Mon
Nov
06
2006
Church and data projectors
Our church has just been donated a brand, spanking new NEC LT380 data projector.
Not before time, as our old one is very much nearing the end of it’s life. It’s around seven years old and once put out around 6-700 ansi-lumens.
The LT380 is rated at 3000 ansi-lumens, and in fact, was too bright the first day we used it, and we turned it down to eco mode (2000 lumens)!
This has got a few of us thinking about how we use the projector – in detail. By that I mean that the limitations of the old projector really dictated a whole lot of our use:
- We couldn’t use subtle backgrounds because the contrast and brightness were insufficient.
- We couldn’t really use movie footage – especially during the day.
- We were forced to use high contrast colour schemes on the slides.
- We were forced to use large point-size type for visibility.
But does the new projector change any of that?
Probably some of it. For example we can now use movie/DVD footage to much greater effect. And we can have some nice subtle backgrounds to slides, less jarring colour schemes, etc.
But I also want to say that have an efficient, bright projector also shows up the flaws in our approach.
For example: Last Sunday night. Now Dave didn’t know we had a new projector, so this is no reflection on him and his choice of slides. But the background was way too busy, and the choice of typeface could have been better.
So, even though we have this nice new machine, we still need to pay really close attention to the design of the slides we use.
As I was pondering this, I was reading a blog called ‘Church Tech Matters’ and Jim had chosen to write on this very issue. The article is here, but these are the points he makes about projection:
- The entire verse does not have to fit onto a single screen – 2 to 4 lines may be enough, there’s no hard and fast rule, but if there are too many words, it’s too hard to follow along. [ Neil: this is vital for people at the back of the building! We mustn’t use the lower one third of the current screen! ]
- Anticipate the next screen – Do not wait for the next set of words to begin in the song to change to the next screen. The words need to be up on the screen before they are sung, don’t play catch up.
- Do not mis-spell words – That is a huge no-no. Use the right punctuation, as well. If you notice a mis-spelled word in the first service, correct it for the second one. Even better, use a spell checker, either on the computer or have someone else proofread.
- Make sure the words and the background are contrasting – Backgrounds are cool, but that is actually a secondary consideration, the primary purpose is to display the words at the appropriate time.
I would echo all of those and add some:
- We must use the most legible typefaces available. That means never using Time Roman (great for print, hopeless on screen), and any other of the million of fonts out there! It probably means sticking to Verdana, Trebuchet and Tahoma (on Window’s machines) – although Office 2007 has one or two nice new typefaces that work well on screen). The content is what we want people to notice, not the typeface.
- Song copyright notice – it has to be there, but only the essentials (including the CCLI license number), and in small (16 point), non-bold type right down the bottom of the screen, out of the way.
- Be aware that we have to cater for people with less than 20/20 vision. So I would reinforce point 1. from Jim’s article.
What is other people’s experience or thoughts about this?
Update: Jim has pulled together some links and info that might be of interest: http://pad.helicoid.net/document/public/89a75ca
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Some comments and a question…
1. Spelling is very important. Mrs Nerd (a notorious Word Nerd) is driven nearly to distraction by spelling mistakes on screen in church. After 16 years of marriage to Mrs Nerd, I have picked up her talent for such distraction!
2. Video is great – but for goodness sake make sure it works BEFORE the service. I prefer to use a simple DVD player plugged into the projector. My experience is that video embedded in PowerPoint is like a barrel of slippery worms.
3. Appropriateness of background is important. Please choose dull/muted backgrounds to maintain readability. There are some great free backgrounds available around the net.
4. Totally agree with the plea to avoid Times New Roman. Most serif faces work poorly on screen. I find that a face with a not-too-bold bold rendering works well. I have also used IMPACT from time to time (regular, not bold). Trebuchet is nice on screen in bold.
5. I find using pictures, maps, charts and tables to be helpful in understanding the thread of many sermons.
6. I’ve never seen a sermon done ‘Lessig-style’ — but I’d be very interested to see how it would work. (reference: http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2005/10/the_lessig_meth.html).
Now a question:
When the screen does not hang ‘square’ (that is, when the screen is slightly tilted to the left or the right), should the projected image line up with the edges of the screen (in which case the image is tilted) or should the projected image be ‘true’ (in which case it will highlight the fact that the screen isn’t)? At MacAng, we seem to have settled on the former approach – but the engineer in me will have to fix the screen one day!
— Richard · Nov 6, 08:31 PM · #
My vision is not 20/20, in fact I have glasses which I wore at uni lectures to see the awful PowerPoint presentations. Or took off to return to ignorant bliss. Should I wear my glasses at church? Maybe, but I don’t wear them anywhere else. As it’s infrequent that I wear them, it’s not comfortable to wear them for one night a week.
If I can’t read a word or two in a confession or creed, then I start to fall behind – and end up stopping. I usually know the song words, but getting lost can still happen.
4 lines for songs is a good idea, but probably not required in our smaller building if text size, font and background are ok. 6 might be a more suitable limit in our building.
We’ve got a set of templates at TAC that are pretty basic, and some are pretty ugly these days. But, for the most part, they work. They’re clear, good font and good size.
As a sidenote, and sorry for cluttering your blog, but for leaders at TAC – if you correct spelling mistakes, or find a song slide that is too cramped… sure, change it, but please send the revised version to me to update for everyone else.
— Simon · Nov 6, 08:34 PM · #
Richard:
Nice link, thanks. Quite a few useful links from that site… It certainly got me thinking about preaching using the Lessig approach, although the extra preparation would be a pain…
Re: the screen question: I’m not sure I understand exactly how the screen is hanging, but I certainly find it distracting when the sides of the image are not parallel with the sides of the screen.
We are probably going to replace our 4:3 hanging screen with a 16:9 ‘hard’ screen – at least we are going check it out. If it works, it will provide good screen real estate with our lack of height (due to ceiling height, or lack of it).
Simon:
The size problem is more obvious in the morning, when the seats in front of the crèche are full of parents with strollers, etc. The distance and people standing in front means that the lower third of the screen is not easily visible and text size plays a bigger role.
Your templates are still very useful. A couple look dated, but it wouldn’t be hard to update them. They fit the bill in terms of not dominating the content well.
— Neil · Nov 6, 11:47 PM · #
Ah, yes, morning – understand.
16:9 – nice. I’ve been meaning to suggest that a widescreen perspective would suit the space.
— Simon · Nov 7, 12:17 AM · #
16:9 will be funky…. though playing with Powerpoint the other day I learnt that one cannot do aspect ratio changes mid presentation (don’t ask why….) ...unless there is some secret-squirrel method I don’t know about!
Video wise, direct from the DVD player to the projector is the only way to do it. No ifs or buts :-)
Simon – 16:9 will fit on that wall space beautifully – we’ve do a quick measure-up already…. watch that space!! (as the saying goes)
— AndrewR · Nov 7, 12:47 AM · #
One thing we noticed on Sunday night Andrew, was that (in 4:3, normal mode), a substantial part of the right hand side of the slide was missing on the screen.
It was clearly visible on the PC screen.
The only thing I can think of is that the keystone correction “steals” some of the screen real estate.
I’ll demonstrate on Saturday…
— NeilA · Nov 7, 01:13 AM · #
The following site looks interesting – it is a subscription site and does not come cheap:
www.powerpointsermons.com
— Steven Nicholsn · Nov 16, 11:08 AM · #
Thanks Steve.
I was aware of that site, but I admit that I personally dislike what seems to me as being a ‘way over the top’ approach to using PPT.
I’m a ‘less is more’ person when it comes to PPT.
One add-in for PPT that I’ve come across that looks very useful is this one
— Neil · Nov 16, 11:27 AM · #