Introducing Max Brady from Pull The Trigger

We love to showcase the remarkable talent of people that make up the GPN network. Our in-depth articles about them offer history, background, projects and stories that honor their work and is a way for us to present them to our audience at large.

This month we have the pleasure of introducing you to Max Brady, executive producer and owner of Ireland’s production company Pull the Trigger.

Pull the Trigger is a full-service production company based out of Dublin that works globally. Brady has been a part of the GPN family since 2015 when she merged her old company with another company to become Pull the Trigger. While at Cannes, someone from the Location Guide had told Brady about Harry and GPN and she literally chased Harry down. She had to get through Julia to get to him, and once she accomplished that, they struck a deal. GPN had been without an Irish partner and had been searching for one, so the timing was perfect. Brady now swears that she will not leave unless Harry and Julia kick her out.

GPN is an extended family for Brady and Pull the Trigger. One of the best attributes about GPN for Brady is the ability to connect instantaneously to any of the other producers in the network through the chat groups. Being a producer can be lonely at times and there are occasions when she has been faced with a problem or logistical issue that she hasn’t personally experienced before. Being able to reach out to the GPN community has helped her countless times and has benefited not only her, but the group as a whole. Brady describes the GPN network as an “encyclopedia of production brains that have dealt with every type of challenge you can possibly imagine.”

Brady very much aligns with the values of GPN and the way it mirrors her own cultural beliefs and cultural way of doing things. For her, stepping into the GPN network was like finally finding her tribe in the film world. She has had an instant connection with every single person she has met at GPN and that has been worth its weight in gold to her. These connections have turned into collaborations which have turned into personal friendships and so become a global family. It is a family of support, understanding, sharing and of course, laughter.

Having this support network, on both a professional and private level, has helped Brady to learn more about the film business. Brady doesn’t come from a film background, she comes from a student activist background, so what drives her company is the ideology behind what she produces. She believes that in TV advertising it is possible to change things. If audiences see something, they are more inclined to do and mirror it. How diversity is perceived can be changed and challenged through our work.   Structural inequities in our societies can also be affected. Commercials and film has great power to change the world, and this is one of Brady’s missions.

Before winding up as a film producer, Brady was the president of the National Student Movement in Ireland and was heavily involved in the pro-choice movement. She found herself on TV because of this role and fell into helping line produce TV commercials as a result of her appearances. She always knew she wanted to be involved with television, but her goals to own her own company and produce were not what she originally set out to do.

After working for some companies, she realized that they did not share the same values as she did, which are a feminist and egalitarian ethos. This is where her background enters the picture. She started her own company to be able to control the narrative with what she produces and bring about a more egalitarian society.

Her company culture speaks to these values. The foundation of Pull the Trigger is paved with inclusivity and ensures that everyone is treated with respect. They’ve built a solid reputation on these ethics over the years and have a very loyal crew to the company. Most people are freelance and will often drop other jobs to come work on Pull the Trigger productions. With Pull the Trigger, they have the ability, through GPN membership to work on bigger, more globally received projects and know they’ll be treated with fairness and inclusivity.

Another mentionable policy of Pull the Trigger is to engender opportunity for young people many of whom may not have the opportunity to get into the film business through traditional methods. Brady spends a lot of time connecting with outreach programs with universities, colleges and community groups to encourage people to join the film business. Due to this, Pull the Trigger is made up of a lot of people with different skill sets.

An example of this is that perhaps she will find someone who has been in the army in the past, has become homeless through drug or alcohol addiction and isn’t able to find work. People with this sort of background can actually be really useful in films because they can get a truck into a tight space or restart an engine- life skills that seem unimportant but are actually super important film set skills.

For Brady, it’s often a lot about finding where to place people within the company in order to make it more diverse so that it’s not all white, middle class, middle aged men. It’s about finding the gaps to enable people to work, flourish and to find their place in the film business, which may not be possible through conventional routes. A large part of the Pull the Trigger culture is making sure that people from other backgrounds have an opportunity and platform to participate in film-making. This creates  bigger change in the company culture and so also in the advertising business in general.   Brady has put her money where her mouth is and has recently completed an MA in Gender and Equality Studies, which she now uses to focus in on how we can create greater diversity in our crews and how we deliver messaging. 

Pull the Trigger is a full-service production company and so there is room for everyone. They provide services for stills, content generation and of course filming. There is also a separate company that provides services to the drama side of things, availing of Ireland’s very generous tax incentive. It doesn’t matter to Brady if the job is big or small. They don’t say no to anything, they will always find a way to support whatever production might need help in Ireland.

Learn more about Pull The Trigger