About Terminal Velocity Films

Terminal Velocity Films was created when Terry & Jackson Coates, a father and son team, decided to enter a 24 hour film race. The two did everything, except a short voiceover, which was done by Terry’s wife, Tammy. Unfortunately, the two bit off a bit more than could be chewed in 24 hours, but they took their time and completed Terms and Conditions as a short film without the time constrains of a film race.

From there, Terry enlisted the help of some friends to create a more involved project, Instant Camera. Jackson stepped back from acting in the film, but was happy to be “the sound guy” and lend a hand when he could.

Where did the name come from? Well, “Terminal Velocity” was actually the band name Terry and Jackson used (still do, occasionally) when playing “Rock Band” on XBox. And since their first effort was a breakneck film race—they were going as fast as they could—it just seemed appropriate use that name again.

Born and raised in Ohio, Terry D. Coates has had varied interests over the years. Deep into photography in high school, he also worked as a weekend DJ at a local radio station. That led to running sound and lights for a rock band formed by friends of his. He also volunteered as a firefighter until he discovered racing cars. He raced competitively for 12 years in SCCA PRO*Rally and Showroom Stock Road Racing under the banner Rhinoboy Motorsports. Meanwhile there was this day job as a computer programmer. Today, he co-owns disc training hub with his wife (and sometimes writer/director!), Tammy, providing training and development services centered around Everything DiSC^® behavioral assessments.

But all the while he dabbled in video in nearly everything he did. He currently makes videos for his company, but has also covered his son’s running events, and his father’s community tree project, while writing, directing and producing the short films found on this site.