We were lucky to catch up with Taysha McFarland recently and have shared our conversation below.
Taysha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about growing your team – how did you recruit the first few people, what was the process like, how’d you go about training and if you were to start over today would you have done anything differently?
Starting my film production company, Toprock Productions was a gigantic leap of faith. Not because I had no formal training in film production, or because I had never directed a film before, but because it was the first time I was stepping out and openly committing to follow my creative dreams and I was doing that alone. I followed the process to officially start a business, operating as a sole trader at first. But right from the start, I knew this wasn’t a solo pursuit. It takes a team of incredibly talented people all dedicated to their retrospective departments to get a film from page to production and then out to the world to see. I had the drive but needed the how.
Fortunately, I have a close friend, Tristan Braines, who had gone to film school, and because I had experience on set as an actor, we thought that our combined minds would help get us to our next step. We were doers and wanted to make things happen, so we teamed up and made our first couple of films together. Just low-budget, short productions, and anything we could do to build our portfolio.
It was only a couple of months in when we realised that in order to improve our production quality and create bigger, better productions we needed a larger team. As we were still new to the industry, we decided to build a team of up-and-comers like us. But most importantly, we were looking for people who shared our vision, were passionate and vibed well with our personalities.
We didn’t have a dedicated office space for Toprock and just moved around to wherever we needed to go. At first, we started reaching out to cinematographers and organised to meet them in relaxed settings such as cafes. After all, we didn’t want to conduct formal interviews, but rather a friendly conversation with a fellow creative. Having been on the other side of the table many times for job interviews and acting auditions our importance lay in making the person now sitting in that seat as comfortable as possible. It was equally important to us to let our potential team player know that every voice should be heard and it wasn’t going to be a dictatorship on set. Filmmaking is a team game and therefore we were always open to collaborating and hearing ideas from our team members.
During these meetups what we looked for were people who were dedicated to their specific role on set, ie soundie, gaffer, cinematographer, makeup etc. When our productions started growing, we took recommendations from the people we trust – our team members and expanded from there, either meeting over Zoom or in person.
I’ve heard that you should hire people who are smarter and more skilled than you. And this is true. If all those years ago, I sat around recruiting people who were just as clueless as me, Toprock Productions would never be where we are today. Finding your team isn’t about finding people whom you can manage, but rather finding people whom you can reciprocally learn from, and share differing viewpoints.
Today we have a core team that nurtures the values of respect, generosity and work ethic. It is ingrained in us that what we do isn’t just about the work, but about the people and the journey we go on together. Through this process, we have not only found amazingly dedicated team members, but people we call friends too.
Taysha, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I started acting when I was 5, training in drama, musical theatre and music and I always wanted to have the doors open for this creative release. Growing up in an academic family, it was difficult to have my dream heard, as a career in the arts was not a viable career pathway. However, it was a passion that burned within me and over the years that fire never dampened. To keep my parents happy, I enrolled in university and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Science, majoring in Genetics. This was decided upon how many contact hours were required and what the schedule looked like, so I could keep my acting pursuits on the side (but don’t tell my parents that.)
When my husband and I started our family, it became too difficult for me to continue actively pursuing a career in acting, so based on the pressure to “get a real job”, I started working in a soul-sucking 9-5. But still, the passion to create burned more, and now was just sprinkled with jealousy, as I watched my friends work towards the goal I once was journeying towards. I couldn’t let that bring me down, so I started writing stories, first in a small notebook I kept on my desk and then eventually, carting my laptop around writing every chance I got.
One day, while planning my son’s birthday party, I was on the phone with our local council listening to the variations of hold music and lists of upcoming events. During this call, I heard of an opportunity to enter films into an upcoming competition. So, with a little bit of prayer, it turns out it was just what I needed, my inciting incident if you will, that catapulted me into a whole new trajectory. I was going to be a filmmaker!
I took that leap of faith with both arms wide open and dived in head-first. My first film won the council competition which only made my desire to continue creating grow. It was then, when I realised, I have a lot more passion for writing, directing and production than I did for being in front of the camera. Eventually, I was able to leave my 9-5 and focus on Toprock Productions.
At Toprock Productions I am driven to tell the stories of the unheard and create family-friendly content and films. We specialise in scripted narrative but are also branching out into factual and documentary filmmaking as we speak. Our first film as a production company was “If Only”, which touches on mental health and the importance of reaching out. Publicly available on our YouTube channel, we have had many people reach out commenting on how the film resonated with them and thanking us for making the film, especially during the global pandemic.
The top rock is a break dance move, used to set up for bigger and better moves. Just like our name insinuates, we continue to move on to bigger and better productions, winning multiple awards for our films. One of our latest, “Zarephath”, which is available on multiple streaming platforms, has won over 15 awards globally and received many acknowledgments.
As each of our projects caters to a different audience, we build a team based on what that particular project needs and who works best within those parameters. We want the people we work with, clients, core team, additional crew and actors to feel the love when they work with us as we place our importance on looking after our people.
Currently, we are producing “Life of Kea” a comedy web series based on the fierce character, Aunty Kea created by Lyanna Kea. We are also currently in production for a feature documentary about the Japanese Occupation of Malaya.
Our other services include corporate video, music videos and actor showreels just to name a few. We are open to meeting and working with new talents and voices, companies and marketing campaigns. If you have a story to tell, we would love to help!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Early on in my filmmaking journey, I bought second-hand equipment from someone who was leaving the industry. His bit of advice for me was “Never give up.” If you have the passion, you keep going no matter how many knockbacks you get. Over my few years in the film industry, I’ve learned you’ve got to be ready to bounce back. Every “no” gets you one step closer to the “yes” you need. A hard hit may get you down, which it has to me before in terms of rejections for funding. Sometimes you just need a bit of time to recoup, but don’t take too long. Remember why you’re in the industry. Stay as optimistic as possible, because a lot of people will want to bring you down. It does get very challenging mentally too, so keep visualising your goals and working towards them.
With Zarephath, we were only a few weeks out from principal photography and we hadn’t raised nearly enough funds to make the film. It was a very trying period because without the funds we couldn’t make the film. I had a lot of faith, and even though it was stressful as we fast approached go-time, we didn’t back down. Planning continued, casting, rehearsals, and equipment bookings were all going ahead. And just before we headed off, the funds started coming in. It was definitely a miracle that was needed. I was passionate about telling this story and people heard that passion and wanted to be a part of it in one way or another.
I don’t recommend doing this ever! And these things won’t happen to anyone. You just have to have faith in your project, and if you can, have faith in yourself. Believe in your vision, your why, and whatever gets you through, but if this is your passion, just don’t give up.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
One of the most rewarding aspects of being a filmmaker is watching the finished film and remembering it not only for the story it tells but for the journey we went on behind the scenes. From first inception, casting, listing camera shots and storyboarding, to problem-solving on set, wrapping and even the journey beyond.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.toprockproductions.com
- Instagram: @toprockproductions
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toprockproduction
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/tayshamcfarland
- Twitter: @tayhiti
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ToprockProductions
Image Credits
1. Melville Quilliam 2. Melville Quilliam 3. Melville Quilliam 4. Film Still from Zarephath 5. Updesh Kaur 6. Updesh Kaur 7. Melville Quilliam 8. Cindy Pritchard