Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1543070
48 S P R I N G 2 0 2 6 I C A S Q U A R T E R L Y At the 2025 AES Show, I attended a fascinating panel where industry professionals discussed the challenges and approaches involved when restoring legacy film soundtracks. The panel was moderated by Brian Vessa, former Executive Director of Digital Audio Mastering at Sony Pictures (Life, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Time Trackers), and included contributions from Doug Mountain, supervising sound editor and Atmos specialist (Dirty Harry, Purple Rain, Lethal Weapon), Michael Babcock CAS, supervising sound editor, designer, and re-recording mixer (Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Batman [1989], KPop Demon Hunters), and Nicholas Bergh, restoration engineer and founder of Endpoint Audio Labs (Oklahoma!, Titanic, Becoming Led Zeppelin). b y C A S A s s o c i a t e S a m C a s a s Repurposing Legacy Content for Broadcast and Streaming The panel discussed the entire life cycle of the restoration process, emphasizing that restoration must balance many considerations. It is both technical preservation and creative interpretation, and the final product is heavily influenced by distribution format, audience expectations, and budget. Today, audio must translate across many different playback environments, so adaptation to a multi- platform world is a critical consideration. Modern projects often include multiple audio versions: the original mix, restored mono or stereo versions, and an Atmos remix. The next consideration is what goal are you really trying to achieve? Restoration vs. forensics vs. remixing? Every decision made alters the film. So, should the approach be Brian Vessa Doug Mountain Michael Babcock CAS