For my digital project I visited two different restaurants in Washington, DC where presidents have eaten at. I visited one of DC’s staple and oldest saloons, Old Ebbitt Grill, and one of my favorite burger joints, Good Stuff Eatery. My remaining two places to visit are Martin’s Tavern in Georgetown and Taqueria Las Gemelas in Noma.
So far, I’ve really enjoyed this project. While I had already been to both locations before this semester, this project has forced me to think about these spaces in a different light. I’ve found myself much more in awe of the history these places hold, rather than focusing simply on the great food. When it came to stitching together my video footage on TikTok, it took me awhile to get used to the editing process. I also found myself constantly rerecording my audio over the stitched videos. It’s tricky to say everything I need to say for such short videos. I also had to remove certain parts of my script that could be considered unnecessary/uninteresting to the average viewer. I’ve uploaded two videos so far to TikTok, on my page @presidentsbesnackin.
Unfortunately, despite utilizing hashtags, following history accounts, and commenting on and liking other videos, I’ve only received minimal traffic. On my Old Ebbitt Video, I have 26 likes, two saves, and three shares, from 710 people viewing it. On my Good Stuff Eatery video, I have 21 likes from 223 people viewing it. Hopefully the next two videos will receive more attention!
https://www.tiktok.com/@presidentsbesnackin
These videos are great so far! If I had a tiktok, I would definitely follow you! This is a good combo of history and restaurant review in a bite-sized format. Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing your next videos!
Grace, I LOVE this series so far! Your shots are great and really show off the food and the vibes of the restaurants. Your narration is really good too! Your provide information in a way that is fun and efficient. You are giving people historical information while not overwhelming them. I definitely think that these videos will make people think a little bit more about the places that they go to eat in D.C. and what kind of history those places might hold. These videos certainly left me interested in going to both of these places!
These videos are both great! You really capture the way of doing quick cuts and sharing a lot of info verbally that is a hallmark of this kind of video content on TikTok. I totally agree with Ava that the way you have set these up as restaurant reviews/short historical stories is working really well. I think if you did stick with doing these kinds of videos that you could likely find more of an audience for them over time. I do not have any really notes or comments for revisions or suggestions on these. I think you are doing great work and I’m excited to see the last two of your videos. Best, Trevor
Hey Grace,
Great to see the project has grown and that you covered different corners of D.C. in these videos. I like the idea and think that an audience on Tok Tok would be more than interested to learn where previous presidents have eaten and may even contribute their own reviews and history of the spaces. It is exciting to see history being brought to the public audience and hope you find success in your project!
Best.