Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Intro to Illustrator!

Hellur!

It's Illustrator day... what does that mean??? It's the start to graphic design... You'll be designing monsters today... Follow the instructions in the PDF below! 

Underneath the PDF, you will see the final versions of what your monsters should look like. After you have completed the four monsters, you will make your own!





Sunday, December 4, 2016

YOUR NEWSPAPER!

Okay Children of the Corn! It's your chance to show what you've learned... Check out the powerpoint for the instructions on how to put together your newspaper!


Monday, November 14, 2016

Recreating a Front Page!

You've created a skeleton, and a front page template for the Cactus Chronicle. Now, you're going to attempt to recreate a newspaper of your choice.

As a helpful hint, here's the pixel settings for the following newspapers:

MAKE SURE YOU CHANGE YOUR SIZES IN THE INDESIGN WINDOW!!!

Broadsheet: 90p0 x 50p0
Berliner: 70p0 x 40p0
Tabloid: 40p0 x 30p0

This is the site you're visiting! But it's in the PowerPoint too!

DO IT.


Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Election Special!

IT'S OVER!

FINALLY!

... and your winner is...?
(I'm writing this in the past, and you're in the future, so clearly, I haven't updated the blog...)

Either way, my bold prediction is... we're still trying to sort through the muck, and though we may have a projected winner, we probably are seeing the losing candidate still fighting, to the bitter, bitter end. 

At this point, you've probably seen quite a few red/blue maps to last you for the next few years, so, I'm going to add some more maps and colors to your life. 

Check out the winning map from the USA Today (refresh the page if it still has multiple 'grey' states). 

Before I ask you some questions, open this link and you'll find an interactive graphic from the USA Today as well. Now, this may sound super nerdy, but this is the COOLEST interactive electoral map I've found. 

Play around with it. It shows the maps from 2012 (Obama vs. McCain) all the way to 1960 (Kennedy vs. Nixon). After you've at least taken a look at it, DOWNLOAD the following document:



After you've downloaded the document, answer the questions. WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED:

Save the document by going to File>Save As>FirstLast ElectionQs P_

After you've finished, upload your paper to the correct file drop:

First Period

Second Period

Fifth Period

Sixth Period

Friday, November 4, 2016

InDesign Day 2

Alright, take a look at the following presentation and images in this post.


You'll need to click and drag the images to your desktop, and follow along with the presentation...



Your template will look like this when you're finished:


To get full credit for this assignment, call me over when you're done so I can take a look at it!


Click here to download the images needed to place in your template!



Tuesday, November 1, 2016

InDesign, Day 1

Click and drag to your desktop...

Here's your instructions for creating this lovely Cactus Chronicle Template:






Save a copy of it to your computer by simply clicking on the photo, and dragging it to your desktop. 







Then, come back here and go through the instructions on how to make your InDesign document look the same way.




Tuesday, October 25, 2016

News Stories in Action!

Hi guys! Hopefully you get the idea of the inverted pyramid... because you'll need to know how it works here. We're going to look at actual stories today. Stay in the NEWS section of the websites... the inverted pyramid is much more noticeable in this section. Here's your assignment:


Open a Word document, and copy and paste the following format. You'll need to do it 8 times:

  • Website:
  • Headline:
  • Lede:
  • 5W's and H:
    • WHO:
    • WHAT:
    • WHEN:
    • WHERE:
    • WHY:
    • HOW:
  • Summary of supporting paragraphs:

A quick explanation for you: 
  • Website: Write what website you're using. 
  • Headline: The title of the story
  • Lede: Write the ENTIRE lede here.
  • 5W's and H: Break the lede down.
  • Summary of supporting paragraphs: quickly, read paragraphs 2 to 5, and give a quick description of what's happening in the paragraph. A few words work here, nothing too intricate. 
Approved websites:
You have till Friday, October 28 to complete the assignment. 

Save the document as: First Last NewsStories P_

When finished, drop into the corresponding dropbox:

Monday, October 24, 2016

Leading Off!

Find the five W’s and the H in the leads listed below (questions 1-5). Some of the leads may not have certain items in them. For questions 6-8, create your own lead with the information given.


1. Drought-starved rivers and lakes are causing trouble for everyone from recreational boaters to major shippers who use barges to haul commerce on the shrunkenMississippi River.

2. Three weeks before a Board of Health vote on the proposal, New Yorkers are less than sweet on Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s plan to prohibit sales of large sugary drinks in city restaurants, stadiums and movie theaters, according to a new poll by The New York Times.
3. Los Angeles Police Department is trying to learn more about the transient who alleged burglarized the home of actor-rapper LL Cool J.

4. A draft environmental impact statement on the proposed Rosemont Mine is "clearly deficient" and needs major revisions, opponents of the mine said Tuesday.

5. Minutes of the last meeting of the Federal Reserve reveal that many board members see the need for additional monetary action “fairly soon” to boost the pace of economic recovery.


6. Literary Society banquet
Last Thursday
School cafeteria
Parents and seniors were honored guests
“Hawaii” theme carried out in decorations, food
Program covers showed Hawaiian picture
Mr. James Wood, who lived in Hawaii for several years, was a guest speaker.
Movies of Hawaii were shown
Seniors given travel posters


7. Sachi Nakane
Won $500 cash and scholarship to the Jeffers School of Business at Carter University
For 4-year course
She wrote an essay, “Why I Am Interested in Studying Economics”
Plans to enroll in the school after graduation
After she finishes the course she wants to work for a large brokerage house as a securities analyst
Scored 800 in the math achievement test


8. Special crafts class
Producing puppet shows
Students made puppets and stage
“the Runaway Pancake” one of four plays produced
Voices are taped beforehand
Performances at Lincoln kindergarten and several nursery schools.

When finished, please save your file as: 
FirstName, LastName Ledes P_

After you've saved the file, drop it in the specific link for you class:





Tuesday, October 18, 2016

SERIAL #LEGIT #ADVANCEDCLASSONLY

Folks! 

This is single-handedly the greatest podcast in the history of podcasts. This is Serial. It's a 14 episode podcast about a murder... but we're not really sure if they caught the right guy. It's captivating, it's intense, and you'll be hooked... So get ready. 


Listen to the first episode today... it's about an hour long, so grab something to eat, and definitely your headphones. There's extra content on the site, so you may want to take a look at some of the documents or other evidence. Take a listen, have fun with it, and... get pitted!

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Podcasting, Day 2

Your mission today is simple:

Our eventual goal is to create a news-podcast, one that can be used for the Cactus Chronicle. Today however, you'll create a personal story in order to learn HOW to tell a story. Follow along with the PowerPoint to create your story...




... After you're done listening to the podcasts and reading the requirements, download the script template here:




Okay, so you know the assignment, you've got the script downloaded, you've got three class periods to do it... but you're probably wondering... If I'm going to record my story one time... How am I going to edit all the spots that I mess up on? Check out this tutorial... trust me, you'll get the hang of it in no time!




 Good Luck! Remember your deadlines! Record quickly and efficiently! This will be the last BIG grade of the quarter!

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Welcome to Podcasting!

Good news Children of the Corn! Podcasting is upon us! In case you missed our grand entrance to podcasting, or you just really liked what you heard in class, here's the link to the Dark Side of the Earth, presented by Radiolab...

http://www.radiolab.org/story/242184-dark-side-earth/

This podcast has three things, which make up a good podcast:


  • Sights-- Yes, you can't see much in a podcast (it's all based on audio... duh), but if the podcast is good enough, it can create images in your head.
  • Sounds-- I mean, it doesn't get any simpler than this... just see above. But really, some small but focused sounds can improve that visual, while stimulating other senses. 
  • Facts-- Here's the heart of the story... in fact, it's the reason for the story. So if you've got the basic facts of said story, the sights and sounds should come naturally.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Ads "R" Us

It's time for our next competition! This will involve a partner and a script... Choose wisely!

Friday, August 19, 2016

It's time to get... SICK!

Hey folks!

It's Sick Beats time... the time where we take our talents to LPX, and make a beat that will beat out the competition... or make them sick to their stomaches, whichever comes first.

NOTE: The PowerPoint has all of the info you need to accomplish this task! I will go through the basics with you, but please refer to this presentation if you forget.

Hopefully the computers can show the videos in the PowerPoint, but if not, I'll be by to upload the presentation for you.

 

Monday, August 15, 2016

It's time to get... logical!

As you've probably figured out, we're jumping head-first into Logic Pro Xtreme (10 #sadpanda)and today, you're going to learn about the interface. This lesson will give you a pretty good feel on how to use the actual program and it gives you a chance to play around with the features at the end of it.

You will need some headphones for the lesson. If you don't have any, let me know!

 

Monday, May 9, 2016

Photo Restoration!

Hello Children!

We're learning about photo restoration, or, making photos look like new again. It's a tedious task to accomplish, but if you learn how to restore photos correctly, there are lucrative jobs that require this skill.

Either way, please refer to the PowerPoint below if you get lost from our demonstration today.

The 5 photos below the PowerPoint need to be restored.

Please be aware that because this is a TEDIOUS task, I'm looking for the photos to be ABSOLUTELY PERFECT by the time you finish this assignment.




The 5 photos to edit (click on the link to see and download the photos):

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/z4iq4xu2gnwrv9n/AADSQ79ukuxAd0bvsbpFdBY0a?dl=0

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Burning, Dodging, Sponging, Day 2

Hello ladies and gents... today, we're going to put burning, dodging and sponging in action, with Zach Galifianakis... Click on the photo below, and wait for the photo viewer to pop up.

As soon as it's up, click and drag the photo to photoshop. Follow the instructions that were written in the PowerPoint. If you don't remember the steps, click through the PowerPoint below!

Happy destructive editing!



Your PowerPoint:

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

A Quick Switch Up...

The next lesson with Photoshop will have to wait, unfortunately... It's a bit complicated, so I want to go over it with you in depth. In the mean time, you'll have to go back to Illustrator (you can all groan now). Here's the specifics:

I want a logo for the Cactus Chronicle Radio Network. The best logo will be considered for the class.

Your requirements are: It must say Cactus Chronicle Radio Network. 

Pretty simple, right?

You have till Friday to finish them. Remember, if you finish early, or need to get your presentations in order for next week, make sure you do so.

I'll be back Monday!

Have a great week/weekend!

Monday, April 11, 2016

Photoshop! Croppin' Like it's Hot... Getting on my Level.

Hellur Children of the Corn...

Look through the following PowerPoint... It will explain to you two VERY important tools for Photoshop, the crop tool and the levels tool. If you're taking my advanced class next year, you'll need to know this. If you're taking photography next year... you'll REALLY need to know this.



After you've looked through these slides, you'll need to complete the following assignment below:

Follow the link to download the photos! Crop/Level them, and then follow the other link to post the corrected images to your blog!

https://thmscmt.wordpress.com/2015/08/14/ps-1-crop-levels/

GO TEAM!

If you finish early with the 10 photos you selected, work on some of the other photos you downloaded, or continue working on the Illustrator project (Company/Personal Logos--and make sure you upload the presentation to your blog, that's how you'll present!). Presentations will be next week!


Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Logo Design!

Hey folks! Here's the start for logos... please make sure you get a thumbnail sheet to complete step two... flip the paper over to write in the explanations!

Good Luck! Maximum Effort!

 

Monday, February 1, 2016

FACE SPACE!!!

Selfie Time!

Yup, you've made MonStarz, South Park characters that look like you... sorta... and now it's time to make... you! But not stylized you (we're not going to mimic a type of illustration), we're shooting for your actual face, made up of shapes, colors, all that good stuff...

Let's be clear on this however... I'm looking for YOU, not a Pablo Picasso version of you...

Example:

YOU:


PABLO PICASSO VERSION:



Follow along with the instructions below!


Monday, January 4, 2016

Intro to Illustrator!

Hellur!

It's Illustrator day... what does that mean??? It's the start to graphic design... You'll be designing monsters today... Follow the instructions in the PDF below! 

Underneath the PDF, you will see the final versions of what your monsters should look like. After you have completed the four monsters, you will make your own!