The Creatives
Taysha McFarland
Taysha is a producer, director and founder of Toprock Productions. Recently she produced the AACTA nominated short film ‘Jia’, directed by Vee Shi, and produced and co-directed alongside Lyanna Kea on the Screen Australia and YouTube funded comedy web series, ‘Life of Kea’. Both projects are currently nominated in the 38th Annual Screen Producers Awards.
In 2023, Taysha was honoured with the Berry Family Fellowship at the State Library Victoria for development of her documentary, ‘Unheard Memoirs’ and was selected as a participant of the Australian International Documentary Conference's Leading Lights program. She has also achieved both wins and nominations for Best Director and Writer for her film, 'Zarephath,' which is currently streaming on Prime Video US & UK.
Taysha is a member of WIFT Vic, AACTA and Screen Producers Australia.
Tristan Braines
Tristan is a Melbourne-based film producer, writer, director and co-founder of Toprock Productions. Tristan studied Film and Television Production at Swinburne Faculty of Design 2010-2012 and completed a Foundation short course at VCA.
Since then, he has gone on to produce and direct a multitude of productions, including the mental health film, "If Only" which has garnered over 50K views on YouTube, and picked up the accolade for best mental health film at the Screen It! Film Festival 2018. Other notable accolades include consecutively winning the audience choice awards at the Melbourne 48-Hour Film Festival (2018, 2019).
Tristan has also been a participant in the AIF Untapped Masterclass 2021 – 2022 and directed several music videos for local upcoming bands. Tristan’s most recent accomplishment is being producer and co-director on the web series “Life of Kea”, written by and starring Lyanna Kea as part of the Screen Australia Skip Ahead Initiative.
Tristan is a member of Screen Producers Australia and AACTA.
Lyanna Kea
Producer/Director/Writer/Content Creator/Actor
Lyanna Kea is a Malaysian Chinese actor and producer with a great comedic edge. Her comedy series LIFE OF KEA, funded by Screen Australia, was recently nominated for Online Series Production Of The Year 2023 by Screen Producers Australia. Lyanna was also awarded Best Actress for her theatre performance in V-DAY.
As a social media heavy-hitter with over 11 Million fans globally, Lyannawas recently announced Top 5 Australian Breakout Creators onYouTube. Lyanna loves entertaining and connecting with her hugeaudience base through relatable comedy skits featuring culturallyaccurate characters.
Award-winning animations featuring Lyanna's voice acting work werescreened at several festivals including the Sunshine Short Film Festivaland Los Angeles Horror Film Festival.
Cindy Pritchard
Associate Producer/Singer/Actor
With over 35 years professional experience, Mornington Peninsula local, Cindy Pritchard was an original cast member of many Australian musical theatre productions, including 1200 performances of “Les Miserables”, and 60 performances as Mrs Potts alongside Hugh Jackman in Disney’s “Beauty & the Beast”.
With extensive television credits in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Cindy has recently broken into the film industry. She not only been recently credited as an actor, but has also stepped into the producer role. Her recent film credits include associate producer on AACTA nominated feature film, “Book Week”, which is also currently streaming on Stan, and executive producer on up and coming film, “Zarephath”, produced by Toprock Productions.
Other professional credits include “The Sound of Music” alongside Lisa McCune, “Showboat” directed by the legendary Hal Prince, “Me & My Girl”, “Sweet Charity”, “Oliver!” and the role of Fruma-Sarah with Topol in “Fiddler on the Roof”. She has also toured all over the country playing Earth Mother in “Menopause the Musical”. Just to name a few.
Cindy is looking forward to working on the hilarious comedy series, “Galactic Circus” alongside the creative team.
Nicholson Ren
Producer/Director of Photography/Colour Grader
Nicholson is an experienced and in-demand cinematographer who specialises in narrative, fictional filmmaking. Through his films, he aims to create a very natural look with a preference to a low key lighting style to create the most appealing images. He believes in making the best out of what is available.
With each shot, he takes pride in working out the finer details to enhance the overall story of the production. He has a vast knowledge on cinematic production.
With many years of experience in colour grading films around the world, Nichoslon is always ready for the next steps and challenges in the film industry.
For updates on his new projects follow his page on Instagram.
Samuel Vella
Director of Photography
Samuel is a cinematographer with an extensive background in the camera & lighting department; having worked on a variety of projects ranging from music videos, corporate branding & feature films.
Samuel graduated from RMIT, where he studied Screen & Media and contributed to over 15 different projects, where he worked on various styles including documentary & short film narratives.
Since graduation Samuel has continued to expand his knowledge of film & cinema by working with veteran members of the Melbourne film community, where he met & worked with Toprock Productions on several projects.
Samuel’s style is contemporary, eclectic & emotionally-driven. Drawing on a wide range of inspirations; old and new, Samuel can adapt to fit the needs of any story or project.
You can view some of Samuel’s previous work on his Instagram.
Chris Tuazon
Sound Design/Composer/Musician
Chris has a great ear for music and sounds and is a key member of the garage, grunge, psychedelic band, Mojo Pin. Being with the band for over 8 years, Chris wanted to learn more about recording to help the band.
He studied Studio Engineering where he learned about the possibilities and other avenues for creativity in the field of audio. This is where he also found a passion for film and live events. He sees this as a new medium for his musical expression, broadening his sights.
Between gigs, Chris enjoys working on set and perfecting the audio in post production.