LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The countdown to Thunder Over Louisville is just about over, and it'll be no regular production with WDRB at the helm.

It's been eight years since WDRB was the Thunder station, and everyone is geared up to bring Louisville the best broadcast of the city's famous air show and fireworks.

The preparation began a long time again and WDRB Production Director David Callan has had a busy past few months.

"This is a team effort. This is just not me," Callan said Friday as crews completed setup along the Ohio River. "I'm just one cog in this whole machine that makes this whole thing happen."

Technical directors, engineers, graphics operators, and dozens of other people will work in this mobile studio parked under Interstate 64 near the river.

"Whenever you do a live remote like this, you never know what you're gonna get," Callan said. "Equipment works, and, all sudden, it doesn't work."

The same truck WDRB will broadcast from Saturday is behind some other events you might know: the NCAA basketball tournament, the Masters and even the Super Bowl.

"For us, as a station, it means that it takes a lot of the pressure off for us," Callan said. "For the loyal viewership, it means top-notch quality."

WDRB have produced several Thunders Over Louisville broadcasts, starting in 2007. Callan has been there since day one.

Behind the scenes ahead of Thunder Over Louisville

"Part of what I tried to do is get the cameras as far east and west in the airbox as possible so we can't miss a plane," Callan said. "The goal is always to raise the bar."

On Saturday, we'll have 25 cameras stationed in Kentucky and Indiana — and even on the 2nd Street Bridge — that are specially equipped to show you every detail.

"Any year we do it, we try to add something new," Callan said.

Jim Seelhorst, who brought a chair to The Belvedere on Friday morning to see air show practice, loves watching it all come together.

"It's a monumental event," Seelhorst said. "And I think a lot of people don't understand things just don't unfold on Saturday and then fold back up on Saturday. ... It takes a multi-day, a lot of preparation. It's just a great time for Louisville to really showcase ourselves."

Very little sleep and a lot of effort goes into putting this year's show together, building two sets on either side of the river and placing all those high-quality cameras to showcase Thunder Over Louisville like you've never seen.

"It's always craziness, and then, all sudden, it falls together," Callan said. "We want to show a sense of perspective. So we're gonna go tight to wide, blind to tight, back and forth to make sure that the viewer gets a sense of ... not only to see the pilots face, if possible, but also to be able to see a sense of perspective."

For a list of everything you need to know about Thunder Over Louisville, click here.

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