Here's how I did it.
iWork '09
On the upper right is i button (inspector)
Clicked that on got a box
Two buttons Transition and Appearance
Appearance
Body
Background
Color fill
then I picked a color
Yes it is Powerpointish but just want basic information to be more like a billboard rather than a fireworks display.
Also I am using the same basic header information and copying the basic slide to build on was super easy. Now if I can figure out how to save it so the individual slides will usable in iMovie I will be golden!