Model Release App: What to Look For and How Model Release Pro Works

What a model release app does

A model release is the signed agreement in which a performer or model gives you permission to use their image and the content you create together. A model release app captures that agreement on a phone or tablet: the person reads it, confirms the required acknowledgements, signs on screen, and the app produces a document you can store and send.

The point is not novelty. Paper releases get lost, signatures get smudged, and a photo of a form in a camera roll is hard to find a year later. A good app turns each release into a record that is tied to a person and a shoot, so the answer to "did we get a release for that shoot?" takes seconds rather than an afternoon.

What to look for

Before you commit to any model release app, check these things.

• Full release text, shown before signing. The performer should be able to read the actual agreement, not just tick a box.
• ID capture. Producers commonly collect ID from performers. Look for scanning or photographing the ID, plus an age check and an expiry check.
• Sign now or sign later. Sometimes you prepare a shoot in advance and collect signatures when the performer arrives.
• Returning performers. If someone works with you repeatedly, a saved profile saves re-typing.
• A document you can keep. The signed release should become a PDF you can store and email.
• Where the data goes. Find out whether records live on a vendor's servers, on your devices, or both, and whether they can be encrypted.
• What it connects to. A release is more useful when it links to the shoot and the performer record, not when it sits alone in a folder.
• Your phone. Check that the app is available for the phone your crew actually carries.

How Model Release Pro works

Model Release Pro is the phone app that comes with My Content Tools. On set, you capture the performer's ID, the performer reads the full release, confirms the four required acknowledgements, chooses usage rights and signs on screen. When you submit, the app generates the signed release as a PDF and emails it to the studio.

Model Release Pro checks that the date of birth you enter is 18 or older and that the expiry date you enter for the ID has not passed. For a returning performer, you can pick them from your existing performers to pre-fill their details, so you re-type less.

What happens after the signature

You sign in to Model Release Pro and to the desktop app with the same email and password. When you press Sync in My Content Tools, the releases and performer details you captured on set arrive on your computer and are matched to the right shoot and performer. There are no pairing codes and nothing to configure. Releases show up after a sync, not instantly, so press Sync when you are back at your desk.

From there they sit in your performer roster next to the performer's ID record, and can be used with the 2257 record-keeping tools if you keep those records.

Platforms and price

Model Release Pro is live on Google Play for Android and on the App Store for iPhone. It is included with a My Content Tools subscription: one plan at $19.95 per month, plus applicable tax, with a 30-day free trial and no card required.

For a category-level look at the alternatives, see comparing model release apps.