Media 275 – Module 5 – Weekly Essay

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As the person who currently represents the company of Hermann Brothers, I feel that I have already begun attempting to engage with the trucking industry community, not only on a local level, but on a regional level as well. I have only been doing so for a couple years, and I don’t get as much time every week to focus on it as I would like, so I feel I still have a long ways to go in this department. Hence, why I am taking this course!

I can’t say that I have built some good, solid, online relationships with partnering companies yet, but if I were, which I do plan on doing, then it would be with companies such as Kenworth, Freightliner, Peterbilt, Love’s, Pilot, and Flying J. The first three are semi-truck manufacturers. They have repair shops and driver lounges all over the country. Having a good online relationship with them could lead to some positive PR and assisted advertising on their part at their locations. The same thing goes for the other three I named off. However, these are truck stops. These are also all over the country and truck drivers stop at them all the time. If I fostered positive relationships with these big name truck stops online, and engaged with them online, these drivers who are their loyal customers might start seeing the Hermann Brothers name pop up and be attracted to it.

https://kenworth.com/

https://www.peterbilt.com/

Media 275 – Module 3 – Essay

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The product I am advocating today is being an employee for Hermann Brothers Logging & Construction. I have been an employee here for 6 years now and I must say that this is the best job I have ever had. I would highly recommend working here to anyone else I came across. The Hermanns are very nice people and I have really enjoyed working for them over the years. They treat their employees like they are family. That is a hard quality to find in this industry these days.

They make sure that the drivers are comfortable, well-taken care of, and have the luxury of using new equipment. They also recognize when an employee goes above and beyond. As a current employee of Hermann Brothers Logging & Construction, I receive a full benefit package consisting of paid health, vision, life, and dental insurances, along with a 401k, and paid time off that is available for use at my disposal.

In my 6 short years of working here, I have already advanced into a hybrid office position. Not only do I still drive part time, but I also train new drivers, develop training videos, manage their social media accounts, design graphic advertising for hiring new drivers, and manage their website for them.

The Hermann Brothers have kept me very happy during my employment with them and I don’t plan on leaving any time soon.

https://www.facebook.com/hermannbros

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Media 275 – Module 6 – Weekly Essay

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Storytelling in Social Media

A company’s social media presence and branding efforts thrive on storytelling. I would have to say that the most important reason for this is the fact that storytelling allows a person to get up close and personal with the company or brand. This can create a sense of transparency and authenticity. This is what the consumer wants. They want to feel like they are communicating with a real person in real-time. Telling a story consists of three parts: an introduction, a problem, and a resolution. A good storyteller knows how to regularly create engaging content that intricately interweaves all three of these elements.

I will use an example from the Hermann Brothers Facebook page. I use this page to market the company to potential new drivers. I do my best to sell the company to them and make it seem appealing. More appealing than where they currently work, if I can.

Introduction:
“Dry vans, chip trailers, live bottoms, flatbeds, and more! Hermann Brothers operates a rapidly growing and diverse fleet to the service the needs of customers all across the Greater Pacific Northwest.”

Problem:
“Are you tired of not being home every night or every weekend at the very least? Are you tired of not being paid by the hour? Are you tired of messing with freight, curtains, and tarps?”

Solution:
“Here at Hermann Brothers, you don’t have to worry about any of that. Here you will have hourly pay, home every night (if not more), full benefits and 401k, no-touch freight, and more. Join the team today!”

I consistently create ads for Hermann Brothers using this format, or something similar. I have had amazing results and returns from it. I feel that the problem section of the story is the most important part. I feel that is where the company-consumer relationship is established. It is stating, “this is how and where we know you are struggling.” Then the solution section says, “This is how we can help you fix that.” In reality, the ads are created to benefit us as a company but the idea is to create them in a way that they seem like they are there to benefit the consumer.

I read three articles about storytelling in social media before I wrote this. The links are below:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jiawertz/2021/09/29/storytelling-and-the-power-of-social-media/?sh=147ec1296da3

Social Media Storytelling: How It Works
https://www.socialpilot.co/blog/social-media-storytelling

Media 275 – Module 4 – Weekly Essay – “Join the Team!”

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Chip trucks, flatbeds, live bottoms, dry vans, you name it! Here at Hermann Brothers, we operate a diversified fleet to service customers both locally, and regionally throughout the Greater Pacific Northwest.

Are you tired of being treated like you are just a number? Are you tired of being treated like a statistic? Are you tired of staying out on the road for weeks at a time? Are you tired of tarping your loads?

Incorporated in 1968, Hermann Brothers started as a small family-owned logging company based in Port Angeles, Washington. Over the years, Hermann Brothers has also developed a large and rapidly growing commercial truck fleet that can service a wide variety of transportation needs in the Greater Pacific Northwest. Locally owned and operated, we believe in a strong commitment to the environment, to our community, to our employees, & to our family.

Here at Hermann Brothers, we run a very family-oriented business and treat our drivers with the respect they deserve. You ARE more than a number or statistic. We will make SURE you get home every weekend to see your family, if not every night. We will have your back. Join the team today. More importantly, join the family.

Professional Drivers
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Media 275 – Module 7 – Weekly Essay

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Hermann Brothers ROI

As the manager of the social media accounts for the company, Hermann Brothers Logging & Construction, I have a major goal in mind. That goal is to market the company to the truck driver community, both in the surrounding local area, and the regional area of the Greater Pacific Northwest. I market the company to them in the hopes of making the company seem appealing to them so that they apply to become a driver with us. That is our return on investment. The acquisition of new, safe, decent commercial drivers.

I would say that I would measure the company’s return on investment by taking the amount of capital I have spent on our different methods and platforms of advertising and divide that by the number of drivers who apply with the company because they heard about it through one of those methods or platforms. If I wanted to refine those results even further, I could do this just for a certain time period, maybe like over a 30-day period. I could also remove new drivers who don’t stay with the company for a certain amount of time to find results that are more focused on drivers that are actually going to stay with the company for an extended period of time. I would then take the amount of profit available and compare that to the cost of finding the drivers to see if it is worth continuing to do it this way. However, seeing profit numbers is above my paygrade and not information that is available to me, so I will leave that part of the equation up to someone higher up than myself.

Media 115 – Module 7 – Weekly Essay

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Special FX!

Special effects have been used in film for a long time now. They can be used to convey messages, portray emotions, heighten action, and most importantly, can take something that would normally be physically in the real world and make it seem like it is really happening. This can be achieved by many means and methods. Some well-known examples would include The Ten Commandments, Terminator 2, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Wars, The Thing, and Blade Runner.

A couple specific examples I have listed for my blog would be the opening White House breach scene from the 2003 film, “X-Men 2”, and the scene from “Game of Thrones”, where Dany rescues Jon Snow and company from the white walkers on the frozen lake. I have included links for those scenes and behind the scenes clips for both as well.

I like the special effects used in the “X-Men 2” scene because they are fast paced, they accentuate the action taking place, they are used to transition between shots, and they really help catch the audience’s attention when beginning the film.

“X-Men 2” – White House Breach Scene
“X-Men 2” – Behind the Scenes

The reason I picked the scene from “Game of thrones” is because it uses colors, music, and special effects to make a dramatic entrance for the dragons. They chose to use the complementary colors of blue and orange, an emotion-striking soundtrack, and special effects that really emphasize the finer details of the flying dragons and their movements.

https://youtu.be/QLPNHFMOlGw
“Game of Thrones” – Frozen Lake Scene
“Game of Thrones” – Behind the Scenes

Reference:

https://www.looper.com/636202/older-movies-with-special-effects-that-still-hold-up/

Media 115 – Module 6 – Transition & Transformation Video Project

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Storyboards

1 of 3
2 of 3
3 of 3

Script

M: “I was going to go by myself…”

——Jesse walks over to Kelly and gets his attention——–

J: “Here, let me show you something.”

M: “I was single, and I was like this sounds like an adventure. I’m gonna do it safe but I’ve never done anything by myself.”

——CUTS TO JESSE PUTTING WIGS ON KELLY WITH INTENSE MUSIC——-

——MUSIC STOPS AND SHOWS LINDA STARING AT KELLY IN SHOCK AND AWE——–

———CUTS TO MORE OF KELLY PUTTING WIGS ON AND THEN MAKEUP———

——REBEKAH WALKS INTO THE BATHROOM——-

R: “What in the actual fuck is going on in here? What are you doing?! Ohhh Lord.”

M: “This is just normal in our house.”

R: “Great. Great.”

Media 115 – Module 6 – Weekly Essay

Posted on by jesse

The Influence of “Metropolis”

Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” has been a source of influence and inspiration for an extremely long time now. I have found an interesting example of this. It can be found in the official music video for the song “From the Pinnacle to the Pit”, by the Swedish rock band, Ghost. I have included the video with this essay.

It is not possible to watch this music video and not see how it has been influenced by “Metropolis”. It shares the same retro sci-fi vision of a futuristic city. It also shows what appears to be an elite class living in the top of a high-rise while all the workers live on the ground level. Amongst this elite class, there is a very obviously influential female figure. There are also some comparable looking shots and scenery inside the high-rise. Towards the end of the music video, it shows the singer of the band at ground level exclaiming that “the light belongs to the people”. The music video ends right after this, but if it hadn’t, I would say that he would have possibly just started a revolt amongst the “workers” at ground level.

I am sure that the footage in this music video is taken from another old film, that was also inspired, in itself, by Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis”.