SPL playbook · Step 4 Consent does not need to slow down a good session. Decide which path applies, collect the right record, and keep it with the footage.
SituationWhat to collect
Recorder or crew memberTheir signed Recorder Agreement
Adult deliberately participating in the taskSigned Subject Release
Adult who is featured, interviewed, followed, or repeatedly visibleSigned Subject Release
Incidental adult bystander in TexasRecorded verbal consent may be used if every rule below is met
Adult outside Texas, or recording state is uncertainSigned Subject Release
Private property or businessSigned Location Release
Minor or person whose age is uncertainDo not record
A signed Subject Release is always the simplest option when it is practical. The verbal path is a convenient fallback for an unexpected adult bystander in a Texas session.

​
Texas incidental-bystander option

An incidental bystander is someone who is not the recorder, not part of the task, not recruited or staged, and not being singled out by the camera or annotations. The recorded verbal option is available only when all of these are true:
The person is clearly an adult.
The recording takes place in Texas.
The appearance is incidental rather than deliberate or featured.
The project will not use the appearance for facial recognition, voiceprints, identity matching, or biometric enrollment.
The person is not named, individually tagged, highlighted in a sample, or singled out in marketing or dataset descriptions.
The full disclosure and an audible yes are recorded.
Have the recorder say exactly:
“This camera records video and audio for opentez. opentez may use the footage to develop AI systems and may include it in commercial AI-training datasets provided to other companies. Are you okay with being recorded and with opentez using the footage that way?”
The answer must be an audible, unambiguous yes. Silence, a nod, or continued presence does not count.
Keep the disclosure and answer in the original recording as evidence. Only task footage captured after the yes counts toward the accepted deliverable.
For every Texas verbal-bystander consent, retain:
  • the session and clip name;
  • the exact timestamp where the disclosure begins and the person says yes;
  • the recording location and state;
  • the recorder’s name;
  • script version TX-BYSTANDER-1.0; and
  • the original clip containing the complete disclosure and answer.
Put this information in the batch manifest and submit it with the session’s other consent records. Do not separate the evidence from the footage it covers. The Texas option does not cover minors, deliberate participants, featured appearances, biometric identification, or footage from another state. It also does not authorize capturing unrelated private conversations. If any of those conditions apply, use the signed Subject Release or leave the person out of the footage. Consent forms and records contain personal information. Store them securely, limit access to the people preparing the batch, and submit them only through the opentez process. Do not leave them in group chats, shared personal drives, or other places where they could leak.
Texas generally permits recording a conversation when the recorder is a party or one party has consented. Ordinary video and audio are excluded from the Texas Data Privacy Act’s definition of biometric data, and Texas provides an AI-training exception when a system is not used to uniquely identify a person. See Texas Penal Code Chapter 16, Texas Business & Commerce Code Chapter 503, and Chapter 541.

​
A note on paying your recorders

How you engage and pay the recorders in your crew is an important business decision. The SPL alone is responsible for classifying, scheduling, supervising, insuring, and paying its crew. opentez pays the SPL for accepted batch deliverables and does not hire, direct, schedule, or pay crew members. Review your SPL Agreement and the Compliance & Risk Memo before engaging your crew.

​
Licensing and handover

When you deliver a batch to opentez, you hand over the footage and the rights attached to it. You can only hand over rights you properly secured, which is why each consent record must stay tied to the session it covers. The exact terms are in your SPL Agreement.