Guidelines for Creating Worship Music Visuals
TMMT - TRINITY MEDIA MINISTRY TEAM
Trinity United Methodist Church
Huntington, Indiana
June 2009

TMMT - TRINITY MEDIA MINISTRY TEAM – is intended to bring all those who serve the Lord by working with media at Trinity under one umbrella, so that we can coordinate our efforts to support the many ministries of the church. This includes those who work with sound, lighting, and the Trinity website, as well as those who work with PowerPoint and MediaShout to design and present worship and announcement graphics. Each member of the team has much to offer, and it takes the efforts of many to grow a church. By fostering fellowship and better communication among TMMT members, we should all be able to benefit from the talent, skill, and insight that each team member brings, as we strive to serve the Lord with software and hardware that are sometimes helpful, sometimes . . . not so much. As Director of Music Ministry, I have been asked by Pastor Dave to coordinate the efforts of TMMT, and to offer staff support and supervision to the team as needed. In the United Methodist Church, the pastor is ultimately responsible for the design of the worship experiences of the local church, and it is the mission of this team to implement the pastor’s vision for worship at Trinity.

The purpose of these guidelines is to help the creators of worship and announcement graphics achieve a uniform “look” – one that is highly readable from anywhere in the room. The incorporation of artistic design values can be a plus ONLY if it does not, in any way, diminish the readability of the text, and if does not prove to be a distraction. People come to Trinity to worship, and it is the mission of TMMT to allow them to do so with as few distractions as possible. Many of us have artistic tendencies; however, we must also be pragmatic. The Chancel Choir could sing a Renaissance motet in Latin, every Sunday – this would certainly promote great art, but would probably not help the congregation, with a few exceptions, to deepen their faith. However, these guidelines are meant to be a discussion starter – not a discussion ender.

The number one concern in creating worship graphics is to create visuals that can be read easily and quickly. The biggest factor determining the readability of a text is CONTRAST. The rules for design change dramatically when a text is intended to read quickly, and the goal is to elicit a specific response from the reader, namely to sing from the heart while keeping up with the instrumental accompaniment. A graphic design that might be fantastic for a program or a brochure is often unreadable at 55 feet. Remember, the brief amount of time allowed for reading the text is a major factor, whether in the context of a song, or even in the eight seconds allotted to each slide in the announcements loop.

OVERVIEW
(Cheat Sheet):
Backgrounds:
1) They should be dark and uniform enough that white text will be highly readable everywhere on the slide, from everywhere in the room.
2) They should not distract from the readability or the meaning of the text.
3) Avoid video (moving) backgrounds.
4) For 9:00 Worship, use a blue gradient, dark descending to light.

Margins:
1) Top and Bottom should be at least 60.
2) Left and Right should be at least 20.

Alignment:
1) Left – Top alignment.
2) If a break is needed at a point that is not punctuated, indent the next line two spaces. When splitting, be sure there are at least two words on each line.
3) Center alignment may be used for song titles, or in the sermon notes.
4) Scripture should always be left aligned for every line – no indention.

Punctuation:
1) Remove punctuation at the end of the line. The end of the line is considered to take the place of a comma, semicolon, period, or exclamation point.
2) Punctuation should only be used in the middle of the line if it is necessary to avoid misreading the text.
3) Avoid ending every song with an exclamation point; it will lose its effectiveness. Sometimes a period is fine, and sometimes ending without punctuation is fine, too.

Text format:
1) Font size: 38-60
2) Font style: Arial Black is a good place to start. Avoid Times New Roman.
3) Font color: White
4) Use Bold, although there may be exceptions with certain fonts, at which point you may want to try a different font.
5) Use Outline with a thickness of 2, although there will also be exceptions.
6) Shadow is sometimes helpful.
7) Avoid italics, except for titles.

SLIDE DESIGN

Backgrounds
The whole purpose of backgrounds - loops or still graphics - is to add visual interest to the screens and to break up the monotony of plain black behind the lyrics.
On the flip side, many churches drank the kool-aid and now believe that worship can’t happen unless there’s some sort of motion - whether abstract or video - behind the lyrics. Backgrounds were never meant to become the focal point of the music set (unless of course you want them to be the focal point on special occasions). If at any point in time they become the focus, pull a “Heart of Worship” and get rid of them for a time. They cannot become a crutch.
~Chris Moncus1

Backgrounds themselves should be fairly uniform in contrast. If a slide contains both bright areas and dark areas, it will be difficult to find a font color that is visible everywhere, and making the entire slide lighter or darker may make the light areas or the dark areas disappear.
A thin font usually finds itself blending into the background. Even with a stroke/outline and drop shadow, the weight of the characters contrasting with the background is what makes them stand out. Even thin white text on a black background still doesn’t create enough contrast to really stand out. Try using the bold face of whichever font you have chosen and see if it becomes more readable. Now, if it looks bad bold, start looking for a new font. Whatever the case, contrast is the goal.2

Making a background lighter or darker
One option to make a bright background usable with white text is to make the background darker by lowering its brightness and/or gamma. To do this:
1) From the Background tab on the Properties menu, find the name of the background file and the name of the folder where it is located.
2) Go to My Computer and find the file.
3) Double-click on the file and it should open in Microsoft Photo Editor.
4) Click on the Image drop-down menu
5) Click on Balance.
6) Adjusting Brightness and Gamma one mark to the left usually works.
7) Save the file using “Save As” and add DARK to the title so that the original is kept.

Video Backgrounds
At this time, video backgrounds are to be avoided. There seems to be a general backlash against their use being voiced on the internet. The novelty of such “distractions” seems to have worn off, and many writers just find them annoying.

Foregrounds
TEXT LAYOUT
Alignment
Right alignment should be avoided for song lyrics: “I will say that right aligned may work for something that is read like sermon notes but the inherent lack of readability of right aligned text causes problems for lyrics because of how fast they have to be read.”3

Reversing a background (mirror)
In order to left align, it may be necessary to reverse the background image. To do this:
1) From the Background tab on the Properties menu, find the name of the background file and the name of the folder where it is located.
2) Go to My Computer and find the file.
3) Double-click on the file and it should open in Microsoft Photo Editor.
4) Click on the Image drop-down menu
5) Click on Rotate.
6) Click on Mirror.
7) Save the file using “Save As” and add MIRROR to the title so that the original file is still retained.

Margins
In MediaShout, top and bottom margins should be set to 60 or more, and in PowerPoint, leave at least one blank line at the top and the bootom. This allows us to set the TV monitor to Zoom 1 and still see all of the text. For left and right margins, just be sure you can see some space on either side of the text on the main screen. Generally, left and right margins of 25-30 work well for MediaShout, and for PowerPoint, indent the text box one “column” on either side.

Punctuation
Avoid punctuation at the end of a line of text; the end of a line is generally assumed to be a “stop” in the text, such as a comma, a period or a semicolon. Use a comma in the middle of a line only if it is necessary to make the meaning of the text clear, as in “Here I am, Lord”. When a line of text “wraps” to the next line, that is, the line breaks at a point that was not punctuated, indent the second line two spaces to show that it continues the same thought. Be sure there are at least two words on each line.

TEXT FORMAT
Font style
Remember, in this aspect of visual design, as in all others, READABILITY is the primary concern. After that, avoiding fonts that have been overused in a variety of media, such as Times New Roman, of fonts that are too far from the norm such as many of the “script” fonts, or even Wingdings, is probably a good idea. Times New Roman works well for scholarly works, and “cursive” fonts look great when used for inscriptions and inspirational prints. So, while these fonts may be desired in other settings, but if you imagine reading a 300-page book that looks like this, or something like this, or even something like this, you will see that reading these fonts quickly and easily becomes quite a chore. Recommended fonts include: Gill Sans Bold, Arial Black, Dinova, and Hit the Road. Some fonts to be avoided: Arial, Comic Sans, Lucida Grande, Papyrus, Mistral, Times New Roman, Trebuchet MS, and Verdana.4

Font size
The font size should be as large as possible, without forcing phrases to split more than once. Generally, 38 is the minimum, while the maximum can be as much as 60. Sections of a song, (verse, chorus, bridge, etc.), may use different font sizes. However, the same size should be used within each section, although most will not notice a size variation of one point, which may allow you to avoid splitting a line.

Font Color
A white font usually works well with most backgrounds, although outlining the text may be required to make it readable. Light text against a dark background is generally considered to be more readable than dark text against a light background.

Using Bold
As noted above in the discussion of contrast, bold is recommended, except when it makes a text so thick that readability is diminished.

Using Italics
Italicized text is generally discouraged, except for titles, because it usually lowers the readability of a text.

Using Outline
Adding an outline to a text is the first tactic to use when setting white text against a background that, either in part or in whole, is light. Some prefer not to use an outline setting above 2. However, if the text has poor readability, the outline needs to be increased, the background needs to be darkened, or a different background need to be selected.

Using Shadow
Adding a shadow to a text may be helpful in certain cases. However, to remove the shadow from the United Methodist Hymnal slides:
1) Highlight the text
2) Go to the toolbar at the bottom of the screen and click on the shadow icon.
3) Click on “No shadow” at the top of the menu.
This should remove the shadow. Note – attempting to remove the shadow through the font menu usually does not work.

Considerations for Announcement Slides
While there is generally more artistic license allowed in the creation of the announcement slides, some consideration should still be given to the principles in these guidelines. Because the goal is to grab the reader’s attention quickly, contrast is still a big issue. Color schemes like purple against dark blue simply do not work. Fonts that are too thin or have too many curves really do not work, either. Try to limit the information on each slide: eight seconds is just not a lot of time! Four to five lines of text is about the maximum, and the font size must still be fairly large. Please, remember that no matter how “nifty” a slide may look, if the information it contains cannot be comprehended in eight seconds or less, it is not an effective design.

Considerations for Scripture Texts
Projected scriptures should look as near to the printed page members of the congregation read in their own Bibles. Once a scripture has been imported through “Bob”, the only change that should be made is to enlarge the font size to approximately 42-48. Try to avoid more than six lines on one screen; you can use “Enter” to push some of the text to a new slide – try to split the slides evenly, preferably where there is punctuation. When choosing a background for the slide, contrast is still a major concern, even though the congregation will not be required to sing what they read. If you use one of the “BookBacks” backgrounds, it will probably be necessary to darken it, (see above). However, using a “Bible” background is not a requirement. Feel free to choose a simple texture or gradient, or an abstract background, as long as it is not likely to distract. Pastor Dave usually gives us scriptures to include in the Sermon Notes on Sunday morning, when his time is at a premium. Our goal is to allow him to hand us the information and walk away, secure in the knowledge that the Sermon Notes will be accurate.

Continuity vs. Innovation
When a new song is introduced to the congregation, it will have a “probationary period” of about two months, enough time to determine if it is going to “catch on”. During this time, it is critical that the slide background and text remain the same to assist the congregation in learning the song. For other songs, once they have been formatted within these guidelines, it is not necessary to change the background and/or the text each time they are included in worship. People have a need to see something they recognize that is just as great, or even a greater than their need to see “something completely different”. Familiarity does not always breed contempt.

FOR ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, visit the TMMT Blog: http://trinitytechs.blogspot.com



Greg Otis
June 16, 2009

Notes
1 Moncus, Chris. “Good to Great: Onscreen Lyrics and Notes – Part 2.” The Worship Community. 2 Aug. 2008. <http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/good-to-great-onscreen-lyrics-and-notes-part-2/#more-77/>
2 Moncus, Chris. “Good to Great: Onscreen Lyrics and Notes – Part 1.” The Worship Community. 15 July 2008. <http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/good-to-great-onscreen-lyrics-and-notes-part-1/>
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.