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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesProtect an actor’s likeness in AI-assisted VFX by separating four decisions: what data is captured, what digital replica is created, which performances may be generated, and where the result may be distributed or reused. Put each decision in a specific, signed agreement; check the applicable union contract and state law; secure the files and vendors; document compensation and approvals; and keep copyright records for source footage and human creative contributions. The rules below draw mainly on U.S., California, and SAG-AFTRA materials and are not a universal legal checklist. Have entertainment counsel adapt them to the production’s jurisdiction and agreement.
Start with the rights map, not the software
An AI visual-effects pipeline can combine a performer’s face scan, body scan, voice, motion capture, photographs, wardrobe, dialogue, and existing footage. Each input can carry different rights. A release that permits one use does not automatically authorize every later use, give a studio copyright in AI output, or permit a model to train on the files.
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| Question | Right or rule to check | What a production record should show |
|---|---|---|
| May the production capture and process the performer’s data? | Actor’s written consent, contract terms, and any applicable collective-bargaining agreement | Inputs captured, date, purpose, vendors, security, and compensation |
| May a system generate a new performance? | Specific replica-use permission; union or statutory limits | Character, scene types, media, territory, term, edits, and prohibited depictions |
| May the result be used outside the original project? | Reuse, sequel, advertising, promotional, and archival permissions | Named projects or campaigns and a process for obtaining new consent |
| Who owns or controls the footage, scans, and output? | Copyright assignments or licenses, performer rights, and vendor contracts | Chain of title and a separate record of human authorship |
| Can the replica be retained after release? | Contractual retention and deletion terms, privacy and security duties | Retention end date, authorized archive, deletion certificate, and access log |
| Must audiences be told that a figure is synthetic? | Distribution-jurisdiction disclosure and labeling laws | Required label, placement, timing, exceptions, and responsible owner |
Use this map at greenlight, before capture, before generation, before delivery, and whenever a creative brief changes. A single “AI release” signed at the start is rarely detailed enough to answer all six questions.
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In its 2025 Commercials Contract bulletin, SAG-AFTRA defines a digital replica as a computer program created wholly or partly from a performer’s voice, image, or performance that can independently generate new performances not previously rendered by that performer. That definition applies in the contract context; it is not automatically the definition in every statute, agreement, or visual-effects project. Read the controlling agreement for the production category.
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The practical distinction is between an ordinary visual-effects asset and a system that can produce new acting. Retouching a frame, tracking a face, or compositing a separately recorded performance may raise consent and copyright questions without being a “digital replica” under that bulletin. A model that can make the actor speak new words, change expression, or perform an unrecorded action presents the more consequential replica issue. Describe the actual capability and planned use rather than relying on labels such as “digital double,” “synthetic performer,” or “face replacement.”
Creation, generation, use, and reuse are separate permissions
1. Creation of the replica
Record whether the production will scan the actor, train a system on footage, build a facial rig, capture voice or motion, or obtain an existing model from a vendor. Identify every source file and the person or company that owns it. In the SAG-AFTRA commercials bulletin, time spent creating a replica is treated as work time, with advance-notice and consent rules that include a 48-hour standard and a 24-hour minimum in specified situations.
2. Generation of a performance
State what the system may generate: for example, a specified line in a named commercial, a stunt extension for one shot, or a defined set of facial expressions. Permission to build a model is not the same as permission to ask it for a new performance. The commercials bulletin requires clear and conspicuous consent in a separate writing or rider, together with a reasonably specific description of the intended use.
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3. Distribution and editing
List the finished media in which the generated performance may appear—feature film, episodic program, theatrical trailer, social cutdown, broadcast commercial, in-store display, or another channel. Set boundaries for dubbing, translation, lip-sync, alteration of physical traits, and edits that could change the apparent meaning of the performance. The bulletin restricts certain changes to physical traits and certain nude, partially nude, or potentially offensive depictions unless explicit consent appears in a reasonably specific description.
4. Reuse
Treat a sequel, spin-off, game, remake, new advertiser, merchandising video, or unrelated campaign as a new decision unless the agreement names it. Under the commercials bulletin, expanding the planned use beyond the original description requires additional consent and a new description. A production should be able to answer, from its asset manifest, whether a proposed reuse is inside or outside the granted scope.
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Build a specific AI likeness release
A release should be understandable without opening a technical manual. Have counsel tailor the wording to the governing law and collective-bargaining agreement, then attach a plain-language schedule that can be matched to the asset manifest.
Identify the person and the inputs
- Legal name and professional name of the performer.
- Whether the permission covers face, body, voice, movement, expressions, photographs, scans, wardrobe, or other performance data.
- Existing footage or recordings that may be processed, including who supplied them and who owns the underlying copyright.
- Dates and locations of capture, and whether a vendor or subcontractor will process the material.
Describe the intended use concretely
- Project title, production company, character, and the specific scene or commercial.
- Media and delivery formats, such as theatrical, streaming, broadcast, social, or internal previews.
- Territory, term, language versions, and whether paid promotion is included.
- Permitted edits, replacements, stunt extensions, voice changes, or translations.
- Whether the system may generate new dialogue or movement, and whose instructions may trigger generation.
- Whether the replica may be used in trailers, publicity, behind-the-scenes material, sequels, remakes, or unrelated campaigns.
- Any training, fine-tuning, evaluation, or transfer to another model; if not allowed, say so explicitly.
Set boundaries and safeguards
- Prohibited depictions, including sexual, nude, criminal, political, defamatory, or otherwise offensive scenarios where applicable.
- Rules for changing age, body shape, identifiable marks, accent, or other physical and vocal traits.
- Notice, consultation, approval, or escalation procedures for material deviations.
- Named vendors, permitted locations, encryption and access controls, and a ban on onward transfer without written authorization.
- Retention period, authorized archive, deletion method, and written confirmation of deletion.
Document the business terms
- Session, creation, generation, use, residual, and reuse compensation, with payment triggers.
- Credit, if applicable, and reporting showing where and how many times a generated performance was used.
- Governing law, dispute process, union coverage, and the contact responsible for approving a scope change.
Use a separate rider or writing when the applicable agreement requires it. Keep the signed document with the production’s asset manifest and version it whenever the approved description changes.
What the 2025 SAG-AFTRA commercials bulletin requires
The bulletin is a contract-specific source, not an industry-wide rate card or a substitute for the agreement that covers a particular job. Verify coverage, later amendments, and the signed instrument. Its practical provisions include:
| Issue | Bulletin detail | How to apply it safely |
|---|---|---|
| Notice and consent for replica creation | Creation is treated as work time; the bulletin describes a 48-hour advance-notice standard and a 24-hour minimum in specified situations. | Record when notice was given, what will be captured, and which consent document applies. |
| Consent format | Consent for generating a commercial performance must be clear and conspicuous, in a separate writing or rider, with a reasonably specific intended-use description. | Attach a scene and media schedule rather than a broad, undefined grant. |
| Scope expansion | A use beyond the original description requires additional consent and a new description. | Stop the new use until the revised document is signed. |
| Compensation | A replica-generated performance is compensated at 150% of a session fee per commercial in which it is used, with other stated scale and use-fee provisions. | Apply the figure only when this contract covers the work; do not present it as a general market rate. |
| Security | The producer must make commercially reasonable efforts to protect a replica from unauthorized access, use, or copying. | Limit accounts, log transfers, secure storage, and require equivalent controls from vendors. |
| Deletion where retention consent is absent | The bulletin requires permanent, irrevocable deletion of copies within 90 days and written certification in the stated circumstance. It does not require destruction of commercials already containing generated performances. | Track the deadline, obtain the certificate, and preserve the finished commercial only as the agreement permits. |
The bulletin also addresses notice and consent for creating replicas from new or existing material. Do not assume a permission to use an existing recording automatically covers training, a new generated performance, or a different advertiser.
California protections: AB 2602, AB 1836, and SB 1050
AB 2602: specific descriptions and professional representation
The California Governor’s September 17, 2024 announcement describes AB 2602 as addressing contract clauses for AI replicas by requiring a reasonably specific description of intended uses and professional representation in negotiating certain replica clauses. Read the operative statute and the agreement for definitions, exceptions, and covered contracts. A clause that says “all media, all purposes, forever” may not answer the specificity question the law raises.
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Announcement: California Governor’s 2024 digital-likeness legislation.
AB 1836: estates and deceased performers
The same announcement describes AB 1836 as requiring estate consent before commercial use of a deceased performer’s digital replica in covered entertainment contexts. Estate rights, contract rights, and copyright in source material are distinct. Confirm who has authority to consent, whether the work falls within the statute, and whether another state’s law governs a particular exploitation.
SB 1050: labeling synthetic figures
A September 16, 2026 California announcement says SB 1050 requires synthetic figures to be labeled as a transparency measure. Because that source is an announcement, consult the law’s operative text for definitions, effective dates, exceptions, placement, and the media to which it applies. A label obligation is not a substitute for performer consent or a license for source footage.
Announcement: California Governor’s 2026 synthetic-advertising disclosure announcement.
Union coverage changes the answer
SAG-AFTRA rules vary by sector. The 2025 commercials bulletin cannot be transferred automatically to television, theatrical motion pictures, interactive media, or another category. SAG-AFTRA’s AI resources page records a June 2026 ratification of a new TV/Theatrical Agreement with additional synthetic-use restrictions, as well as developments in commercials, interactive media, and other work categories. Check the agreement that actually covers the engagement before drafting a release.
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For a reported use of a Val Kilmer replica, SAG-AFTRA stated on March 20, 2026: Any use of digital replicas must be transparent, properly authorized and fully aligned with the rights of performers and their estates.
That is the union’s institutional statement, not a judicial holding. The related question in any production is still which agreement, statute, estate authority, and contract apply to the specific use.
Resources: SAG-AFTRA AI resources and SAG-AFTRA’s March 2026 statement.
Keep likeness rights separate from copyright
The U.S. Copyright Office treats digital replicas, copyrightability of generative-AI outputs, and generative-AI training as separate subjects. Its report index lists Part 1 on digital replicas (July 31, 2024), Part 2 on copyrightability of generative-AI outputs (January 29, 2025), and Part 3 on training, identified there as prepublication at the time described on the page.
That separation creates four different records:
- Performer rights: consent to use a person’s likeness, voice, and performance.
- Source-asset copyright: ownership or license for footage, photographs, recordings, scans, designs, music, and other material fed into the workflow.
- Human authorship: the creative contributions a person makes to prompts, selection, arrangement, editing, compositing, animation, or other output decisions that may affect copyright analysis.
- Training rights: permission or other legal basis for using copyrighted works to train, fine-tune, evaluate, or improve a model.
A likeness release addresses the first category only when it says so. It does not by itself transfer copyright in a camera original, settle whether an AI output is protectable, or authorize training on a third party’s material. Maintain a chain-of-title file and a human-contribution log alongside the replica consent.
Reference: U.S. Copyright Office AI report index.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Secure the replica through its entire lifecycle
Before capture
- Approve a data map listing scans, audio, video, motion data, metadata, and derived files.
- Name the production owner, technical vendor, subcontractors, storage locations, and permitted countries.
- Confirm the signed consent and any union notice before turning on capture.
During processing
- Use least-privilege accounts, multifactor authentication, encryption in transit and at rest, and separate production and test environments.
- Keep an immutable log of downloads, exports, model versions, prompts that trigger generation, and vendor transfers.
- Prohibit staff from uploading replica files to unapproved consumer tools or personal accounts.
At delivery
- Hash or otherwise identify approved replica and output files so an altered version can be detected.
- Deliver only the files required for the named project and media.
- Give the rights owner a report of generated scenes, versions, and distribution destinations where the agreement requires notice or reporting.
At the end of the term
- Run a file and backup inventory, including vendor caches and model checkpoints.
- Delete or archive only what the agreement permits, and obtain written certification when required.
- Keep finished media containing a generated performance only for the authorized exploitation and legal-record period.
Contractual retention periods differ. The 90-day deletion rule described above belongs to the stated SAG-AFTRA commercials circumstance; it should not be imposed on every production or treated as a general statutory deadline.
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Disclosure is different from consent
An audience label, end-credit notice, metadata flag, or platform disclosure tells viewers that imagery is synthetic; it does not prove that the performer agreed or that the production owns the source assets. Conversely, a valid release does not necessarily satisfy a labeling law. Determine disclosure duties for every distribution jurisdiction and medium, then assign one person to approve the final wording and placement.
For California work affected by SB 1050, use the operative statutory text—not only the September 2026 announcement—to determine whether a particular synthetic figure, advertisement, trailer, or platform is covered. Preserve a screenshot or delivery record showing how the required disclosure was applied.
Decision framework for proposed uses
Before approving a request to use an actor’s digital double, answer these questions in order:
- What is being made? Identify the source inputs, model or rig, and whether it can generate a new performance.
- Who must authorize it? Check the performer, estate if relevant, source-asset owners, union or guild, and any required professional representative.
- Where and when will it appear? Specify project, character, media, territory, language, term, paid promotion, and post-release reuse.
- What may be changed? Record limits on body, face, age, voice, accent, wardrobe, nudity, offensive conduct, and context.
- How is the performer paid and informed? Set compensation, credit, reporting, notice, approval, and escalation terms.
- How is the asset controlled? Name vendors, access levels, transfer rules, logging, retention, deletion, and training restrictions.
- What must the audience see? Check labeling or disclosure rules independently from the consent analysis.
- What happens if the brief changes? Pause generation and obtain a new description and consent whenever the use exceeds the signed scope.
| Proposed use | Red flags requiring a fresh review | Record to obtain |
|---|---|---|
| Finish a stunt or remove a dangerous gap in one approved scene | New dialogue, a different character intention, or use in marketing | Shot list, generation limits, approved media and term |
| Dub or translate an existing performance | New language territory, altered meaning, or voice cloning beyond the contract | Language, territory, script, voice permissions, and disclosure plan |
| Reuse a scan in a sequel | Original release names only the first project or has expired | New consent, compensation, term, and deletion or archival treatment |
| Use a deceased performer’s replica | No verified estate authority or a jurisdiction with additional statutory protection | Estate consent, applicable-law analysis, and project-specific authorization |
| Train a general model on production footage | Footage includes other performers, copyrighted designs, or an agreement that says nothing about training | Asset-by-asset permissions, training purpose, retention, and opt-out controls |
If a production discovers an unauthorized use
- Preserve evidence: save the file, URL, delivery record, model version, prompts, and access logs without further distributing the material.
- Freeze expansion: instruct vendors and internal teams not to generate, publish, or transfer additional versions.
- Compare scope: place the disputed use beside the signed description, union agreement, estate consent, and source-asset license.
- Notify the responsible parties: contact production counsel, the performer or representative, the union where applicable, the estate, and the vendor’s contractual contact.
- Preserve or delete under instruction: do not destroy evidence; follow counsel’s hold instructions and the agreement’s authorized deletion process.
- Correct distribution: use takedown, replacement, labeling, or correction procedures required by the contract, platform, or law.
- Document the remedy: record who approved the fix, what was removed or retained, and whether compensation or a new license resolves the issue.
Do not “cure” an overbroad use by silently editing the file while leaving the underlying replica available. The permission, access, and retention records must be corrected as well.
Questions to settle before signing
- Does the agreement identify the exact project, role, media, territory, term, and reuse cases?
- Does it distinguish capture, model creation, generated performance, distribution, and reuse?
- Does it name prohibited depictions and limits on physical or vocal alteration?
- Does it state whether training, fine-tuning, evaluation, and vendor transfer are allowed?
- Does it specify compensation and reporting for every generated commercial or other use?
- Does it provide notice, approval, or escalation when the creative brief changes?
- Does it require security controls, access logs, deletion, or authorized archival retention?
- Does it identify the governing law, union agreement, estate authority, and dispute process?
- Does the distribution plan separately address synthetic-figure labeling?
- Are copyright ownership and human creative contributions recorded apart from likeness consent?
Bottom line for performers and production teams
The safest workflow is specific and repeatable: inventory every input; identify every rights holder; obtain separate, conspicuous consent for replica creation and new performances; describe project, media, territory, term, edits, reuse, training, and retention; apply the correct union and state rules; pay and report under the governing agreement; secure the files and vendors; label synthetic figures where required; and keep copyright records separate from likeness permissions. When any one of those facts changes, treat it as a scope change and obtain advice before generating or distributing the new version.
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