The video is approved, and the client wants to run a 15-second cut as a paid ad. Their legal team asks for the releases.
The interviewee signed one, but it says “company website” and nothing else. The receptionist who shows up in two B-roll shots never signed anything, and nobody is sure which inbox the interviewee’s PDF ended up in.
Most of what goes wrong with a release is decided before the shoot, by what the form covers and when it gets signed.
The rules change from country to country, and in the US from state to state. New York, for example, makes it a misdemeanor to use a living person’s name, picture or voice for advertising or trade without their written consent, and for a minor that consent comes from a parent or guardian (Civil Rights Law § 50).
Nothing here is legal advice. Use your client’s template if they have one, and have a lawyer read yours once.
In short
- A release should say what can be used, who can use it, where it runs, for how long, where in the world, how it can be edited, the payment and how to withdraw.
- Send it a few days ahead and collect the signature when people arrive, before the first take.
- Tell employees that taking part is optional, and have a parent or guardian sign for a child.
- Scan the signed copy the same day, name it with the video’s code and keep it with the job.
What a release has to cover
A one-line release (“I authorize the use of my image”) falls apart when someone asks a specific question a year later. Write each of these down:
- What can be used: image, voice, name and job title. Name and title belong in the release because they’ll appear on a lower third.
- Who can use it: your studio and the client, by name, and whether the client can pass it to an agency that runs its ads.
- Where it runs: website, social media, paid ads, events, internal channels, TV.
- For how long: an end date, a number of years after first publication, or no limit. Write it down even when the answer is “no limit”.
- Where in the world: one country or everywhere.
- Editing: whether the video can be cut into shorter versions, subtitled, translated and turned into stills or thumbnails, with a promise that edits won’t change the meaning of what the person said.
- Payment: the amount, or a line saying the appearance is unpaid.
- Changing their mind: who they write to, what you’ll stop doing and how fast.
The last item varies most between places. Under the GDPR rules used in the UK and the EU, when consent is the legal basis, people can withdraw it at any time, and withdrawing has to be as easy as giving it (the UK regulator’s guidance on consent).
Elsewhere a release can be written as irrevocable. Either way, write down what happens when someone wants out.
Get it signed before the camera rolls
Send the release a few days ahead with the time and address, so people read it at home instead of in a corridor with a mic pack clipped on. Collect the signature when they arrive, before makeup and before the first take.
After the shoot it gets harder. The person has seen how they look on camera, or has left the company, or stops answering email. If they refuse, the footage can’t be used, and you find out with the edit nearly done.
The form also settles how the name and job title are written. The person fills both in by hand, and the editor copies the lower third from the signed page instead of from a call with the marketing team. The lower thirds checklist has the rest of that process.
Employees, customers and people in the background
Employees are the delicate case, because it’s hard to say no to your boss. The UK regulator, the ICO, says consent usually isn’t the right basis where there’s a clear imbalance of power, as with employers.
Its example of consent that can still work is a recruitment video where staff were invited to volunteer and told that taking part was optional and wouldn’t affect their performance reviews (when consent is appropriate).
Wherever you shoot, say it’s optional and mean it. Add a line on what happens when the person leaves the company, since the video often stays online longer than they stay in the job.
Customers in testimonials sign the same release. If their employer’s name or logo appears, someone at that company may need to approve too (see the testimonial interview guide).
People in the background are a judgment call. Someone recognizable who’s on screen long enough to matter, or who is the subject of the shot, should sign, be kept out of frame or be blurred.
A notice at the entrance of an event tells guests that filming is happening, but it doesn’t replace a release from anyone you feature. Ask a lawyer where that line sits in your country.
Minors and locations
For a child, a parent or legal guardian signs. The age that counts, and whether the young person signs too, depend on where you shoot, so check before you book a school or a family. Put the child’s name and the guardian’s name in separate fields, and keep the guardian on set.
A location needs its own written permission from whoever controls the place, saying when you can be there and that the footage can be used. Look out for artwork, posters and other brands in the frame. The pre-production checklist covers the rest of the scout.
A release template you can adapt
One page, in plain language. Replace the brackets and delete the options that don’t apply.
Video appearance release
I, [full name], allow [Studio] and [Client] to record and use my image, voice, name and job title in the video “[project]”, recorded on [date] at [place].
Where it can run: [Client’s website, social media, paid ads, events, internal channels].
For how long: [until (date) / for (number) years after it’s first published / with no time limit].
Where: [country / worldwide].The video may be edited, subtitled, translated and cut into shorter versions, stills and thumbnails for these uses, without changing the meaning of what I said. [Client] may share it with agencies working on these uses.
Payment: [(amount), paid by (date) / This appearance is unpaid].
If I change my mind, I’ll write to [email]. From then on, [Studio] and [Client] won’t start new uses and will remove the video from the channels they control within [number] days. [Material published or printed before my request may stay in circulation.]
Name: ______
Job title, as it should appear on screen: ______
Email: ______
Signature: ______ Date: ______If the person is a minor:
Parent or guardian’s name: ______
Signature: ______ Date: ______
If the client’s legal team sends its own form, check it against the list above a few days before the shoot.
Keep the signed copy with the video
A release only helps if someone can find it a year later, and nobody will think to search the producer’s inbox or a group chat.
Scan or photograph it the same day, name the file with the video’s code and the person’s name (BRD_002_release_Sofia-Almeida.pdf) and store it with the job, next to the brief and the script.
Our folder structure gives paperwork like this an admin folder of its own. The form holds personal data, so keep it where only your team can open it.
How this works in RecReview
RecReview doesn’t collect signatures or track releases. It gives the talent list and the signed copy a place next to the video.
In the shoot plan, each video block has a Talent column for who’s on camera. It’s saved on the video’s task and appears above the video’s title on the shared plan link.
A Talent Arrival block puts each arrival on the schedule with its own time, which is a natural moment to collect signatures. A note on a block, like “second interviewee’s release still missing”, shows on the shared plan, and a video block’s note also appears in the Production section of that video’s task.
The signed release goes on the video’s task as an attachment, a PDF or photo of up to 50 MB that you can drag into the Attachments section. PDFs and images open in a preview inside the task.
The client doesn’t see task attachments, since neither the review link nor the client portal shows them, but everyone in your workspace can open them. More on production plans.
