Appendices3 min read

The Filming & Publicity Consent Card + Sample Release

Tools for filming your floor the right way — transparency, opt-out, and consent — so you film the culture without exploiting the room.

Important use information

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The sample language here is a starting point for discussion only. It is NOT a legal release, NOT legal advice, and NOT a substitute for a qualified attorney. Riley Epperson is not a lawyer. The sample below is illustrative and must not be used as an actual release as written.

Filming people carries real legal dimensions — consent, right of publicity, likeness, releases, and special protections for minors. Before you use anyone’s image, especially commercially, have a licensed Texas attorney draft or review your actual consent and release documents. Use this only to organize your thinking and to make sure real professionals handle the real paperwork.

The filming chapter set one rule: film the culture, don’t exploit the room. That means transparency (people know), consent (they agree), and an easy, honored opt-out (anyone can decline). These tools help you build that practice — but the binding documents must come from an attorney, not from this page.

The Filming Notice (Post It)

A plain, visible notice gives people fair warning and a chance to speak up. Sample wording to adapt with your venue and counsel:

The Opt-Out (Make It Easy and Honored)

Anyone may decline to be filmed, for any reason or none, and it is respected instantly and cheerfully.

Establish a known signal or a simple word so opting out is easy and cost-free.

Honor takedown requests immediately — feelings and situations change; “please take that down” gets a gracious “of course,” every time.

Set the room’s whole culture: people ask before filming others, and no one is filmed who doesn’t want to be.

Bright Lines — Absolute

Never post identifiable images of minors without explicit parental or guardian consent. Keep any footage involving children appropriate, non-identifying, and minimal. When in doubt, don’t.

Never film or share images of intoxicated patrons in states they couldn’t consent to and would be humiliated by.

Never record anyone in a private area (like a restroom) or in any invasive or intimate way — that is criminal, not merely wrong.

If you ever see anyone seeking out or misusing images of children, treat it as the emergency it is and contact law enforcement immediately.

When Filming Becomes Commercial

The moment you use footage of your dancers to promote your business, you’re in right-of-publicity and likeness territory, where consent — and for anything substantial, a proper written release — matters legally, not just ethically. Get consent, keep it clear, and have an attorney handle real releases.

Sample Release Language (Illustrative Only — Not for Use As-Is)

A real release, prepared by counsel, typically addresses points like these:

The person grants permission to record their image / likeness at the named event.

The permitted uses are specified (e.g. promotion of the dance community, on named channels).

Whether the permission is limited or ongoing, and how it can be withdrawn.

That the person is an adult, or that a parent / guardian consents for a minor.

Signature, printed name, date, and contact — executed on the attorney’s document, not this one.

Filming Well — The Craft

Favor wide, celebratory shots of a happy floor over tight zooms on an individual.

Capture people who are clearly delighted, not someone struggling, self-conscious, or caught unaware.

Show the triumph, not the fumble; the collective joy, not one person’s bad night.

Film people the way you’d want to be filmed — generously, with consent and care. It’s better content, too.

Our Room’s Filming Policy

Who may film, and what may be used:

How people opt out, and how takedowns are handled:

Filming policy agreed with the venue (see Appendix C):

Where I get releases reviewed before going commercial:

Put this chapter to work

Continue the lesson with connected resources

The chapter explains the principle. These resources help you practice it, document it, calculate it or train it in the room.

Use the resource that matches the decision in front of you. A tool supports judgment; it does not replace current law, venue policy, qualified professional advice or the person responsible for the operation.