounted to a wall. The legs are 10”x15” shelf brackets held to the bottom of each shelf bracket using some black mechanical bolts and secured to the table to keep from slipping using some Gorilla Pads (rubberized pads with double sided tape).

The LED light strip (see parts list) is secured to the underside of the glass using a piece of shower door stripping. I secured the extra light strip by reversing the LED light strip on the existing spool and clipping it to the side of the leg using a simple binder clip.

Lighting

I decided to use 3 lights which are soft photo lighting 2 on either side and if needed a boom light for overhead. Come to find out I didn’t need the boom based on the lighting in my office.

This is the trickiest part because if you don’t get the 2-3 point lighting down just right, you’ll end up with reflections off the glass and shadows behind you when presenting or when using a GreenScreen, you’ll still have shadow effects around your profile like an aura.

General information on lighting:

1.Wikipedia

2.Complete Guide to Three-Point Lighting | Video School Online Lighting Tutorial

Some good videos are:

1.How To Set Up 3-Point Lighting for Film, Video and Photography

2.Using Geometry for Better Interview Lighting

Backdrop

This was a bit of a challenge as I started off with some PVC pipe and made a large golf ball toss frame to hold the black curtain. I started off trying this behind my desk but quickly realized after a few tests that I needed a wider backdrop. I switched to moving the curtain to horizontal and hung it on the wall using some small nails at the ceiling and using some office binder clips to hold the top of the curtain while hooking over the brad nails close to the ceiling. After some curtain steaming, I finally had a nice clean back drop that was wide enough to cover the wall behind me and get the whole Light-board in the picture.

Here’s an example of the first Light-board video I made using this new setup

Last thing to keep in mind that when you’re ready to put the video together, you’ll want to use some type of video editing software to flip the video so the text show the readable way instead of backwards. I have a Mac computer and do most of my editing using iMovie as it’s simple to use and allows you to add additional effects like fade in and out options or soundtracks.

Now all you need is a content script to follow, some neon erasable markers, something to record with and you’re ready to go.

Now let’s get going on some Light-boarding videos!!

Parts List

Falken Design falkenacrylic_Clear_236_36x48 Acrylic Sheet, Plastic/Plexiglas/Lucite, 36″ x 48-1/4″, Clear
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0755G4B3X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_AdeCEbQBHJDD7

Glass Door Seal Strip (With High Viscosity Adhesive), A Roll 120 Inch Frameless Shower Door Sweep to Stop Shower Leaks by Bicopo
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TH2C9BJ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_-feCEbQ4KBC03

LuckIn 20-Pack 3/4 x 1 Inch Stainless Steel Standoff Screws, Mounting Glass Hardware Sign, Stand Off Nail for Hanging Acrylic Picture Frame, Black by LuckIn Home
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HRGD5BM/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_4ieCEb2H306TC

John Sterling™ Dual-Trak™ Standard at Menards® http://www.menards.com/main/storeitem.html?iid=1444436950985

14-1/2″ Heavy-Duty Shelf Bracket at Menards® http://www.menards.com/main/storeitem.html?iid=1501223575289

Slipstick® GorillaPads™ 2″ Gripper Floor Pads – 8 Pack at Menards® http://www.menards.com/main/storeitem.html?iid=1537424883597

Lighting

Ustellar Dimmable LED Light Strip Kit, 300 Units SMD 2835 LEDs, 16.4ft/5m 12V LED Ribbon, 6000K Daylight White Under Cabinet Lighting Strips, Non-waterproof LED Tape, UL Listed Power Supply by DragonSmart
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075RYSHQQ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_jkeCEbRX59D9Q

Andoer 2400W Lighting Kit, Photography Studio Continuous Softbox Lighting System Including 12X45W 5500K LED E27 Bulbs for for Photo, Video, Portrait and Product Shooting by Ellisa-us
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QDH51VQ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_XkeCEb11C5EBP

Backdrops

Neewer Chromakey Green Chromakey Blue Collapsible Backdrop Collapsible Reversible Background 5’x7′ Chroma-Key Blue/Green by Midgar’s Best
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E89Q5OY/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_hmeCEbG5NK4R9

Neewer 6×9 feet/1.8×2.8 meters Photo Studio 100 Percent Pure Muslin Collapsible Backdrop Background for Photography, Video and Television (Background Only) – Black by Photo Guard
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SR28ZG4/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_mieCEbMVNFF8N

5X7 Feet Non-Woven Backdrop Green Screen Photo Backdrop for Professional Photography Video Studio Background Newborn Baby Children Portrait Clothes Photo Props EY044 (5x7ft, Green)
by Evergreen for you
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0834MDTPC/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_oFXOEbRTY9TGR

Recording Gear

PoP voice 16 Feet Single Head Lavalier Lapel Microphone Omnidirectional Condenser Mic for Apple iPhone Android & Windows Smartphones, Youtube, Interview, Studio, Video Recording, Noise Cancelling Mic by PoP voice
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FQNBKDK/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_6geCEbSXEKFR8

iPad or iphone with photo tripod

Ulanzi Aluminum Pad Tripod Mount with Cold Shoe Compatible for iPad, Metal Tablet Tripod Adapter Holder with Quick Release Plate 1/4” Screw Mount Universal for iPad Mini/iPad 4/iPad Pro/Surface Pro
by ULANZI Official US Store
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076LVMX7X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_EheCEb552YWQV

Blue Snowball iCE USB Mic for Recording and Streaming on PC and Mac, Cardioid Condenser Capsule, Adjustable Stand, Plug and Play – Black
by Amazon.com
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014PYGTUQ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_mHXOEb7T8YJ0V

InnoGear Adjustable Mic Stand for Blue Snowball and Blue Snowball iCE Suspension Boom Scissor Arm Stand with Microphone Windscreen and Dual Layered Mic Pop Filter, Max Load 1.5 KG
by JS Deal
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QH554TJ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_MCXOEbMHG3P61

Markers

EXPO 1752226 Neon Dry Erase Markers, Bullet Tip, Assorted Colors, 5-Count by Amazon.com
Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0033AGVVG/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_HjeCEbVX1WBHF

Existing Add Ons
Folding Table
Nuts and Bolts