When a studio uses a real actor's face or voice in Volta, the actor approves exactly which uses are allowed and for how long, on a page of their own with no account needed. Every generation that uses them is checked against that approval before it runs, a withdrawn approval stops new work, and the approval travels with the work as a signed certificate anyone can check and a consent mark written into exported video.
The actor approves, on their own page.
The studio sends a link. The actor sees what was uploaded of them and chooses each use: for a face, photos, new images, expressions, changes of look, wardrobe, video and promotion; for a voice, recordings, new lines, other languages and promotion. They set from when and until when, and whether existing work is kept or removed if they withdraw. They can turn uses off but never on beyond what they were asked. A guardian or an estate can approve instead, and a short camera clip with a one-time code shows the studio it was really them.
An ID check on every approval.
Nobody approves in someone else's name. Before approving, the person shows an identity document and takes a live selfie with Didit, Volta's identity provider. The name on the ID is compared with the name the studio gave (a stage name can be given beside it), and for their own face the selfie with the studio's photographs of them. A clearly different name or face stops the approval. Someone under 18 cannot approve for themselves, and Volta keeps the result, never the images.
Checked before every generation.
A picture, take or voice line that uses the actor is checked against the approval before it runs: the use has to be approved and the dates current. Voices are checked at the moment of speech, and dubbing into another language needs the actor to have allowed other languages. Anything outside the approval is refused, with the reason.
Withdrawn means stopped.
The actor can withdraw an approval from the same page at any time. New work that needs it stops at once, and existing work follows what they chose when approving: kept, or removed by the studio. A newer approval replaces the older one.
A certificate anyone can check.
Every approval is issued as a signed, machine-readable certificate in the open W3C format for verifiable credentials, with a short check code. A distributor, a festival or a viewer types the code on Volta's verify page, or drops the certificate there, and sees straight away who approved, for which uses, until when, that their identity was checked, and whether it still stands or was withdrawn. Never their photographs, email or ID.
The consent travels with the export.
Video exported from a project carries a consent mark in its metadata naming the real people in it and their approvals, so the record goes wherever the work goes.
Character sheets on a real face.
Once an actor approves the uses, the studio works with them like any character: a character sheet, expressions and wardrobe on their likeness, each button available only when its use is approved.
What stays the studio's job.
Volta records the consent and enforces it in the tools; it does not replace the studio's own contract with the actor, their agent or their union. Volta never uses a face or a voice to pick anyone out, compares faces only in an identity check the person takes themselves, and makes a voice model only when the studio clones a voice the actor approved for new lines.
Common questions
Does the actor need a Volta account?
No. The studio sends a link, and the actor approves or declines on a page of their own, after an identity check that shows it was really them.
How does the identity check work?
Before approving, the actor shows an identity document and takes a live selfie on Didit's page. Volta keeps the result: the name on the ID, whether it matches the name the studio gave, whether they are 18 or over and whether the faces match. Didit deletes the images after 12 months.
Can an actor limit how their face or voice is used?
Yes. They approve each use separately (photos, new images, expressions, changes of look, wardrobe, video, promotion; recordings, new lines, other languages, promotion) and set the dates it applies from and until.
What happens if an actor withdraws?
New work that needs the approval stops at once, and existing work is kept or removed by the studio, as the actor chose when approving. The certificate shows the approval as withdrawn.
How can a distributor check an actor's consent?
Every approval is a signed, machine-readable certificate. It can be checked on Volta's verify page, which shows whether it is still valid, and exported video carries a consent mark naming the approvals behind it.
Does Volta store biometric data?
Volta never uses a face or a voice to pick anyone out. Faces are compared only in an identity check the person starts themselves, by Didit for Volta, and Volta keeps the result, not the face data. It keeps the images and recordings the studio uploaded, a voice model only where the actor approved new lines and the studio cloned the voice, and the approval record.
Does this replace the actor's contract?
No. Volta records and enforces consent inside the tools. The studio's contract with the actor, their agent or their union remains the studio's own.