Founded in 1953, Motion Picture Sound Editors (M.P.S.E.) is an honorary society of motion picture sound editors. The society's goals are to educate others about and increase the recognition of the sound editors, show the artistic merit of the soundtracks

Soundtrack

A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

, and improve the professional relationship of its members. The society is not to be confused with an industry union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

, such as the I.A.T.S.E

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or I.A.T.S.E., is a labor union representing technicians, artisans and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, including live theatre, motion...

 The current president is Bobbi Banks.

The names of active members of the MPSE will generally appear in film credits with the post-nominal letters

Post-nominal letters

Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles or designatory letters, are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, educational degree, accreditation, office, or honour. An individual may use several different sets of...

 "MPSE".

Membership requirements

The following are required for the membership application:

• A three year list of credits
  Credit (creative arts)
  In general, the term credit in the artistic or intellectual sense refers to an acknowledgement of those who contributed to a work, whether through ideas or in a more direct sense.-Credit in the arts:...
  
   as one (or more) of the following:
• Sound editor
• Sound designer
• Dialogue editor
  Dialogue editor
  The dialogue editor assembles, synchronises, and edits all the dialogue in a film or television production. Usually they will use the production tracks: the sound that was recorded on the set. They will smooth it out in terms of volume and equalisation...
  
  
• ADR editor
• Sound effects editor
• Foley artist
  Foley artist
  Foley is the reproduction of everyday sounds for use in filmmaking. These reproduced sounds can be anything from the swishing of clothing and footsteps to squeaky doors and breaking glass. The best foley art is so well integrated into a film that it goes unnoticed by the audience. It helps to...
  
  
• Music editor

• Two active MPSE member sponsors
• One letter of a sponsoring active MPSE member

The Golden Reel Awards

Started in 1953, the MPSE has annually presented awards to sound editors in the following categories:

• Dialogue & ADR
• Effects & Foley
• Music
  Music
  Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
  
  

The categories are further broken down based on specific genres and between Feature Film

Feature film

In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...

's and Television shows.

There are also "other" categories that include Sound Editing in Computer Entertainment, the Career Achievement Award, and the Inaugural Filmmaker's Award. The MPSE also sponsors the Verna Fields Award

Verna Fields Award

The Verna Fields Award is the Golden Reel Award which is annually presented by Motion Picture Sound Editors to a filmmaking student in order to recognize the excellence of their sound editing work. Luke Dunn Gielmuda of the Australian Film Television and Radio School won the 1998 award for his work...

for Sound Editing in a Student Film and the Ethel Crutcher Scholarship.