Consent problems in this trade are seldom sinister. They are clerical. A collaboration was agreed in a chat thread months ago; the images are selling now; and when a platform asks for the paperwork, nobody can produce the message where the use of a likeness was actually settled. Directories survive audits because their records are boring, complete and findable. Keep consent the same way: a small file, made before the first generation, stored with the work it covers.
The smallest sufficient file
For every real person whose face, body or photographs enter a set, keep four items together. Identification — who they are, and how their adulthood was verified. Scope — which uses are covered, named one by one: stills, clips, face swaps, undress transformations. Term — how long the permission runs, and whether it can be withdrawn. The agreement itself — a signed release, or at minimum a written exchange in which the scope is stated and accepted, saved as a file rather than left inside a messaging app.
Habits that keep the record honest
- Scope is literal. Consent to appear in clothed stills is not consent to an undress transformation. A new use earns a new line in the file, agreed before the job runs.
- Withdrawal must be executable. If a collaborator withdraws, production stops and published pieces come down. A record that cannot carry out a withdrawal is not a consent record at all.
- Fictional characters keep a different file. There is no person to consent — but keep the character entry and the first frames. “This performer is fictional” is a claim you may one day be asked to show your working for.
- The record rests with the work. The folder for a set holds its consent file beside the finished pieces, so an audit is a lookup rather than an excavation.
When in doubt, file nothing and make nothing
The arithmetic is uneven. One undocumented set can cost an account, a storefront and a name. The set you declined costs a week. DeFiHKLinks is run on the same arithmetic — uploads and swaps require adulthood and consent, and moderation may ask to see the file. Having it ready is what professional looks like.