This short guide explores the difference between creative filmmaking and documenting creative work — especially for artists working with movement, performance, and live experience.
 
Instead of treating documentation as “just recording” or filmmaking as “just making it pretty,” this guide offers a thoughtful framework for understanding the role of the camera. Is it acting as a witness? A collaborator? A translator? An archive?
 
Inside, you’ll find a clear, accessible reflection on how dance film and documentation overlap, where they diverge, and why both matter.
 
Best for: dancers, choreographers, filmmakers, educators, performance artists, and arts organizations thinking more intentionally about how creative work is filmed, remembered, and shared.
 
Good for: artists deciding whether they need documentation, a dance film, process footage, archival footage, or a hybrid approach.