Kannada Inscript Keyboard Layout

Choosing Fonts for Use in Worship Media

Font choice is an important consideration when preparing videos for worship. When done well, the fonts themselves are unnoticeable, and the congregation will read the words instead of seeing the font. Choose a font that does not call attention to itself. Here are a few basic tips when selecting fonts for your song lyrics:

Stick with simple fonts

Fonts that have a consistent body weight are the best choice for lyrics. Simple, classic fonts are the best choice for worship media. We read best that which we read most. Fonts like Times New Roman and Arial may totally overused in general design applications, but because people are familiar with these typefaces, these fonts are easy to read. Because these letter shapes are so familiar, they will disappear into the background, and people will read the words, rather than see the letters.

Consider your background image when selecting a font

Complex background images require the use of simpler fonts. The readability of each line of text is determined not just by the typeface used, but also by the background image behind the text. In the image below, we have used sans-serif fonts over the red images, and serif fonts over the blue images. A serif is a slight projection finishing off a stroke of a letter. Times New Roman is a serif font, whereas, Arial is a sans-serif font.

Choosing and using appropriate fonts is a complex topic, and we'll explore it further in next week's newsletter.

How Church Creatives Can Get Things Done

 


Your 'To Do' list coming undone before anything is accomplished? 
Here are five ways to avoid that pitfall.



When it comes to church communication, nobody cares more for the outcome or delivery than church creatives. But when it comes to creatives being organized and on top of their “to-do” lists, that’s a different matter.
Writer Jeff Goins is a creative’s creative with a neat understanding of how people who have creative tendencies think. In his recent blog post Jeff shares A Creative’s Guide to Getting Things Done. I’ve listed a summary below (click HERE for Jeff’s full post).

1) Keep short, disposable to-do lists.

Creatives identify what is tangible. As archaic as it sounds, having a notebook or physical means of writing down your tasks is important.  My personal habit is to write out a list of 10 items, get them all done, then start a new list.

2) Limit inbound communication.

For many of us, this means email, which you should not be checking every few minutes. Have a few specific times to check it and try getting your email down to zero every day. I like using the Michael Hyatt system of doing, delegating, or deleting whatever is in my inbox.

3) Have one project management system.

A friend once told me that he uses Basecamp, a Facebook group, Google calendar, Skype, and IM to communicate with coworkers and manage his workload. I told him I felt sorry for him and all the lost time he spends checking each one. If you can relate to this, please stop now. That is not efficient. Just pick a system and stick with it.

4) Show up.

This sounds ridiculously simple. But many artists struggle with this. The typical eight-hour work day feels rote. And it is. But that doesn’t excuse you from putting in the hours. The fact is that some breakthroughs only happen when you show up to to do your job. There’s nothing glamorous about it, but it has to be done.

5) Commit to shipping.

This is an important lesson for a creative to learn. If it’s your vocation to make a difference in the world through creativity, then you need to develop a bias towards action. Send the email. Launch the website. Do it now. Stop procrastinating and start sending stuff out the door. That’s not to say that there isn’t a place for refinement in this process, but most creatives hesitate too much. They’re scared of rejection.  

VCM: How to Choose Appropriate Media for Worship

Do you want a better understanding of why some videos "work" with certain songs, and why other videos don't quite fit? Well, there are actually some technical considerations when choosing your media. Here are some basic tips to keep in mind when choosing background media.

Pacing

Pacing is term that video editors use when they are editing the speed of the video content to match the music or dialogue of the video. How fast the objects are moving through the scene needs to match the tempo of the song. For example, if you're singing a song that has a medium/slow tempo (such as "Here I am to Worship"), our video Fast Small Squares would not be a good choice. A better video choice for "Here I am to Worship" would be: Man Arms Raised Sun. In turn, the ideal use for the Fast Small Squares video would be to accompany a children's song such as, "Jump Up and Down."

Imagery

The imagery in the background video should not detract from the lyrics of the song. For example, if you're singing, "As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for thee," an inappropriate video choice would have giant fireballs shooting across the screen (believe or not, we have actually witnessed this combination). Be mindful that the content in your videos either matches, or at the very least, doesn't contradict the song lyrics.

Lighting

The lighting of the scene has an effect on the way we perceive the lyrics. If the scene in your video is dimly lit, it will bring more thoughts of introspection. Candle videos (commonly used during communion) are a good example of this. Conversely, a well-lit, or bright scene, would be more suitable for a song of celebration.

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