We’ve spoken with film composers for previous Meet the Minds features, but in this edition of our series of interviews, we’re also joined by the film writer and director. Joe Brashaw is the brains behind Magpie, an eerie short film from MirrorDoor, the independent production company he recently founded. In this article, Joe explains the context and conception of Magpie, and how he worked alongside composer Alex Truscott, among other young creatives, to make the short film.
“I wanted to write and direct my own stuff”
We asked Alex and Joe to introduce themselves and give us some insight into their creative background.
AT: “I’m Alex, a composer and sound designer. I’m a composer in the traditional sense of making music for film, and I also create presets and promotional music for music software companies on a freelance basis.”
JB: “I’m Joe, a filmmaker and videographer. I recently founded MirrorDoor, an independent film production company.”
AT: “I’ve played the piano since I was six, then I got into music production when I started A Levels. I studied Electronic Music Production at dBs Music, which got me much more into the idea of producing and engineering audio.”
JB: “I got into filmmaking at around 10 or 11, I was obsessed with YouTube. I loved people like early Smosh and FreddieW, who were posting tutorials on how to make stuff. I realised I could use Windows Movie Maker to create similar stuff to that, and really fell in love with making videos with my friends.
“As I got older, I got more into cinema and the idea of being a filmmaker. I wanted to write and direct my own stuff, so I went to uni in Salford to study Film Production. I’ve been freelancing since then, taking on any film and videography opportunities I can.”
“I spent about a year writing the script before I felt it was ready to shoot”
We asked Joe to give us an insight into how Magpie came to be.
JB: “The premise behind Magpie came from a conversation I had with my mum during the first lockdown in 2020. She told me about when her mum, my grandma, was taken to an isolation hospital in the 1930s during a whooping cough epidemic. Apparently it was quite common for children to be taken away from their families during this time.
“It seemed like a crazy concept, and one that would make an interesting premise for a short film. I spent about a year writing the script before I felt it was ready to shoot. I got a producer on board called Charlie Gunn, then we looked at the rest of the team. We found Alex through my brother, Dan. We went for a coffee, I listened to his work and decided he was the right guy for the job, and the rest is history.”
“I had no strict guidelines for how the score should sound”
We wanted to understand more about how the two young creatives approached getting the wheels turning on this exciting project.
JB: “I sent Alex a few musical influences, people like Burial and Brian Eno. Equally, I didn’t want to give him too much steer in terms of the music, I just gave it to him and said ‘Do your thing’.”
AT: “Joe gave me the space to interpret the project in my own way. I first watched the film with just sound effects and ADR, so I had no strict guidelines for how the score should sound.”
JB: “Alex sent me a few fleshed-out ideas that he went on to develop further, and quite quickly he’d scored the whole thing. Finding out what the film should be was definitely a collaborative process. Alex’s first drafts were really big cinematic scores, almost Hans Zimmer-esque. They were really sick, but it made me realise that we needed to bring it way down and make the score feel a lot smaller.”
AT: “I remember being frustrated at the time, but thinking back it was just a case of trial and error. It was my first time working on a project like this, so I think I was really keen to impress and was probably doing too much. Doing the wrong thing musically led us down the right path. I do remember Joe being enthusiastic about one particular part of the score, when the girl is creeping out of the hospital.”
JB: “Yeah it was a tense scene, and Alex had created a really dynamic score for it with lots of quiet and loud moments. That’s when we found the sound and sonic direction for the film.”
“We wanted to create a sense of freedom and space”
The use of silence in the score really helps to convey the tension in the film. We asked if that was a conscious decision or if it came naturally.
AT: “When I gave Joe my initial sketches, he sat me down and explained and said ‘This is a film about two girls who are alone and scared’. I realised that all the cellos and violins I’d used in this cinematic piece felt very grand, but this isn’t a grand story. It’s a small and isolating story, and that needs to be reflected in the audio.”
JB: “We stripped a lot out of the first draft to get to the finished product, but kept some of the more dynamic parts. There’s basically no score after the girls escape outside. We wanted to create a sense of freedom and space, and having the contrast between the dynamic score and silence helps those earlier moments to feel a lot more impactful.”
“As a director, I need to be more clear about what I want from the start”
It’s important to reflect on any creative venture. We asked Alex and Joe what their key takeaways from the project were.
JB: “I learnt a lot about directing and working with a composer. I think it was unfair of me to give free rein and then say ‘Pull it back’. In hindsight, as a director, I need to be more clear about what I want from the start.”
AT: “After the first meeting where we decided on a different approach to the sound, we made a lot more progress with each meeting.”
JB: “Another great thing about working with Alex was his general production and engineering background, rather than just composition. He had the idea to incorporate sound effects into the score. The film was about a lung condition, so Alex used these weird clicking sounds to represent a faulty respiratory system.
“It just added a real creepiness to the score, and when I watched the premiere of Magpie on a big sound system, you could really hear and feel the intricacy of those clicking sounds.”
AT: “I guess I came to composing in a slightly non-conventional way, which I think worked really well for Magpie. My initial composition was more traditional in the sense of telling the audience what to feel, but the finished product is more about tension and uncertainty. It lets the audience figure it out for themselves rather than serving it to them on a plate.”
“I’d never met anyone who was doing that, it seemed impossible”
The pair shared key influences from the film and composition world that helped to shape Magpie in some way.
AT: “I’m quite heavily influenced by a composer called Jóhann Jóhannsson, he worked on a lot of very philosophical Sci-Fi films which all have this kind of creepy feel that makes you quite uneasy. He seems to rely more heavily on sound design than orchestral instruments. He uses a lot of organic sounds but manipulates them almost beyond recognition.
“When a piano note lasts three minutes, it’s kind of counterintuitive. You recognise the sound but you know it shouldn’t last that long. That’s a technique I definitely took inspiration from.”
JB: “I was particularly influenced by the escape genre. I used to sit in my parents’ garage with a friend and watch a lot of escape films. Films like A Man Escaped, Escape from Alcatraz and Down by Law got me really excited about the escape genre. In terms of visuals, I was really into The Witch and Sick of Myself, which I’d say were the main visual and compositional influences with Magpie.”
JB: “I recently worked with Liam Regan and David Campion on their feature films. These guys basically take out loans and work overtime in order to make the films they write. They aren’t mega commercially successful in the traditional sense, they’re just doing it because they love it. I found that approach really inspiring, I’d never met anyone who was doing that, it seemed impossible. I was like ‘Man I’ve gotta do it, there’s no point waiting around’.”
You can watch Magpie in full below.
“You need to learn from your mistakes and have a go”
Alex and Joe reveal the advice they’d give to any budding composers and filmmakers, and tell us what they’ve got planned next.
JB: “It’s easier said than done, but my advice would be to just make whatever you can with whatever you’ve got. Watch films, read books, and just make stuff.”
AT: “I agree with Joe. It’s great to develop a love for something but until you actually have a go you don’t know whether you truly love it. You need to learn from your mistakes and have a go, and you’ll figure it out as you go.”
JB: “Absolutely, and don’t be afraid to make something shit. I’m proud of Magpie, but I know I want to make better work. You can’t be afraid to make something that isn’t your best work.
“I’m currently producing another short film with MirrorDoor, called Into The Blue Again. It’s about a kid who thinks he’s a goldfish, and we’re shooting it at the end of November and hopefully releasing it start of 2025. After that, I plan to write another short.”
AT: “I’m away travelling at the moment, but I get home around Christmas time and am looking for opportunities to get involved with new projects from then onwards.”
You can keep up with Alex via his website or socials, and Joe at the MirrorDoor website. You can also support MirrorDoor and the production of their upcoming short film by entering their T-shirt prize draw via the MirrorDoor Instagram.
