Military Adviser for Film and TV
Military Film Technical Adviser
Thats a Wrap for team PB on what has been a very busy year for the company.
A big thanks to all the Cast, Stunts and Supporting actors who have attended our Bootcamps across the globe this year, and we look forward to seeing you all for what already is shaping up to be a busy 2026.
Here are a few snap shots from this years released work with a few teasers thrown in.
Happy Christmas and a prosperous New year from the team. See you on set in 2026.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a group of military officials hatch a daring plan to neutralize Hitler’s fleet of German U-boats during World War II. Made up of a motley crew of rogues and mavericks, the top-secret combat unit uses unconventional techniques to battle the Nazis and change the course of the war.
The film is inspired by true events and based on the declassified files of the British War Department, ‘The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. AKA the SOE and small-scale raiding force (SSRF).
The film is very loosely based on the book of the same name by war journalist Damien Lewis that narrates the recently declassified history of Winston Churchills top-secret department the SOE tasked with developing a fighting force trained in irregular warfare tactics to operate behind German lines and confuse, disrupt, terrorize, exhaust, and demoralize Hitler and his thugs.
Their methodology included all sorts of ungentlemanly things one really isn’t supposed to do in war: assassinations, black operations, bribery, corruption, money laundering, and much more.
For its own tactical inspiration, the SOE and one of its naval officers, Ian Fleming, pilfered lessons-learned from a range of then non-traditional warlords such as T.E. Lawerence, Michael Collins, and Al Capone. This was war with the gloves off.
Their audacious approach changed the course of the war and laid the foundation for the British SAS and modern Black Ops warfare.
Co-written and directed by Guy Ritchie, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare has a stellar cast including Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Henry Golding, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and Cary Elwes.
The real operation, Operation Postmaster, was very different to what’s portrayed on screen as I mentioned in Timeout
Obviously, the ‘Official’ post operation report on Postmaster recorded no enemy kills. The report is then buried and only surfaced in 2014, and a war movie with no kills is going to play more like a documentary, which would not be as entertaining for the majority. And movies are made for everyone to enjoy!
So, to the behind the scenes drama of filmmaking and the military advisor providing military solutions to theatrical problems.
Day raid over, night raid.
The background to this scene.
Originally scripted and planned to be a night shoot, but for logistical reasons out of the productions control, the scenes could only be shot during the day.
The MA is summoned to the director for a military solution to the problem.
I suggested two options.
A. The SOE are conducting a close target recce with the intention of a night raid.
Then they see members of the SS turn up, which mean the prisoner is either going to be relocated or shot, so they have to conduct a daylight raid.
B. The majority of the soldiers get on a truck to go to the local town after a bomb, planted by the team goes off as a diversionary tactic, so the camp is not fully maned, and so a daylight raid at that point would be a good idea.
The director went with solution A because he wanted loads of soldiers to get the good news when things got noisy.
I also managed to get Fillyourboots – FYBUK a quick mention.
During the fight choreography in the bunker scene, I went into the background of the fighting techniques used by the SOE with the stunt co-ordinator and cast.
As per the teachings of SOE instructor .fairbairn and sykes I encouraged Allan Richardson to use the instinctive one hand, three, quarter hip draw.
Did you know?
The first actor to play James Bond on Dr. No. Sean Connery and his stunt double were trained in preparation for the role by weapons expert Geoffrey Boothroyd, who used the same training manuals
Cooking the Grenade.
Grenades have a second safety feature, which is a lever on the side of the main body, called the striker leaver or spoon, that is held in place by the pin. This spoon holds back a striker.
When you hold a grenade and pull the pin,, you do so in a way that keeps the spoon held down. When the spoon is released, the spring-loaded hammer strikes a primer and lights the fuse. The grenade then has an *approximate* 4–5 second fuse before the grenade detonates.
“Cooking” the grenade involves releasing the spoon, but holding onto the activated grenade for a few seconds, letting the fuse burn before throwing it, to limit the opportunity for an enemy to react to it or even throw it back.
Allan liked it!
Hollywood Magazines
One of my pet hates and something I will pester the cast to remember. Always try to get a magazine change during dialogue. Otherwise, the editor might squeeze it out to cut the time down.
For now, these are just a few examples of advice and problem solving given to production.
Now, for some BTS pictures of the hard work and dedication from all the cast and crew. Enjoy!
The Maid of Honour.
The Harbour.
Big bangs.
Training.
The set visitor.
One of the fun jobs to work on
A short snapshot of the training behind the Greek Riot scenes for Jason Bourne 5.
From research, bootcamps, and rehearsals through to shooting.
The pain in my backside and a constant complaint amongst veterans who will scream and rant at the TV “who was the military advisor on that”
Last week, I ran a short poll on what grips the most, and Berets were clearly the firm favourite.
I touched on the subject briefly on a previous post titled “Who was the military advisor on that “
So, I thought I would delve deeper into the subject if only to help settle the blood pressures of our armed forces community and help the costume department as a point of reference for the future.
Firstly, the recipe on how to shape a beret.
1. Take the beret and stick it on your head first, to make sure it’s the correct size, ensuring the bow is central to the back of your head, and Pull the access cloth to the right and see how far the beret pulls towards your right ear. It should not cover the right ear.
Ensuring the brim sits straight across your forehead, 2.5 cm above the eyebrows
It’s not always easy for some.
2. Adjust the bow, so the beret is not too loose, but equally not too tight around your head as it’s going to shrink a little after point 4.
3. Fill two bowls, one with warm/hot water and one with cold water
4. Dunk the beret in warm water first, but do not completely submerge. Keep the leather band from getting wet as much as possible by holding the beret by the inner liner when dunked. Once satisfied, the outer is completely wet, take out, and gently wring the beret to get rid of any excessive water.
Don’t overdo it with the wring, or you might stretch the fabric too much.
5. Repeat the same process with the cold water.
6. Fit the damp beret on the head, ensuring you fit it as in point 1. Adjust the bow at the back again to the desired size. Place your cap badge over the left eye just above the leather band. Get a mate to lightly mark where the badge holes need to be made.
7. Take it off, then place small holes with a knife where the marks were made. Most badges come with a backing to help hold the badge up straight.
8. Once the badge and backing are fitted, replace on the head as in point 1.
9. While holding by the cap badge backing, pull the beret cloth to the right and down towards your right ear, ensuring you dont pull down so hard, you end up stretching the cloth over your right ear and shoulder.
At the same time, smoothly shape the left side over and style around the cap badge to your desired style.
10. Once satisfied, keep on your head for a few hours if possible, adjusting every now and again. This will help mould the beret in place. If still not satisfied, repeat steps 4 and 5, but with the badge in place. Don’t pull down at the back if it feels uncomfortable, or you will get this.
11. Once dry and happy, cut away any access bow and tuck away inside the leather band. Some units like to sow a beret backing over the band entrance to ensure no lose ends fall out.
12. The final touch is to gently shave the beret of any fluff.
The style of the beret can depend on several factors, mainly the country and unit represented and time period depicted, so the way in which the beret is shaped and worn varies.
what might be the norm now might not have been the same in the 1940s!
Other nations styles
United States.
Spanish army.
French Tarte Chasseur.
All those steps are easy to follow if you have the time, but now, for the realities of filmmaking.
Costume departments are always up against it with longer working hours than most on set. Cast, Stunts, and Supporting Artists all need to be dressed ready for an 0800 call time. So with 500 people to get ready, you can imagine their workload.
It’s understandable if beret shaping is the last thing on their mind when a director wants to shart shooting at 0800, not 0801.
Whether I identify scenes where berets are worn during the script notes phase or on the shoot. I will always try to flag it up and offer to help the costume department where I can in advance, but you need to offer help, not rush in, and do it without asking. Set etiquette. Very important.
At times, costume suppliers will send the berets, brand new with even the plastic inside a few days before a shoot and will stipulate the berets have to be returned as new or the productions get charged the full price. Not always the case, but I have witnessed it a few times.
If the budget is tight, it causes problems as the costume department will be reluctant to allow the berets to be shaped correctly, worried it could affect the suppliers’ returns policy.
It’s not the costume departments fault, of course, as most would not know how or why there is a need to shape military Berets or how it won’t really affect the return policy.
As long as the productions hired a military costume specialist or advisor, that is!
However, on rare occasions I have had time with the costume department in advance and managed to convince them to allow me to take the berets out for a few days before a shoot and shape them to the respective heads during a boot camp.
On other occasions, we have simply not had the luxury of time, and the berets have turned up on the day of the shoot. The Gentleman is a prime example of all departments working together under limited time constraints.
While on location in Turkey filming The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare a new scene had been written depicting a UN monitoring team from the British Army.
A platoon commander and his platoon Sgt moving between VCPs when the main character gets an unexpected call.
It was the opening scene to the series, and first impressions last, so the main cast member Theo James needed to look the part as much as the production would allow as with the rest of the soldiers on set.
Making something work with only a few days to order gear and get it either flown over or found locally was not an easy task to as much right in the time given, and considering we were already working flat out on the movie in the same location, the team did not do a bad job.
For example, finding the correct weapons and vehicles in turkey as the export times for licenses to fly from the UK can take weeks.
MTP uniforms, boots, webbing, berets, correct rank, and beret badges all needed to be flown over once costume was satisfied with my suggestions.
On the day of the shoot, the berets had just arrived via a flight the following night.
All the berets were brand new and of various sizes.
I received the Supporting Artists and Berets, including the main cast, 20 minutes before the shoot.
All the badges were the same standard UN badge, but there were no officer versions, so there was nothing we could do about that.
There were no badge backings, so I made one out of stiff cardboard and showed a costume assistant how to make the rest up quickly.
Luckily, the costume designer had the hot and cold water to shrink and shape the berets as best I could in the time given.
Each man was lined up as I went through the various sizes to match each head, including the main cast.
Then, I began the shaping process as described above but left out sowing a bow backing and shaving them.
But job done and on the van to set
The hard part is encouraging the actors to not pull the back of the beret down throughout the day. Something I needed to closely monitor and correct after each take.
There was a lot more to do, and make do, with what was supplied on the day, but this blog is about berets.
Some things you just have to get on with and do your best, and there will always be the armchair nit picker desperate to impress on social media. It’s just one of life’s mysteries.
So there you have it. Employ a military advisor or military costume specialist and avoid the most hated debate amongst the veterans community, because as much as some people think it doesn’t matter, it will when a lack of planning and thought makes the headlines for all the wrong reasons, which can ruin all the hard work making drama only remembered for one thing.
PB Military Technical Adviser for Film and TV
A short video highlighting some of the bootcamps I have worked on when preparing supporting artists, stunts and cast for War and Peace. Vanity Fair and Napoleon.
I along with the historical advisor read the script, providing notes detailing any errors and providing workable suggestions to get the same artistic effect, but closer to reality.
Remember, an advisor can only advise they can not demand to a director to do it the advisors way, Its not your train set and you wont last long in the filming game if you stamp your feet at every inaccuracy . However, I always try to move the drinks cabinet closer to berlin during filming. Some I win and some I lose.
I then set about writing up a boot camp training plan, depending on the year being filmed.
For the British army I used The drill manual The Rules and Regulations for the manual and platoon exercises, formations, field exercise and movement 1807 addition. The Dundas manual and the Imperial Bayonets for the french etc.
Depending on the action or scenes, I will take from the manual what is required and apply it to the training program. I may only have four days to get 300 men to a respectful level of competency in drill, musket training, and cannon training before filming.
Not everything can be covered in the time I am given and some drill needs to be more generic so not to confuse the volunteers to much with information overload.
Health and safety, and working time directives are added to the mix, just the make the job even harder.
Try training 300 men during a productions strict COVID policy. start at 8am, every one is tested and can only start training once everyone’s results are clear, around 10am. one hour lunch break, and I must have all weapons handed in and the volunteers heading home by 1700.
During the boot camp, uniform fitting will take place which gives me even less time with each volunteer.
I run a selection day a week before the bootcamp. This insures the volunteers understand what they are letting themselves in for, and allows me to asses their suitability to attend the boot camp.
Good fitness is a must as filming days are long and can be physically demanding when required to perform intense action sequences.
The selection day allows the costume department to ensure the Volunteers can fit in the uniforms provided.
I have put together some of the action from Vanity fair and Napoleons Battle of waterloo and War and Peace Battle of Borodino. Its not a great edit, but hope you enjoy.
British forces in Libya had been roundly defeated by Rommel in mid-1942, and a reshuffle saw Bernard Montgomery take over the 8th Army dangerously close to Alexandria. Some essentials for success had been put in place by his predecessor, but Montgomery’s refusal to attack until he was ready, careful briefings, pep talks to troops and coordination of land and air power all strengthened his hand.
The battle began with a huge artillery bombardment on October 23, and owed much to Montgomery’s belief that, wherever possible, metal, not flesh, should do the work.
There was hard fighting in the middle phase as British and Dominion troops clawed through the German and Italian defences.
It’s easy to say that Monty, with over 200,000 troops to Rommel’s 100,000, should have won, but previously defeat had been snatched from the jaws of victory.
Alamein paved the way for Allied victory in North Africa, and Churchill was right to hail it as a turning point
#miltarytechnicaladvisorforfilmandtv
#movies
This Blog will be dedicated to all things World War One.
later In the year I will be highlighting Weapons, Equipment and Tactics used during the great war.
Supporting Artists who wish to attend the boot camp for this production will find this blog handy when preparing for the boot camp assessment prior to the training.
Stay tuned and if you have not enlisted already, hit the link the below.
CASTING NOW – WORLD WAR I FILM
We are looking for men aged 16-35 for filming next year near Salisbury.
All roles are paid. Food and costumes will be provided.
We are looking for a ‘core’ group of young male supporting artists with great availability in Spring and Summer 2019.
Filming hours are often long so whilst experience is not essential, a positive ‘can do’ attitude is a must.
I have decided to touch on the tricky subject of all things regarding military authenticity in the movie and TV industry. Surprisingly, despite the production team having a military technical advisor on board, “things will not be 100% authentically correct every time.”Penny wise and pound foolish“ Bear this phrase in mind when reading the rest of my blog, but also remember it’s a drama and not a documentary, so sit back and chill.
“Filmmakers are under more pressure than ever to make sure military tactics and equipment are depicted realistically on-screen, and experienced advisers can make the difference” wrote Nick Goundry for KFTV.com last year.What we doProduction will often hire a technical advisor to ensure that a complicated area is portrayed as accurately as possible in production. Similarly, a period movie may include one or more historians of the period, or eyewitnesses, if possible, for the same purpose.Technical advisers typically answer to the director and line producers. Their expertise adds realism both to the acting and to the setting of a movie. Some advisors for military movies have been known to run miniature boot camps to give actors a first-hand experience of a military setting. Boot camps additionally help provide the basics in marching and weapon handling so when the camera rolls, only a quick remind and revise is required. So less takes, less time and as we all know. Time is money!
To be a technical adviser, you do not have to know every aspect of warfare, military history, or have taken out several enemy bunkers armed with just a wooden spoon. What you do need is the ability to research your subject thoroughly, honestly and have that all-important art of diplomacy.
There is more to it than that, but I will reserve that explanation for another time.I have made no secret during media interviews that advising in any capacity is 60% research and 40% of your experience articulated to the Director, actor, art director, costume, props, stunt coordinator and supporting actors.You can only offer advice; you cannot demand it’s taken.
The Director will have the last call and he may have a set look or visual dramatic effect he wants to portray in keeping with the story and its known as ‘artistic license‘ and artistic license will always win over realism if the story arc dictates it.In other words get a thick skin or get out of the advising business if you can’t handle it as you won’t change things if minds are made up.http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/war-peace-military-advisor-says-7272759The Seven Ps during the early stages.
Movie or TV production preparations can take anything from six months to a year before the camera starts rolling.In most cases departments such as costume, art and props are approached long before a technical advisor and although other departments are very experienced in their field, not all are subject matter experts (SME’S) on military jargon and Google image takes a pounding in the search for the right look, but without really knowing what they are looking for.
In an ideal world a military adviser (MA) should be brought in as early into pre-production as possible.An MA’s knowledge (tactfully delivered so not to offend) can save departments a lot of time and money from the offset, bringing the desired look as close to reality as possible from the very start, with communication at the very beginning and at all levels to avoid embarrassing mistakes that film critics and tabloids crave to exploit for headlines.
The wrong flags or medal, a WW2 fighter aircraft painted in the wrong markings for the year might seem trivial, but can make all the difference with the end product and can avoid fuelling critics looking for page space.
Don’t Shoot the MA.
”Who was the Military Adviser on that?” is one line commonly trotted out on social media and blogs when mistakes are highlighted by those who have never worked on a movie set, but don’t be so quick to shoot the adviser.
Contrary to popular belief, as mentioned before. Military Technical Advisers are not always approached by production during the early preparation stage of a film or TV program as much as you would think.
Unfortunately it’s an all too common mistake and only identified once it’s too late and the budget on props and costumes have already been spent.
Most people with a service background or those who regularly attend historical re-enactment events are quick to critique any production with Military content, and no Film or TV program are exempt. Unfortunately it’s the MA who gets it in the neck most the time from those less experienced in the industry.
Before I started in the film industry I was the very same, pointing out inaccuracies until I had my first real taste as a full time Military Adviser on War and Peace for the BBC.
I was brought in with only a few days to learn Napoleonic warfare and put together a structured safe training program fit for purpose, before jetting off to Lithuania.
Once I landed in Lithuania I had a day for my own prep then straight into a seven day intensive Boot camp for 200 extras for the winter scenes.
When time permitted I attempted to liaise with all the various departments, but it was obvious all the preparation work and fittings had already been done months in advance with very little I could do or add to change things.
Thankfully the team on War and Peace were mostly on their game and they had consulted a Historical adviser for all the costumes and medals, but that’s not always been the case.
Once I was brought in the day before a scene was due to be filmed and it was the first time I had met the director or been able to train the actors with the supporting cast on set, just minutes before the cameras rolled!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wJqUYqGgPN8
These are not the droids you are looking for.
Set etiquette, diplomacy, and respect for the work and effort of each department is a skill in itself which must be mastered if you are to survive as a Military Technical Adviser.
The ability to muster the force with the director comes in handy too! Stepping on other department’s toes, strutting on set with a big ego, a reenactment head or a Regimental Sergeant Majors approach to every situation, while shouting and screaming from the roof tops will not get you far and you will have a short lived career.
You have to remember most people within the relevant departments have no service history and will not respond or tolerate it.
A few Classic Examples.
On one production scene I spent most of the 12 hour shoot correcting berets which had obviously been taken straight out of the hire company laundry bag and just pulled over the heads of cast in the changing room, with no attempt at shaping them a few days before. (This was for a modern era drama)
When I asked why, I was simply told the hire company wanted them returned in the same state.
All I could do was to keep re-dressing the actor’s berets whilst teaching them what actions were required only to have to repeat the process minutes after. It was a very frustrating and repetitive day.
It’s not the costume departments fault of course as most of them would not know how or why there is a need to shape military headdress. However, on rare occasions I have had time with the costume department in advance and managed to convince them to allow me to take the berets out for a few days before a shoot and shape them to the respective heads during a boot camp.
This allowed the costume department to concentrate on other matters and I could correct how the actors would react to a given situation as well as answer all the other departments’ questions being fired at me during the day.
However. For all those beret shaping ranters out there would you tell these gentlemen their berets are not shaped or worn correctly?
Possibly they had better things to be worried about! Food for thought.
Some battles I have won and just this one example of adopting a diplomatic approach during prep, saved time, energy and the ongoing berets saga.
Much like the SLR v SA80 debaters.
Other such battles I have lost and could only suck it up and grit my teeth. A very thick skin helps as it can be like banging your head against a brick wall at times.
Other examples, such as the configuration of soldier’s equipment, can also be an issue overlooked by departments not fully in the know.
On one production I had been required to step in at the last minute and change all the 58 pattern webbing belts to depict the units realistically for how they would wear them. For example the difference in equipment from an SAS soldier to a line infantry unit where an SAS soldier’s equipment and weapons would be more personalised and not standardised as a line unit.
The Props department were being led by a Google image they had been sent by a ‘Historian’ thinking the men in the picture were SAS troopers. Until I pointed out the unit was a light infantry regiment.
Turned out the Historian had never served in the military so had no idea on how servicemen adapt issued equipment. Current in-service unit insignia, badges, medals and flags are another gray area and sometime due to copy write laws productions are not always permitted to use these in films due to restrictions imposed by the MOD or DOD, so close alternatives have to be designed and made from scratch.
I expect that more than half of you reading this never knew that! There are also situations when heads of departments looking at savings feel they only need a technical adviser to train actors for a few hours then are no longer required during filming so to save money.
This has proved to be counter productive as there is no one to correct obvious mistakes on set.
The actors and background are just that, actors. They are not soldiers and would not remember a few days training. So an experienced adviser should always be on set to remind, revise and be on hand for any questions.
From experience most Directors and Assistant Directors (AD) will not know the rank order of saluting or the difference from a Major to a corporal or unit trades when placing supporting actors in the background to act their respective roles.
I have been on set during filming with up to 500 supporting cast and I can find myself running from one group to the other correcting the obvious mistakes AD’s have made which would never have be noticed had I not been on and I only have one pair of eyes so something’s will be missed.
Here are just a few howlers I have managed to correct on time.
1. A Russian private soldier shouting orders at a KGB Officer and giving the Private a British Army Salute.
2. A US Airforce Major General on guard and saluting an Airman First class as the Major General raises the barrier for him.
3. A French prisoner of war given a sword and musket to walk past the camera with his captors when he’s supposed to be a prisoner.
4. A Royal Marine SGT who’s supposed to be part of a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) walking about with just a fire extinguisher and no weapon or webbing during an incident in a hostile situation.
5. Fingers on triggers and missing magazines ( that old chest nut)
6. A US soldier from the 80’s sporting a UK issued diamond Jubilee medal.
7. Soldiers about to run in front of a firing friendly heavy machine gun during a big firefight scene. (Not only dangerous but would have been a very costly re-set)
8. Everyone trying to hold their issued weapon like they have been on lone Survivor ( but it’s a musket you plonker)
The edit stage in post production is one great example where an adviser is not consulted. Taken from Rambo 2 where the hero fires a 66 LAW from inside a helicopter. The first we see a 66 as he arms it to fire.
The close up shot its changed to the hand and triggergrip of an RPG
In the final shot after firing its back to a 66
Had an adviser been consulted he could have pointed it out, plus the fact the poor guys in the back are going to get a face full of backblast.
These are just the belt and braces mistakes and I could expand further, but by now I’m sure you get the picture. An adviser on set is a one man ‘Billy No Mates’ department who supports all departments and cannot be everywhere all of the time, but when they are there they will do their best to get as much right as possible within the constraints mentioned above.
Military Technical Advisers brought in early are a good spend and pay dividend when the cameras roll and on the cutting room floor. There is work still to be done to ensure that military advisers are brought onto productions from the beginning as a standard procedure and to do away with the penny wise and pound foolish attitude towards MA’s.
If you do see me on set, don’t forget to give me a hug. Unless you’re from 3 Para Morters!Feel free to share this blog and add your howlers to the comments box.
Interview with Radio Times
showreel
