Document

How to find stuff

Documentation is the most labor-intensive task in personal digital archiving, but it is critical to establishing and protecting a filmmaker's intellectual rights and to preserving long-term access to digital materials.

Documentation can be achieved by:

• Creating an inventory with a description of the contents.

• Curating a video library catalog.

• Establishing the connections between supporting documentation and the project files, this can include:

  • Shot records.

  • Contracts and legal agreements.

  • Actor contracts and model release forms.

  • Equipment and production staff contracts.

  • Shooting permissions.

  • Craft service agreements.

Documenting intellectual ownership establishes the provenance, or authenticity, of the artistic or commercial production. it also facilitates search and discovery, especially as a library grows. There are open-source cataloging tools available online.