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Checklist for Flagging Omissions During QA and Editing

Updated over 4 months ago

The following are NOT considered omissions:

  1. Phrases with no semantic value

If characters are shouting or speaking over each other, there's no need to transcribe everything word-for-word. If the line lacks meaningful content, it is unimportant, or it’s unclear who is speaking — it may be left out.

2. Unintelligible sounds made by a character

Yes, there may be a sound wave on the audio track and the character might be saying something — BUT! You need to determine whether it’s actual speech or the result of a condition (e.g., the character is just babbling "blah-blah-blah").

3. Mouth movement without sound (and it’s not an editing error!)

The character may be shown in close-up moving their lips, but no sound is heard — in this case, the line can be skipped.

4. Background voices or sounds that are barely audible

If the character is not visible and someone is yelling in the distance — and you have to strain to hear whether it’s speech or ambient noise — and the line carries no semantic value — it can be skipped.

5. “Interpreter-character” situations

When a character speaks in their own language on screen and is then repeated or interpreted by a translator (or in similar cases), we keep ONLY the interpreter’s speech. The original voice will be added during editing.

6. Unusual, rare, or unintelligible foreign languages

(Vietnamese, Korean, African languages, Farsi, etc. — everything exceptSpanish, Portuguese, French, German and Chinese)

In such cases, the original audio is simply used in post-production. If there is no transcription in the file, this may be the reason.

7. Standalone interjections

We do not transcribe interjections like “Wow,” “Aha,” etc., if they appear on their own.

“Wow” followed by silence — NOT an omission

“Wow, I didn’t know” — OMISSION

Pay close attention to the film’s lore and context!

Review the lines BEFORE and AFTER. Sometimes, a skipped line may be contextually justified.

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