Visual tributes

Visual tributes at a funeral service at the Isle of Wight Crematorium

Frequently asked questions and answers about visual tributes

You can add a visual tribute to your service. This will be displayed on a large screen to display in the chapel.

  • Fees and charges for visual tributes - fees are not payable directly to the crematorium at the time of booking. They will be added to your total bill from the Funeral Director, and they pay us.

Contact the Crematorium office

Call: 01983 882288

Email: Bereavement.Services@IOW.gov.uk

A visual tribute is an electronic image which can be displayed in our chapel during a funeral service on our TV screen. A visual tribute can comprise a single static image displayed throughout the entirety of the service, or a slideshow to be played during a moment of reflection during a service.

Inform your Funeral Director during your arrangement meeting that you wish to have a visual tribute. They can then notify us accordingly and ensure that the service Officiant is aware of the request.

Currently a single static image must be supplied as a JPEG (.jpg) and it must be of good quality to allow the picture to be clear on the screen in chapel. Our screen is 75 inches so the better the resolution, the better the appearance will be. If the image is too grainy or pixelated when we check the screen compatibility a few days before the service, we will let the Funeral Director know so they can advise the family and provide a replacement image if need be.

Your image can be either landscape or portrait. Please note however, if your image is portrait, there will be blank space either side of the photo due to the screen being landscape.

Instead of a single static image, you can have a slideshow, which can be played at a specific point during the service, usually during a moment of reflection. If you wish to have a slideshow, you must produce this yourself or your celebrant or minister may be able to assist you. We recommend around 25 images to keep it a suitable length. You can either add music to the slideshow directly when producing it depending on what software you are using; or you can liaise with your Funeral Director to request music be played at the same time as the slideshow via the crematorium sound system controlled by our organist.

We currently accept slideshows as an MP4 file.

For a slideshow, it must be delivered to the crematorium on a USB stick at least 2 working days before the service date, so we can check it works ok. If you hand this to your Funeral Director, they can drop this into the crematorium for checking. We will then let them know if it works or if there are issues. If your slideshow is on a personal laptop, please call the crematorium office on 01983 882288 to arrange a suitable time to pop up and check it plays ok. We only have access via a HDMI port, so if your laptop does not have this, you will need to supply a USB instead.

You can request a visual tribute at any point from the cremation booking being made. You must always go through your Funeral Director as they will know how to request the service. Requests made within 48 working hours of a service will incur a late fee as highlighted above.

There is no fee if you choose to cancel.

You can have music to accompany a slideshow. You can either add this to your slideshow when you make it, and it will play through our TVs inbuilt speakers. Or you can produce the slideshow and music can be played separately via our organists’ sound system. They will just need a note on the music instructions from the Funeral Director/Officiant to tell them what track needs to be played and what the cue will be in the service to begin.
Liaise with your Funeral Director/Officiant regarding the finer details and running order of the service. If we have the slideshow on a USB, we will plug this in before anyone enters chapel, set it up on screen, and pause it ready for the service. The Celebrant/ Officiant then merely needs to press play at the correct moment in the service. If you have a laptop you may need to come into the chapel a few minutes beforehand to plug in and set up. It will then be down to you, or the Officiant if they are helping you, to manage the playing of the slideshow at the correct moment. Please remember that some laptops may go into sleep/screensaver mode, and this may cause a delay if you need to boot it back up mid-service. If possible, it would be best to remove the screensaver/timeout function on your laptop before the service begins.

Not necessarily, you can supply any image you wish to be displayed in chapel. This might be the same one as on your service sheets for uniformity; or it could be a different photo entirely. We will not accept any images containing any nudity or violence.

Disclaimer regarding visual tributes

Please be advised, as with all technology, sometimes there are failures out of our control, such as power cuts or total unit failure. These issues may result in visual tributes not working during the service. While we try our best to mitigate any such situation, sometimes this can be completely un-avoidable. We strive to deliver an excellent service; however, we cannot accept liability if the equipment becomes unavailable.

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