Can we improve screen projection? Part 1

>> How NOT to do it

(If you're not sure why this slide doesn't succeed, here's a hint: think phrasing.)

This topic occasionally grabs my attention. Is there a better font we could use for our lyrics projection during our Sunday services? Better font size? Different alignment? Is there something else we could do with the screen to make the hymns and songs easier to sing? What distractions need to be removed?

Let me tell you what we do, and some of the why. I'd be interested in any feedback.

I've "been everywhere, man" (to quote Johnny Cash far out of context) on this technical issue. This has been a journey for me, I admit.

I have at least four sources that have helped shaped my present ideas on what makes a 'successful' projection screen.

First, I've read quite a bit on line from those who give their suggestions. There's much good help available, by the way. Some of it may seem obvious, but you never know who might need it that way. So I'm glad it's there.

I also see what other churches do, how they solve the same challenges we face. We all want the words to be clearly legible in the first pew and the last. Again, seeing how others solve their situation helps me think about our own.

Third, I have some experience with Powerpoint. I do know what works there and why (in my work with the Symphony Orchestra). Often (so it seems to me) folks have far too much text on each screen. And the fonts are unreadable (font size far too small, distracting backgrounds, etc.) (Bullets should be outlawed, by the way, except in rare cases.) And how about some pictures/graphics/illustration along the way?

Finally, I have our own Sunday services. What feedback do I receive about the screens? What needs do the A/V folks have for streaming it to our over-flow room, or on-line (for public domain songs)?

Here's what we're doing, and some explanation:

Software: MediaShout 3.5 – far more responsive to sudden changes in singing than Powerpoint can handle. And MediaShout can handle any kind of media far better than ppt. MS and PPT are 2 different programs, with 2 very different kinds of presentations in mind. PPT is the wrong choice for singing, as far as I'm concerned. (MS 4.0 has been released, but I've not yet seen the need for upgrading.)

Aspect: Widescreen (b/c our pulpit covers the bottom of the screen). Anyone who uses the projector can use widescreen safely. That is, nothing will be cut off on the bottom by the pulpit. (BTW, Powerpoint 2007 handles widescreen nicely. Download the widescreen design theme before you start your presentation.) Be sure to set your projector for 16:9 as well.

And, of course, I have the MediaShout display resolution set to 1280 x 768 (widescreen).

Font: Lydian BT bold. It's a narrow serif face (so I can get more words per line!). This is one of the changes I'm thinking through.

Font size: 38 pt (seems to work to the last pew). Perhaps this will change, too.

# of lines per slide: Again, because of the angle of the pulpit, screen, and pews, the bottom half of the screen is unusable. The folks in back would never be able to sing much! So only usually 4 lines of text per 'slide.' Sometimes 5 to finish a thought. NEVER 6.

[you see, it would be better if the lines break naturally at thought breaks: "...faith/and...truth/we'll..."]

Line breaks: Again, I've been all over this one. At HBC we often sing 'dense' songs – lots of words. While some of our songs have repetition – on the whole, we move through quite a bit of text in a set. So I'd prefer slides full of words. As well, because I'm wanting worshipers to think through the often lengthy ideas found in hymns, I've felt the need to put many words on slide. The result of this well-intentioned effort? I've too often broken up poetic lines at awkward places (see below).

But this is something I'm increasingly uncomfortable with. I definitely want to change this. While we might wish for more words per slide (good), it can lead to awkward line breaks (bad). Weird line breaks, in fact. You'll remember that the apostle admonishes us to "sing with understanding." I need to find a better path.

Really weird line breaks! And far too much text.

Alignment: Left. It was center for a long time – but then in some reading I was doing (neuroscience study of music) it was suggested that the brain is able to process left aligned text far more quickly than centered text. So I switched.

Background: Black with a blue line near the bottom third of the screen (see picture). I've tried full-screen backgrounds -- but the colors don't come through well (b/c of our lighting situation). They look washed-out. And the moving backgrounds mess up the cameras (so they can't focus).

In part 2 I'll talk about these new directions I'd like to explore.