# Documentation

Documentation provides an important resource, accompanying, or even standing in for, an immersive media (XR) experience as it ages. As a starting point for documenting an XR experience, the following prompts may be useful:

* Recording key information gained during [**initial assessment**](/pimkb/getting-started/initial-assessment.md) of the characteristics of an XR experience e.g. using the [templates](#acquisition-information-templates) on this page. 
* Creating [**video documentation**](/pimkb/preserving-3d-software/video-documentation.md) of XR content using video recording tools.
  * What is the user experience like? 
* Creating or recording **personal narratives/accounts** of works (i.e. oral histories).
  * From whose perspectives are these recorded? e.g.
    * User/viewer
    * Artist/creator and their technical/development collaborators
  * Professional/neutral or personal tone?
* Could your documentation become '[**documentation as preservation**](/pimkb/preserving-3d-software/preservation-strategies.md)'?
  * Documentation created while the experience is accessible can become a useful preservation pathway later, by transmitting some understanding of the original experience.
  * How do you measure the success of your documentation? e.g. completeness, multiplicity, accuracy...
* Consider ***outside-in***** and *****inside-out***** perspectives** on documentation - see [sasha arden's paper](#augmenting-our-approach-to-preservation-documentation-of-experience-for-immersive-media) referenced below for more info:
  * "An *outside-in* approach takes the technical characteristics of
     hardware and software as its starting point, where the material properties determine how
     content is rendered and experienced."
  * "By contrast, an
    *inside-out* approach is user-centered, where experience of the content reveals significant
     properties that guide decisions as to how content is rendered."

## **Templates**

### **Acquisition Information Templates**

These documents were designed to guide information gathering and discussion during the early stages of the acquisition of virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) artworks, primarily with conservation and long-term preservation in mind. They are designed to be completed by or in close collaboration with an artist prior to receiving media from the artist.

#### AR  Templates

{% file src="/files/a7UKVIbZeEwkOo9NtQtF" %}

{% file src="/files/oxF5U5irMbqrGH3yeknw" %}

#### VR Templates

* [Version 1](https://www.tate.org.uk/file/virtual-reality-artwork-acquisition-information-template) (March 2019) developed by Jack McConchie and Tom Ensom during Tate's Preserving Immersive Media project:  

{% file src="/files/6Wup586ezzxjmpT6zZn5" %}

* [Version 2](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VGHHvxMRQc_OQYjHFW1mTMRa2vL9MGsjiNq1gF4j6l8/edit) (May 2019) developed as an extension of this template by Savannah Campbell and Mark Hellar: 

{% file src="/files/3AKwsxET0VmDhi8bKaCH" %}

## **Publications**

### **Augmenting Our Approach to Preservation: Documentation of Experience for Immersive Media**

Written by sasha arden during their 2021–22 graduate internship at Tate, this paper considers the experiential dimension of immersive media (IM) and its significant role in preservation and future access.

PDF available via Tate website: <https://www.tate.org.uk/documents/1793/Augmenting_Our_Approach_to_Preservation.pdf>

### **Documentation Infographic for artists and makers**

The infographic was created by Lieve Baetens in 2023, and provides artists and makers information about the importance of documenting their work. The infographic answers questions about why it is important for artists and makers to document their work and how they can document their own work.&#x20;

{% file src="/files/xtUcxkIEqIo97k5WiYEP" %}

{% file src="/files/Naivh3jrXv08CHkz4uK8" %}


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