Restoring audiovisual products sustainably: innovative approaches to work with audiovisual archives

The paper explores evolving definitions and practices surrounding archives and repositories in the digital era. It highlights the challenges of distinguishing between these terms and the political complexities inherent in defining archives. The discussion draws from critical archiv-al theory and its emphasis on appraisal, preservation, and description, and analyses the in-fluence of digital platforms, like YouTube, on archiving practices. It addresses materiality and sustainability, underlining the environmental and financial costs of digital archives, and the uneven global access to audiovisual cultural memory. Two innovative case studies are presented: the reconstruction of Colombian television archives through human and AI-powered metadata extraction, and a Welsh postproduction company's workflow optimisation to reduce energy consumption. Both cases exemplify creative solutions to digital archiving challenges, such as improving context and access, on the one hand, and minimising environ-mental impact, on the other. The discussion extends to broader issues, including the archiv-ing of video games and social media, copyright, and the risks of private ownership and algo-rithmic control. The text concludes by advocating for “critical digital archives” that are ethi-cally, materially, and environmentally sustainable, suggesting that ongoing innovation and nuanced debate are essential for the future of digital audiovisual archiving.