We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tennille Taraszkiewicz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tennille below.
Tennille, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Work ethic is a core value I received from my family, and I take pride in doing good & timely work. Why put off what you can do today… I think people with good work ethic are “precrastinators” which isn’t a real word but should make sense. Don’t procrastinate, but rather get it done before other stuff piles on your lap. I watched my dad break down several large projects into small & achievable chunks. Having small wins can keep your energy high while working on hard projects. Getting up early to work was always a big motto for my family as well. This makes more sense to me as an adult because you realize your best energy is in the morning. Don’t get me wrong! My parents also like to rest & have fun. Our unspoken patter is work>rest>reward>repeat.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am an actress and producer outside of Detroit. My name is Tennille, but I’m also known as “The Film Chic.” I loved cameras as a kid, but never thought acting, or filmmaking, was something a country girl from Michigan could achieve. Then in my 30’s the Film Incentives brought Hollywood budget movies to Michigan and I immediately wanted to figure out how to get involved. I was fortunate enough to be on one big set before the incentives went away. I was an extra and placed very close to the scene so I could hear & see what was going on. I thought, “Hmmm, I think I could do this” based on my project management experience in the automotive industry (day job). I wasn’t on anymore big sets, but in 2016 some work friends invited me to be the lead actress in their short film. From there I was hooked! In 2017 I started my production company, Tennille T. Productions and became The Film Chic. I’ve produced 3 feature films: If I Can’t Have You, Chasing the Ghost, and Miss Rainbow Magic which are all streaming on Tubi. My last project is an 8-part comedy series called The Agency. The Agency is in post-production and we anticipate a fall release. To learn more please visit www.thefilmchic.com or follow @thefilmchic
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Collaboration & teamwork are needed to achieve bigger goals. It takes a lot of people with very different skills to come together to make a movie. To be successful you need to know how to work with others. Communication is key! Building a rapport with each team member and learning their work styles will help you bond to make good collective decisions.
Time management separates those who succeed and fail. Big projects need to be broken down into smaller milestones. From there you need to cross-reference your to-do list to your available time. By allotting time in your schedule to get something done you’re more likely to succeed. With proper time management I’m not scrambling before a project. To me it’s important to keep my time open right before something starts so I can be available for the last minute, and unexpected, surprises. Also remember that the early bird gets the worm so don’t put things off.
Larger projects typically have a lot of details to be organized. I’ve found Excel to be extremely helpful. When planning and organizing film projects I always use excel so I can sort the data in different ways. It’s nice because people can use Google Sheets if they don’t have Microsoft Excel software, and there are tons of tutorials on YouTube.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Independent film making has really changed since the pandemic. The streaming wars intensified and there is more on-demand content available than ever before. Ad-based streamers, like Tubi, will accept independent films. This is amazing because it’s a platform that people can watch your movie. The problem is it’s really expensive to make movies, filmmakers often don’t have money left to advertise/promote the film, and the percentage of profit that goes to the filmmaker is minimal. With that being said it’s hard to sustain making films.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thefilmchic.com
- Instagram: @thefilmchic
- Facebook: The Film Chic, Tennille Barta Taraszkiewicz, If I Can’t Have You
- Linkedin: Tennille Taraszkiewicz
