My Approach: Balancing Excitement with Clarity

Taming the Radios & Body Cam Audio

One of the biggest challenges was dealing with the police radios and body cam audio. These were often full of static or distortion, which can be tough to clean up without losing the natural feeling of the recordings. For this, I used a trick that’s become one of my go-tos: a de-esser. Normally, we use de-essers to tame harsh “S” sounds in vocals, but here, I set it to target the specific frequencies where the harsh radio noise was most prevalent. This helped smooth things out without adding extra processing or plugins to the chain. It’s like using the de-esser as a dynamic EQ to reduce those problematic frequencies, making the radio chatter clearer while still keeping that real-world grit.

Mixing the Interviews

The sit-down interviews were another big part of the mix. They were recorded in a variety of spaces with different acoustics, so one of the first things I did was work on making them sound consistent. I applied custom EQ and reverb treatments to minimize the differences in room tone and make each interview feel like it came from a similar environment. It’s a balancing act—getting rid of distracting room noise while still making sure the dialogue feels natural and not overly processed.

Creating an Immersive Action Experience

The action scenes are where things really got exciting, but it was important not to let the excitement drown out the critical moments. I focused on creating a dynamic range that allowed for big, loud moments when needed (like during a helicopter chase), but also made sure there were quieter, more intimate moments that could breathe. This gave the mix room to build up tension in the quieter scenes, then explode into action when it was time.

I also paid a lot of attention to the sound design for the action sequences. The key to making those chases and helicopter scenes feel real is making sure the sound placement feels immersive. I wanted the audience to feel like they were in the action—whether they were in the helicopter, on the ground, or racing through the streets. The sound effects needed to be layered carefully to enhance that experience while still allowing the dialogue and radio communication to cut through.

Keeping It Broadcast-Ready

A big part of my role was ensuring that all of this excitement stayed within broadcast standards. Chopper Cops is a high-energy show, but it still had to meet the technical loudness requirements for broadcast. This meant constantly keeping an eye on dynamic processing and making sure we weren’t hitting any peaks that would push the mix out of spec. At the same time, I wanted the mix to feel cinematic and big—so finding that balance was key.