c5 sound was founded in 1989 by partners Phil Stockton, Skip Lievsay, and Ron Bochar. Always focused on technological innovation (which at the time meant the transition from analog film sound to Digital Audio Workstations like Synclaviers, Akai dubbers, Sonic Solutions, AudioVision, very very early ProTools, and two track field recordings on portable DAT machines!) - the ‘c5 way’ has always been about the integration of the sound edit and the final mix - the idea that the two historically separate processes could be merged and cross pollinated in new ways. Now 35 plus years later, with accelerating technological changes and the onset of A.I., these ideas are even more impactful than the c5 founders could ever have dreamed of back then.

     In early 2025, c5 made the decision to become part of the Soundtrack Group, although the two companies already had a long history of collaboration - Stockton had supervised many feature films for Martin Scorsese at Soundtrack with re-recording mixer Tom Fleischman, and Paul Hsu got his start in the industry as a young intern and assistant album music mixer at Soundtrack. So the new partnership seemed like an obvious choice. Phil and Paul are now at the 936 Broadway location, continuing the legacy of the filmmaking approach c5 has maintained over the years - attention to quality above all, a boutique sensibility, and very close relationships with directors. Phil’s decades’ long collaboration with Scorsese, Spike Lee, Ang Lee, and others, speaks for itself. Paul’s ongoing work with directors like Tom McCarthy, Ari Aster, Lance Oppenheim, Jake Schreier, Dito Montiel, and others, is very much in the same vein. The vast library of location recordings, sound design elements, and foley tracks from 25 years at the Northvale foley studio, combined with a plucky, some might say even renegade spirit, make c5 unique, not for everyone, but suited to auteur filmmakers working within the mainstream Hollywood system - and based in NYC!