Enrichment · Passion Projects

Every voice
on the record.

A student documentary, a local history podcast or a club’s photo wall all need the same thing before anything goes public: permission from each person, for the uses you have in mind. Log every release here, print one to sign, and check the list before you publish.

Add a personWhat you get

Your releases

The worked example is made up: three people from a local history podcast, one fourteen-year-old still missing a guardian’s signature and one release that has run out. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Enrichment · Passion ProjectsFree

What you finish with
A record per person recorded: adult or under 18 and the guardian who signed, the project, recording and signing dates, the uses the release allows, scope, end date, limits and any payment or credit, plus four paperwork checks. Prints a plain-language release to sign. Totals releases, minors and how many allow each use; flags a minor without a guardian, a release signed after the recording, one that has ended and limits to respect.
Who it is for
Student filmmakers and podcasters, teachers running media projects, oral historians, club and community project leads.
Format
Browser register with a saved record per person. Prints a release to sign, one record, every release in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Passion Projects space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Before recording, print a release for each person.
  2. Ask a parent or guardian to sign for anyone under 18.
  3. Enter the uses exactly as the signed form lists them.
  4. File a photo of the signed form and give the person a copy.
  5. Check the register before every new use.

Add a person

What a release answers

Five questions every release answers1Who is it?Adult, or under 18 with a parent or guardian2Which recording?Name the project and the date3Where will it go?Each use: web, podcast, broadcast, ads4For how long?An end date, or none5Any limits?First name only, no faces, not in adsFive questions a release answers1Who is it?Adult, or under 18 with a parent orguardian2Which recording?Name the project and the date3Where will it go?Each use: web, podcast, broadcast,ads4For how long?An end date, or none5Any limits?First name only, no faces, not inads
A release that answers all five is easy to follow years later, when someone asks whether a clip can go in a new trailer.

Why a release

Using someone’s name, voice or likeness, especially to promote something, is governed by state right-of-publicity and privacy laws that differ from place to place. A clear written release avoids the question. Schools and many festivals ask to see releases before screening.

Recording people who have not agreed

Recording a conversation can also need the consent of everyone in it under some state laws. Ask before you press record and keep the release with the recording.

Sources

  1. Digital Media Law Project, Berkman Klein Center. Using the Name or Likeness of Another and Recording Phone Calls and Conversations (dmlp.org).
  2. Oral History Association. Principles and Best Practices, informed consent and release agreements (oralhistory.org).
  3. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Right of publicity (law.cornell.edu).
  4. Society of American Archivists. Guidelines for oral history release forms and donor agreements (archivists.org).

The worked example is made up. The printed release is a plain starting point, not a legal form; rules differ by state and by the place you publish, and a school or broadcaster may require its own form. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.