Concert Poster

Creating a background in the Quark program was a lot different from creating a background in any other type of program. Instead of simply selecting a color or fill for the background, I had to use the create rectangle tool and draw a rectangle that covered the 11x7 poster. After creating the background shape, a color could be selected. I chose to go with basic black, as opposed to a brighter color or some fill effect. I wanted to keep the poster simple, let the words and the image speak for themselves instead of relying on fancy colors and fonts.

For each text and picture box I created a new layer, much like in Photoshop. This wasn't necessary; however, it was easier for me to get the exact layout I wanted by manipulating each layer individually. Also, my original rough draft called for text to overlap over images, and have certain effects behind the images. It was difficult for me to achieve this without creating separate layers because I couldn't exactly control the order of the texts, images, and effects. To create an image, I first manipulated it using Photoshop. There is a way to manipulate photos in Quark, but it was easier for me to do it in the Photoshop program. After I got the image how I wanted, I went back to Quark and created a picture box, than right clicked inside the box and selected import, and chose the image. The image then showed up in Quark and I was able to move it around and change the size so that it fit the exact area I wanted it to occupy. Most of the text I created in Photoshop first, only because it was easier to get the exact effect I wanted from Photoshop, then import it as an image into Quark. Another advantage of this is I was able to change the size and shape of the text just like an image; I could stretch the words out or make them taller, without having to worry about font sizes. I did use Quark to create the text at the bottom of the poster by creating a text box and typing right into that.

One of the biggest issues I dealt with in Quark was typing right into the text box. It was difficult to change the font, size, and get the exact effect in Quark, which I why I eventually just retreated back to Photoshop. However, I eventually overcame this and managed to create the texts at the bottom of the poster, which, while not as fancy as the top text, manages to get the job done. Overall, I'm most proud of the image in the poster. It took me a long time to finally settle on what image I wanted to use. My rough draft called for pictures of each band member; however, I quickly realized that this was unreasonable. Next, I wanted to use an image of an old 1964 Chevy Impala, echoing the band's first line from their first single, "Boyz-N-the-Hood", from 1987. I used the cutout filter in Photoshop and imported the image into Quark; however, the image just didn't go with what I was trying to convey on the poster. I finally decided to use an image of one of the band members holding a mic, like they were at a concert. I used an image of the rapper Ice Cube, and used the came cutout filter I used on the Impala image. This changed the image in such a way that you couldn't tell which band member the image represented. I also changed the coloring of the image to grayscale so that it fit with the black and white theme of the poster.

Music Powerpoint

For this Powerpoint project I chose the band Pearl Jam as the topic. I liked the band and I felt like I could make a compelling presentation on them and their music. To create the audio file that would serve as the background for the presentation, I chose to combine two of their songs, Jeremy and Evenflow. I thought these songs captured the essential sound of the band. To create the track I had to convert the songs into MP3 format and load them into a program called Audacity. Trying to splice the songs together so they flowed well was difficult. I tried many different combinations of the two songs, but I couldn't quite convey the message I was trying to send. Finally, I settled on using the beginning and chorus of Jeremy and the ending guitar solo in Evenflow. This let me show off the lyrical and vocal skills of lead singer Eddie Vedder while exhibiting the musical prowess of the rest of the band.

The second slide, the information slide, was by far the most difficult slide to create. I had to create at least 5 bullets with facts about the band. The hard part was coming up with just 5 facts, so I created 9 instead. Another difficult thing was making sure the bullets weren't too wordy. In a good Powerpoint presentation, each bullet should not exceed 8 words in length. Trying to whittle each fact down to 8 words and still have it be cohesive was difficult, especially since I wouldn't actually be presenting this to the class and thus have a chance to explain what I meant. This is what I am most proud of on this slide, that I was able to convey exactly what I wanted to without it being too wordy. I ran into another problem when it came time to animate each text box. I had each box come in, and after it came up it was supposed to fade to gray and the next text box would come in. I did this, and for a few trial runs it worked fine. However, I went to view the whole show, and instead of each box coming up, the boxes all came up at the same time and didn't fade to gray at all. After trying nearly everything, I discovered that it only did this when I had each box fade to gray. I decided to go against what the professor asked and keep each bullet white, because if I didn't it would ruin the whole presentation.

The third slide contained an album cover by the band the track listing for that album. I picked Pearl Jam's first and arguably most successful album Ten because that would be the album most people would recognize from them. I used the album cover that was used to the reissue of the cd because I thought it looked better on the slide than the original and it sent a more powerful message.

The fourth slide was a comparison table. I decided to compare three Seattle based bands: Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Soundgarden. All were part of the same "grunge" genre and all were popular around the same time. I compared their album sales, award nominations, and award wins. Each part of the chart was supposed to come in individually. To do this, instead of using a chart provided by the Powerpoint program, I had to create my own. I used the Insert Shape tool to draw a rectangle for each row, and then drew four text boxes in each rectangle for the category and each one of the bands. Doing this allowed me to animate each individual text box, as opposed to animating the row as a whole.

The final slide was a collage of the band. I went to Pearl Jam's official website and used photographs taken during their recent live shows. I animated them, having them come in one at a time and then fading slightly as the next one came in. At the end, a hyperlink to the band's website would come in. For this slide, I am proud of the fact that I managed to set the timing so that some of the pictures would come in on time with the music. I am also proud of how I timed out each slide so the whole presentation lasted exactly as long as the song in the background.