DARP is a simple way to record who did what on a piece of work, including what a person did and what AI did.
One record
The four layers
Anything that can be made and shared can also be credited in four ways.
Tap a letter to see each one.
You had the idea. You decided what it should be.
A Solo Work
Tessa has a great idea for a movie and decides to write a screenplay. After the first draft, she reads it while taking notes and fixing problems. It takes a few passes to get it right: a stronger ending, sharper dialog, and a final read to be sure the story matches her vision. When it's done, she sends the screenplay to the studio in the format they want.
Four kinds of work, and Tessa did all four herself.
When you did everything yourself, just sign your name.
That alone is a DARP record in its simplest form. Add more detail when working with other people or AI.
A whole crew
What happens when a team works on it?
A producer reads Tessa's script and backs it. Now it is heading for the screen, and a film is the work of hundreds. A director shapes how it looks, and brings in a screenwriter, Sam, to add to Tessa's script. Actors perform her lines. Then the crew that carries it home: editors review the takes and cut the film, a colorist finalizes the look, a distributor delivers it. The same four layers Tessa worked alone at her desk, now spread across a crew, each reaching for the most precise word for their craft.
An abridged record, a film credits hundreds.
Two screenwriters now, so the record marks how they shared it: Tessa lead, Sam supporting. The others are each the only one at their craft, so they carry just a name. Scope words show up when creation is shared.
A DARP record grows with each contributor. Tessa worked alone, so she signed one name. Sara named herself and the AI that checked her work. The film named a whole crew. Each carries what its work actually did.
Broad to specific
A contribution can be named three ways, from broad to specific. The crew record above already uses all three.
1The Layers
Devise, Author, Review, Prepare. They name how someone contributed in the creative process and are represented by letter in every record above.
2The Acts
A step more specific than the layers, and still plain enough to read in any field. Tessa is credited as an Originator. No film word is mapped to that act yet.
3The Trade Words
A step more specific than the acts, in the words a field already uses for its own trades. The record above is almost all trade words: film:director, film:colorist, film:distributor.
You choose how specifically to credit. Scope words (sole, lead, supporting, assisted, equal) can attach to a contribution at any of the three.
The layers and the acts belong to everyone. Trade words belong to a field, and the list grows as new trades are mapped.
Your turn