teleVision Quest
An experimental short about apathy, obsession and television.
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Terence CoverDirectorAn Exercise In Narcissim, Damnbulance
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Terence CoverWriterAn Exercise In Narcissim, Damnbulance
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Terence CoverProducerAn Exercise In Narcissim, Damnbulance
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Terence CoverKey CastAn Exercise In Narcissim, Mimesis, Orion (2015), Suburban Heroes
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HooliganKey CastFuneral Home Horror
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Sadie TateKey CastFangboner
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Kimberly HowardCinematography
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Project Type:Experimental, Short
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Runtime:4 minutes 50 seconds
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Completion Date:February 23, 2016
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Production Budget:300 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:DSLR
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Festival of Darkness 2022Detroit
United States
October 1, 2022 -
Mysterious Film CabalFerndale, MI
United States
June 30, 2016
Best Love Scene -
Broken Knuckle Film FestivalCortland County, New York
United States
October 10, 2016
New York Premiere -
Videodrunk 2016Toronto
Canada
December 3, 2016
Canadian Premiere
Wooden Spoon Award -
Hardcore Horror Fest 2017Chicago, IL
United States
February 17, 2017
Illinois Premiere -
Breaking Borders: TabooDetroit, MI
United States
January 27, 2017
Born in 1983, in the tiny, redneck, village of Mount Gilead, OH Terence was destined for rural living. Thankfully, in high school he realized he loved filmmaking while working on video projects for various classes. At 18, he moved out, got married and became a manager of the local movie theatre in a slightly larger, redneck, Ohio town. At 21, he divorced his wife, quit his job, and finally went to film school.
Terence attended The Motion Picture Institute of Michigan while still living in Ohio. He drove 7 hours, round trip, 3 days a week to attend there and worked at a small ice cream shop in Mount Gilead to pay for his first 16mm short film, An Exercise In Narcissism. After graduating M.P.I. in September of 2005 he finally moved to Michigan to begin his career in the film industry.
He's worked on films of every caliber ranging from short, no-budget horror films with no script shot on VHS to several hundred thousand dollar feature films shot on 35mm film. He's also been know to get gigs as a casting P.A. on network and cable channel reality shows when they're casting in the Detroit area. He's held every position at every step in the filmmaking process at least once, whether it be Production Assistant or Director.
Though primarily an editor, his directorial debut, An Exercise In Narcissism, has played in film festivals as far away as Berlin, Germany and continues to find venues to play in. In addition to being an award winning filmmaker, he is a published poet, an accomplished sculptor and photographer whose pieces have appeared in several Detroit gallery shows.
I initially wrote this script way back in 2005 but due to a combination of lack of confidence as a director and lack of funds for the necessary location, I was unable to actually shoot this film until 2015. My computer also crashed in 2015 which delayed editing until 2016. So from conception to completion, this five minute film took eleven years to make.
The script is based on two poems I'd previously written and the rest is more or less what I pictured going on while I was writing those poems. The poems themselves, to me, explore the themes of apathy and obsession respectively but both use the television set to represent those themes. Which is why I felt they paired together nicely.
As mentioned above, a drawback to shooting was a lack of an affordable location. I wanted a large space where I could make a mess and have the background disappear to emptiness. There were few locations I could think of to meet those demands. Then an opportunity arose. I was offered an acting gig by my film school alma mater. They wanted me to shave my head for that role and I agreed to do that in exchange for use of their sound stage and equipment. Essentially the budget for this film was my hair.
Hopefully these little background nuggets make the film more interesting. Thanks for reading and I hope you dig the film.