On SALT FLATS this form goes out with the background vouchers on Day 4, when six diner patrons report to the Tumbleweed Diner at 1:00 PM. The 2nd AD's department hands them out at check-in with the voucher, so nobody walks onto set without a signed release.
Use this form as a starting point and review it with an entertainment attorney before the first shoot day. The clause rows put each term in plain words so a background performer can read them in two minutes at a folding table, but the version people sign needs real contract language.
For the definition and how it differs from other rights paperwork, see the glossary entry on talent release. The same logic applied to property is on the location release form.
Who gets this form and who doesn't
Principal cast on SALT FLATS don't sign it. Their cast deal memo and union contract already grant the production rights to their performance, name, and likeness. Crew don't sign it either, unless one of them ends up recognizable on camera.
The people who need it:
- Non-union background actors, like the six diner patrons in Scenes 16 and 17.
- Real people who end up in frame and can be identified. If the diner's actual cook is visible through the pass-through in Scene 16, get a release from the cook.
- A featured extra who is non-union and is directed to do something specific.
- Anyone interviewed or filmed as themselves for a documentary or behind-the-scenes piece.
For union background, the voucher and the union agreement set the terms. Whether you also want a separate release from them is a question for your attorney.
What each part of the form is for
Performer block
Legal name is the one on their ID, which is what payroll and the release both need. The union status row matters because SAG-AFTRA's Global Rule One requires members to work only under a union contract, so a member doing non-union background is breaking a union rule on your set. Ask at check-in and write down the answer.
Scenes and shoot date tie the release to the footage. If a distributor or an E&O insurer later asks who the woman in the red booth is, the 2nd AD can find the release by scene number. Keep the release with the day's paperwork and note the count on the daily production report.
Payment on the sample reads "Day rate per background voucher" instead of a dollar figure, because the voucher already records the rate and hours. If you pay a flat fee with no voucher, write the amount here.
Rights rows
The media, territory, and term row is the one people argue with. "Any media, worldwide, with no time limit" sounds aggressive to someone who thought they were being an extra in a small movie. It's standard because a film can end up on streaming, airline, and festival screens, and nobody can go back to 40 background performers for new signatures in five years. Explain it once, calmly, before they sign.
The editing and no-obligation rows let the production cut someone out, which is the most common outcome for background.
Minors
When a performer is under 18, a parent or guardian signs. California requires an entertainment work permit for the minor, and the production must hold a permit to employ minors. The DIR's page on how minors get an entertainment work permit lists what the family needs to apply. Put the permit number and expiration on the release. Hours, rest, and studio teacher rules are separate, and the working with minors on set post covers them.
Filling it in on the day
- Before the shoot, fill in the production block, the date, the scenes, and the location on a stack of blank copies. The 2nd AD should only have to add names on the day.
- At check-in, check ID and write the legal name as it appears.
- Ask union status and write it down. If someone says they're a member, stop and call the 2nd AD before they go to wardrobe.
- Walk the performer through the plain-language rows. Answer any questions about "worldwide, no time limit" while the pen is still on the table.
- If the performer is under 18, get the guardian's signature and copy the permit number. A minor without a permit doesn't go to set.
- Collect signatures on both lines. Have the production signature line signed by someone authorized to sign for the company.
- Match each release to a voucher and count them. Six vouchers and five releases is a problem to fix before lunch.
- Scan the stack that night and file the originals with the day's paperwork.
Where releases go missing
The biggest gap is the person who wasn't supposed to be in the shot. A delivery driver walks through the diner during a take, the director loves it, and nobody gets a signature. Keep blank releases in the 2nd AD's kit and on the camera cart.
Releases signed after the fact are hard to get. Once a background performer leaves set, they have no reason to come back and sign. Get the signature at check-in, before wardrobe.
Photocopies of a blank form with the wrong production name or date are common on multi-location days. Pre-fill copies per location, and label them.
A release that doesn't name the scene or date is hard to match to footage months later, when post needs to know who is on screen.
How releases connect to the rest of production
Releases get counted against background numbers on the call sheet and against vouchers. The deliverables list for a distributor usually asks for releases for everyone identifiable, which is why a missing one can hold up a sale. For principal cast, see the cast deal memo. For property, see the location release form. The production paperwork guide shows where each document sits in the whole process.
Tracking extras and cast in Storiara
Storiara doesn't produce release forms. Its Cast & Crew module has separate Characters, Extras, Cast, and Crew tabs, and it pulls characters and extras from an uploaded script, so the background needed for each scene is listed before you start booking. You can import people from CSV or XLSX, send availability requests, and print the lists. The cast and crew feature page shows how it's laid out.