Motley Crue Stage Video Producer Explains His Craft

One of the most memorable moments from one of the top tours this summer was Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee's insane 360-degree drum roller coaster. As the band prepares to ship the rig to Britain for their U.K. tour next month with Def Leppard, video producer Charlie Terrell explained how he worked with the band to create some of the visual magic.

“With Motley Crue, we got that gig through the lighting designer, and we got on the phone … and we all just talked," he says in a press release provided by Daddy Van Productions, a digital video production company based out of Austin, TX. "They’d say they envision a song to be ‘blank’, and I’d say ‘Oh, I like that’. Or I’d say ‘I see a lot of blood in this song.”

While Lee spinning around and upside down is impressive on it's own, the video element is what really makes the spectacle mind-blowing. Terrell says the set-up allows video designers to play with a circular screen and bathe Lee's drums in a circular video display.

“My video is not my true voice, it is the residue of my ambition,” the photographer and musician says. “But when I’m working with a client, I like the challenge of trying to please them even though it’s not necessarily my own work. That’s the real challenge.”

In addition to working with Motley Crue, Terrell has collaborated with bands like Maroon 5 and Disturbed.