As Zoom becomes a staple of our daily lives, many of us are trying to get creative with our video call backgrounds. Filmmaker and Twitter user Jaws19 seized the opportunity with a piping hot idea.
Earlier this month, he shared a Zoom background that he created, in which he brings himself a cup of tea. The doppelgänger places the mug on the table and leaves, while Jaws19 leans over to the side to make room on his desk for the drink. Both are stoic in the clip shared online.
If you don't pay attention close enough you might not even realize it's the same person. Also important to note that the Back to the Future poster is a nice touch.
Reddit user SeventhConstellation shared the background in a thread, and users were obsessed with the animated background. "He could at least say thank you," someone joked. "That man is a magician," a second quipped. "Legend. The stoic look on his face makes it so great," a third noted.
Others loved the idea of him bringing himself a drink. "The best part is a bunch of people probably didn't notice it was him bringing the coffee in," one user said.
So, I made a custom Zoom background for my next meeting where I bring myself a cup of tea. pic.twitter.com/DJBxrH5Cqv
— Graham/Jaws 19 (@Jaws19show) May 7, 2020
"It'd be really cool if he acted out a little conversation with himself or something," another recommended. However, one person felt that the animation was perfect the way it is. "I think it's better like this. Really short so only someone looking at his frame will catch it, and will be left wondering if he saw what he saw," they argued.
"I did this at work in a zoom call. My coworkers loved it and were very amazed," another Reddit user chimed in.
Newsweek reached out to Jaws19 (whose real name is Graham) and he told us about the viral fame he got from his creation.
"A few colleagues didn't even notice," he admitted, regarding how seamless the background was. "Some people said 'Hey, do you have a twin!?' I got a few surreptitious emails after the meeting to say 'What was going on in your background?' I think people were generally confused! And then lots of people asking how I did it."
Whether or not there will be a sequel to the Zoom Cup of Tea has yet to be seen. "I haven't made any more, because it felt like a 'lightning in a bottle' kind of thing, and I didn't think I'd be able to do it again. Didn't want to have the 'difficult second album' situation," Graham told Newsweek. "My friends have suggested sequel ideas, like one where I walk in the room and push myself off the chair, or bring myself a sandwich, or even have an argument with myself. I might do 'Zoom Part 2' one day."
As for the newfound viral fame, Graham said it felt funny and ironic. "I'm a filmmaker and I've made short films with casts and crews and scripts and all that stuff and they've never got the traction this did," he explained. "And it literally took me minutes to make and it was a throwaway gag."
He added, "I've had a lot of messages on Twitter from people saying 'Oh my god, you're famous,' but I'm really not and I know that this kind of viral thing is very short-lived. It's been very weird to know that millions of people have now seen the inside of my house!"
Check out more of Graham's creations on his YouTube channel here.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
