[Sca-cooks] FW: Documentation stuff

[Gretchen Beck]

Hi Gunthar,

I'd have only one thing to add to this -- oddly enough, for many people, 
it's not the documentation that scares them, it's the writing. People who 
will happily talk for hours, covering exactly the same material in exactly 
the same way all of a sudden have a brain meltdown when they try to write 
it down.

So, I tell people -- don't write, talk. Talk into a recorder. If you're 
nervous talking to yourself, get a small audience or one or two and record 
the conversation. Then transcribe what you write. Then edit it a bit.  It's 
amazing how much that can help.

toodles, margaret

--On Monday, December 13, 2010 1:01 PM -0600 Michael Gunter 
<dookgunthar at hotmail.com> wrote:

>
> This weekend I taught a class called "Documentation for Those Who HATE
> Documentation". It was for people who are a bit frightened of having to
> put documentation at A&S competitions. This is a very brief outline of
> what we talked about, maybe it will help others.
>
> My opening statements were as follows:
> "DOCUMENTATION SUCKS! I'm an artist, not an English Major! Why can't they
> just judge my presentation on its own merits and not about what I
> write???"
>
> The number one thing to remember about documentation is that it protects
> YOU. Most judges who grade your work fall into one of two categories,
> Idiots and Professionals. Idiots don't know a damned thing about what you
> are presenting. They may be able to tell if it is good, professional work
> but nothing about the details or history of the piece. It is your job to
> tell them about it. Let the idiot know that you have used period tools and
> techniques. Tell them the extra steps you went through to make it period.
>
> I'm a duke, I'm a knight and I'm a Laurel. You know what that means? I'm
> an expert in every form of armor, metallurgy, leatherworking,
> blade-making, and anything combat related. All knights are experts in
> these things. Or at least that seems to be the opinion of the judging
> selection committee. But, in most of the cases, I fall into the category
> of "Idiot".
>
> The experts are just that. They know everything about what you are
> displaying and will tear apart any assumptions on your part. You won't be
> able to fool them with modern materials or techniques. An expert can tell
> if you used hand carving tools or a dremel on your carving. Documentation
> will tell that expert that you also know what the period technique is.
> You won't be there and talking to them so you need your documentation  to
> cover for you.
>
> Here is a basic breakdown on how the documentation is constructed:
>
> WHAT AM I LOOKING AT?
> What is the piece you have displayed? What is it made of? How did you
> make it? What research did you do to figure it out?
>
> WHAT IS THE ITEM THAT IT COMES FROM?
> What are you trying to reproduce? Give a description of the period piece
> you are attempting to replicate.
>
> WHAT IS SIMILAR BETWEEN THE TWO?
> What materials have you used that match your item with the period piece?
> I once gave an entry a low score because I marked off for non-period
> materials. Later research showed me that the material used was very
> similar to the period. If the presenter had told me that in the
> documentation I wouldn't have marked it down. This is the area you get to
> show off a bit. If you make an extra effort (using period style hand
> tools, cooking in period cookware, tanning your own leather, etc...) then
> TELL us! You can't be there to impress us so let your documentation do it
> for you.
> WHAT IS DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE TWO?
> Describe the areas they don't match up. Different materials, methods of
> construction, etc... And why you did something different. If you can't
> find the blood of the Norther English Goshawk to dye your leather and so
> used professional leather dye, then state it. If you explain why you used
> a different material or technique because the original method is
> dangerous, unavailable, or any other reason then you might still get a
> ding for non-original material or technique but it will be much smaller
> because you at least you understand the difference.
> SEZ WHO?
> It is pretty doubtful that you are a Ph.D who is an acknowledged expert
> in this field. So tell us where you got the info from. If you make a
> definate statement about something the just put a number next to the
> statement and in the Notes section tell us where you got that. Just put
> the title of the book or article, the author, when it was published. DO
> NOT JUST PRINT OUT A WEBPAGE! Trust me, even the idiots can tell.
>
> Documentation is your friend. It makes the person who is looking at your
> work appreciate what you have done. Make sure you sit down with someone
> who knows grammer and how to spell and have them edit it with you. Even
> if you are a good writer yourself have someone look at it. Statements
> that might make perfect sense to you may be confusing to someone else.
>
> Just some thoughts, I hope it helps.
>
> Yers,
>
> Gunthar
>
>
>  		 	   		
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