After graduating from the Conservatoire he worked on the BBC television series Waterloo Road and was assistant camera operator on the film Up There by Zam Salim.
In 2013 he formed his own production company Worrying Drake Productions and produced a trilogy of short films with Collins and Lanni to produce a trilogy of short comedy films; Notes was a romantic comedy about a pair of roommates whose relationship develops through a series of post it notes.
[4] Production began in the summer of 2014 with McPhail directing the film in 16 days in various location across Scotland including Falkirk, Alloa, Coatbridge, Glasgow and Loch Lomond.
[7] In 2016, McPhail met with Nicholas Crum and Naysun Alae-Carew of Blazing Griffin about the possibility of directing their feature length musical film, Anna and the Apocalypse.
[12] Anna and the Apocalypse was amongst the nominees for Best Feature Film, and best actress for Ella Hunt at the 2018 British Academy Scotland Awards.