We have recently discussed the M&E Creation Guidelines internally with our Sound Technology and Dubbing partners, specifically the Optional Track Recommendations around breaths/ efforts and the expectation that these types of issues be flagged during Branded Content QC. We understand that the guidelines around breaths and efforts are somewhat subjective by nature, and as a result can be difficult to accurately flag during what should be an objective technical review. Based on feedback from the sound mixing community, it can also cause significant delays in addressing QC fixes when there are a high volume of flags around moving breaths to Optional tracks. In addition, the M&E Creation Guidelines are intended to allow for some interpretation by the mixer/ mix team and creative flexibility around how they choose to separate the various elements of their mix.
As such, effective immediately, all Branded Content QC partners completing M&E QC should no longer flag ANY notes around breaths or efforts being in the M&E versus the Optionals. By removing the burden of flagging these types of subjective notes, we also hope to better empower our partners to focus on the more technically impactful QC issues and thus improve the overall actionability of M&E QC.
This update is also reflected in the M&E QC Content Comparison, Integrity, & Optionals and the Integrity x Comparative QC articles. The M&E Creation Guidelines and M&E and Optionals - What should be in which? articles will retain the original guidance around breaths/ efforts for reference, as the general best practices for our mix teams remain unchanged. However, this will not be a required check for Branded Content M&E QC and notes around this should no longer be included in any QC request.