Tag: technical film advisor

Most Dangerous’ Spy’

Posted on by PB Military Adviser for Film and TV Ltd. in Military film Advisor, ministry of ungentlemanly warfare, MISS VIRGINIA HALL, SOE, ww2

There are so many true stories from WW2 to be told on the big screen without the need for artistic licence.

One of World War II’s ‘Most Dangerous’ Spy’s was an American woman with a wooden leg who worked for Britain’s Special Operations Executive recruited by non other than Vera Atkins.  Dubbed by the Gestapo as the “the most dangerous of all Allied spies.”… She would later work for OSS…

Virginia Hall, a.k.a. the ‘Limping Lady,’ organized sabotage and rescue operations across Vichy France, paving the way for the Allied invasion. She was America’s Greatest Female Spy.

During World War II, Nazi officials were constantly hunting down resistance fighters and the allied spies who aided them. But there was one foreign operative the Third Reich held special contempt for—a woman responsible for more jailbreaks, sabotage missions and leaks of Nazi troop movements than any spy in France. Her name was Virginia Hall, but the Nazis knew her only as “the limping lady.”

Virginia Hall did walk with a pronounced limp, the result of a freak hunting accident that required the amputation of her left leg below the knee. In its place was an ungainly seven-pound wooden prosthetic that she lovingly nicknamed Cuthbert.

Hall was raised in Baltimore, Maryland by a wealthy and worldly family that put no limits on their daughter’s potential. Athletic, sharp and funny, she was voted “the most original in our class” in her high school yearbook. She began her college studies at Barnard and Radcliffe, but finished them in Paris and Vienna, becoming fluent in French, German and Italian, with a little Russian on the side.After graduation, Hall applied to the U.S. Foreign Service, eager to see the world and serve her country, but was shocked to get a rejection letter reading, in effect, “No women, not going to happen”.

Hall went back to Paris as a civilian in 1940 on the eve of the German invasion. She drove ambulances for the French army and fled to England when France capitulated to the Nazis. At a cocktail party in London, Hall was “railing against Hitler,” says Pearson, when a stranger handed her a business card and said, “If you’re really interested in stopping Hitler, come and see me.”


The woman was none other than Vera Atkins, a British spymaster believed to be  Ian Fleming’s inspiration for Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond series.

Atkins, who recruited agents for Winston Churchill’s newly created Special Operations Executive (SOE), was impressed with Hall’s firsthand knowledge of French countryside, her multi-language fluency and her unflappable moxie.

In 1941, Hall became the SOE’s first female resident agent in France, complete with a fake name and forged papers as an American reporter with the New York Post. She quickly proved exceptionally skilled at not only radioing back information on German troop movements and military posts, but also at recruiting a network of loyal resistance spies in central France.

What 1940s spy craft lacked in technological sophistication, it made up in creativity. The BBC would insert coded messages into its nightly news radio broadcasts. Hall would file “news” stories with her editor in New York embedded with coded missives for her SOE bosses in London.


“In Lyon, Hall would put a potted geranium in her window when there was a pickup to be made,” says Pearson, who spoke to some of Hall’s aging compatriots in France. “And the pickup would be a message behind a loose brick in a particular wall, or it might be go to a certain cafe, and if there’s a message, the bartender would give you a glass with something stuck to the bottom of it.”

Hall became so notorious to Nazi leaders that the Gestapo dubbed her “the most dangerous of all Allied spies.” When Barbie and the Gestapo distributed wanted posters for the “limping lady,” Hall fled the country the only way she could, a grueling 50-mile trek over the Pyrenees mountains southward into Spain. Her Spanish guides first refused to take a woman, let alone an amputee, but she would not be deterred. The November weather was bitter cold and her prosthetic was agonizing.

At a safe house in the mountains, Hall radioed her superiors in London to report that she was OK, but that Cuthbert was giving her trouble. The deadly serious reply from SOE headquarters, which mistook Cuthbert for an informant, read, “If Cuthbert is giving you difficulty, have him eliminated.”

But Hall wasn’t done fighting Nazis. Since the British SOE refused to send her back into France as a marked woman, Hall signed up with the U.S. Office of Strategic Service (OSS), a precursor to the CIA.

In 1944, months before the D-Day invasion at Normandy, Hall rode a British torpedo ship to France, and disguised as a 60-year-old peasant woman, criss-crossed the French countryside organizing sabotage missions against the German army. In one OSS report, Hall’s team was credited with derailing freight trains, blowing up four bridges, killing 150 Nazis and capturing 500 more.

After the war, Hall was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, one of the highest U.S. military honours for bravery in combat. She was the only woman to receive the award during World War II.

General William Donovan presents Miss Virginia Hall with the Distinguished Service Cross, September 1945.

Back home, she continued to work for the CIA until her mandatory retirement at age 60.

Virginia Hall continued to be honoured for her accomplishments. In 1988, she was inducted into the MI Corps Hall of Fame. The US Army Intelligence Center honored her further by naming a dining facility after her in 1994.

In 2006, the British ambassador presented her niece, Lorna Catling, with a Royal Warrant giving Virginia Hall membership in the Order of the British Empire. The award had been signed by King George VI in 1943, but Hall refused to accept it because it might have blown her cover.

In November 2013, a bill was introduced to Congress “to award the Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the members of the OSS in recognition of their superior service and major contributions during World War II.” Hall was specifically mentioned in the bill.. Hall passed away in 1982.

The Day of the Jackal BTS.

Posted on by PB Military Adviser for Film and TV Ltd. in Film and TV, sniper, the day of the jackal

Some photos from behind the camera of The Day of the Jackal. This job was and is a personal favourite.

Surveillance training.

Eddie and Lashana were taken through a basic foot and technical surveillance package to help prepare them for their characters.

Sniper training.

We took Eddie to the Bisey range to fire an AT308 with a Schmidt and Bender scope at 1000 metre targets after a morning of intensive theory lessons, followed by applying what he had learned.

Budapest.

MI6 HQ.

Croatia.

Easter Eggs

I always like to stick a bit of Biddiss in there somewhere.

The Phantom.

In my regiment, there was a mysterious being known as the Phantom who would creep in at night amongst the sleeping soldiers and help them with their eyebrows.

So, as an homage to the Phantom, I gave one of the SF 4×4 the callsign prefix Phantom 3.1.

No one ever found out the Phantoms identity.

Duggans army number.

My last for is 5881, and on many shows such as strike back, you might just see it. So I gave it to Duggan. My first report as a recuit in depot para was also used for the scene when duggans recuit repot is read out during a brief at MI6 HQ.

The reception and that Mobile phone.

The show was a great hit and received some attention after the Graham norton show.

Here’s looking forward to season 2.

I think the production was happy with the work we provided.

Link

Exciting Opportunities in the Film and TV industry

Posted on by PB Military Adviser for Film and TV Ltd. in Military film Advisor, Team PB

Team PB have more opportunities for the right people. (Open to Ex Armed Forces based in the UK only)

As more productions start gearing up this year, more quality Military Technical Advisers are required on the team.

Team PB does not take anyone, and you will need to read a simple set of instructions before applying.

Most importantly, you must have worked on set as a supporting artist on at least three features and three TV productions. Six jobs in total. A list of some of the main extra agencies to join are at the bottom of this page.

Open to former members of HM forces only. (Proof of service required).

1. Must have good availability and can react to fastball call outs.

2. Willing to travel worldwide and for prolonged periods. Some overseas productions can last from eight weeks to six months.

3. Physically fit, no pie eaters, dodgy knees, or bungiee backs. If you can’t run with the pack and do the same, you’re asking cast or an SA to do. you’re not fit for task.

4. The ability to communicate at all levels and be respectful to others. The firm but fair approach.

5. Good work ethics. Trust and respect towards the production crew and the company providing you work opportunities.

6. The ability to read simple instructions and act on them without supervision, but also the ability to work unaided.

7. DBS check required.

8. Must understand the difference between making a documentary and drama.

Please read link for an insight into the job.

The Knowledge

Further reading Link

Jobs covered Link 

If you think you have what it takes, send your CV with a short intro about yourself and a current photograph to Pbactionextras@gmail.com

 

Good luck.

IMDB “Paul Biddiss – IMDb” https://m.imdb.com/name/nm7168922/

Facebook

Twitter

Casting agents to join.

Casting collective

Key casting

Two 10 casting

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare BTS.

Posted on by PB Military Adviser for Film and TV Ltd. in Film and TV, Military film Advisor, ministry of ungentlemanly warfare

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.

The 007 draw.

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

Link

My Lady Jane BTS

Posted on by PB Military Adviser for Film and TV Ltd. in Film and TV, Military film Advisor, My Lady Jane, Team PB

My Lady Jane is a British historical fantasy television series made for Amazon Prime Video starring Emily Bader, Edward Bluemel and Jordan Peters. Produced by MacDonald & Parkes the television series is adapted by Gemma Burgess from a novel by Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton and Cynthia Hand that provided a historical reimagining of the life of Lady Jane Grey.

Team PB was approached to help with coordinating the military aspects of the show.

Here’s a few behind the scenes photos taken by Team PB member Romano Betts.

Want to join the team? Team PB

Military Berets. The pain in a military advisors backside and how to shape them.

Posted on by PB Military Adviser for Film and TV Ltd. in Film and TV, Film and TV badly shaped berets, military Berets, Military film Advisor, Team PB

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

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The British opera singer and the Tiger Tank.

Posted on by PB Military Adviser for Film and TV Ltd. in Film and TV

Smiling enigmatically, this is the British opera singer-turned-spy who captivated Adolf Hitler.

Margery Booth led a double life inside Nazi Germany, where she performed for Hitler and his henchmen while smuggling the Third Reich’s secrets to British intelligence.

The only known picture of opera star Margery Booth
A picture of opera star Margery Booth which was taken at Freigegeben Stalag IIID and which she gave to British spy John Brown, signed with a Good Luck message. A British Army officer shoved the secret papers down her dress at the Berlin State Opera, just moments before she went onstage to sing for Hitler and his cohorts

Margery had, been recruited by MI6 whilst MI9 had recruited John Brown, a former but now disillusioned member of Mosley’s infamous Fascist Blackshirts. Through the SOE it was designed for him to be captured on the Normandy beaches in order that that he could work as a spy behind the lines in a PoW camp.

Margery helped British prisoners of war to send coded messages back to spy chiefs in London, and even performed for the Führer with cyphers hidden inside her costume.

Discovery would have meant almost certain death for the mezzo-soprano, who endured regular questioning by the Gestapo.  But Hitler was so taken by her performances that he once visited her dressing room, and later sent her 200 red roses, wrapped in a sash with a swastika on it.  

The Army officer who used the singer to send his coded messages, John Brown, was hailed as a hero after the war, when his evidence was used in the treason trial of William Joyce, the traitor Lord Haw Haw.

The Mission.

Margery usually attends Hitler on his birthday every April and it was at one of these that Jodl presents him with the Tiger tank.  As data is provided, Margery overhears most of this and, like the good singer she is, memorises these numbers as a tune.  

John Brown, a spy in Stalag IIID but also working undercover for the Nazis, is passed details of the Tiger’s existence whilst Margery is singing to the PoWs there and radios this to London.

Back at the Opera House these numbers are encoded and soon at Bletchley Park, delivered to a delighted Hardy Amies, confirming John Brown’s earlier message.   Churchill thus warned, gives instructions for a Tiger to be captured and delivered to No 10 Downing Street.  This eventually happens in North Africa

I fell into Allied hands. It was Tiger 131. It was 21 April 1943 when 48th Royal Tank Regiment, newly arrived in Tunisia from Britain, went into action against the Germans for the first time.

But Miss Booth’s bravery has gone largely unrecognised, and calls for her to receive a posthumous honour have gone unheeded.  So little was known about her war-time efforts that this photograph of her has only just come to light, almost 60 years after her death.

She was sent to sing at Stalag IIID, known as the ‘Holiday Camp’ to British PoWs. The Germans hoped this would encourage some of the British held there to change sides

It was at the camp that Booth met John Brown, a spy who was collecting information on traitors such as William Joyce, known as Lord Haw Haw.

These photographs are of a woman whose quiet bravery – like that of so many unsung heroes – helped Britain to victory in World War Two. Margery Booth was born in Wigan in 1905, and joined the town’s operatic society as a teenager.  

By 1936 she had sung at Covent Garden and even briefly travelled to Hollywood to appear in a film version of Aida.  Later that year she met and quietly married Dr Egon Ströhm, the son of a wealthy German brewery family, and moved to Germany.

Her first meeting with Hitler is thought to have been in 1933, when she was chosen to carry the Holy Grail in the spectacular finale to the Wagner opera Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival.

 He burst into her dressing room and told her how elegant and lovely he thought her, and sent her the basket of 200 red roses the next day, with a card signed ‘Adolf’.  When the war began, she was singing with the Berlin State Opera, and she was later allowed to perform for British prisoners of war at a camp in Genshagen, near Berlin.

Adolf Hitler and Nazi Party leaders at the Berlin Opera House where Margery Booth performed in 1936.

Adolf Hitler and Nazi leaders at the Berlin Opera House where Margery Booth performed in 1936. She mixed with the German top brass while passing secrets to British Intelligence.She would announce to her audience ‘I’m Margery Booth from Wigan’, and this photograph of her is believed to have been taken at Genshagen.  It was found among photographs of inmates at the camp, Stalag IIID, known as a propaganda ‘holiday camp’ for British officers who the Nazis hoped to use as double agents.  John Brown was transferred there in 1943 and convinced his captors he was willing to work for Germany.

He used their trust to send coded messages home in his letters, and also to pass secret documents to Miss Booth to send back to MI9, the intelligence branch tasked with unmasking traitors.  Ironically, the opera singer’s links to the Nazi regime were so well-known that she was accused of collaborating against Britain, and turning traitor against her country.

In his book, In Durance Vile, Mr Brown wrote that she was initially given personal assurances from Hitler and Goebbels that they would ‘deal with the matter personally’ if she was insulted because of her British birth.  But when Mr Brown’s secret work for Britain was discovered by the Nazis, Miss Booth was arrested and tortured by the Gestapo.  

She kept silent and was eventually released, and she later escaped Berlin during an air raid and fled to Bavaria, where she was picked up by the Americans.  After the war she divorced her German husband and moved to America, where she died from cancer in 1952.

The photograph of Miss Booth is part of a collection from Genshagen, stamped Freigegeben Stalag IIID, a special PoW camp where the Nazis held Britons who they thought they might be able to persuade to change sides.

She signed it, writing ‘With kindest remembrances, Good luck, Margery Booth’.  She also signed the first page of John’s War Diary:

From John's War Diary

From John’s War Diary

Press cutting about John

Links

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11258623

                       Who was the Military Adviser on that?

Posted on by PB Military Adviser for Film and TV Ltd. in Film and TV, Military film Advisor, Nepolionic wars, Team PB, weapons safety

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

Jason Bourne riot scenes From the LA Times

Posted on by PB Military Adviser for Film and TV Ltd. in Military film Advisor, Uncategorized

Jason Bourne riot scenes From the LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-jason-bourne-reality-20160802-snap-story.html

 Hell-bent and mercurial as ever, the latest “Jason Bourne” film is a news clip on amphetamines. Fictional intrigue is woven into real-world drama so that riots in Athens pulse with both Hollywood escapism and the kind of gritty, detailed images that flash on CNN in the hours before a government collapses or a dictator scurries away on a helicopter.


The cleverness and conceit of “Jason Bourne” is how in one scene it uses the Greek financial crisis to suit its visceral whims. In a sustained panorama of nearly seamless editing, Bourne (Matt Damon) appears like a mythological shape-shifter as the stirrings of revolt rattle the ancient capital. The momentum spirals from whisper to roar: placards, pumped fists, Molotov cocktails, police, tear gas, wounded protesters, water cannons, sirens, helicopter spotlights and pitched battles spreading through a city on the brink.

 

In a case of art imitating life, the scene took me back to 2011, when I covered the Egyptian revolution that erupted in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and engulfed the country. The sky popped with gunfire, songs and fireworks. Riot police moved in. Snipers perched on rooftops. The celebratory turned ominous as a crowd of tens of thousands — a fascinating and oddly seductive organism — bristled and swirled with the disparate agendas of revolutionaries, Islamists, soldiers, parents, students and government-hired thugs.

A protest is an arcing narrative broken into subplots. It can surge into stunning moments of violence and then go hushed. It is scented with sweat, blood, burning tires and vinegar-soaked rags to cut the sting of tear gas. Images and scenes are swift and fierce: bandaged men carried into mosques, boys cursing and hurling stones, barbed wire, barrels, tanks, palm trees aflame, bullet wisps, chanted slogans, the dead dragged to sidewalks and countless footsteps echoing down boulevards and alleys.

Recent documentaries, including Evgeny Afineevsky’s “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” and Jehane Noujaim’s “The Square,” about the Egyptian uprising, swept audiences into the smoke, fear, rage and danger of street protests. The movies resonated with the drama of a feature but rang with the air of authenticity; there were no actors, and real lives were at stake.

By infusing documentary-style realism, “Jason Bourne” captured with multiple vantage points a crowd’s fury unleashed beneath the lights of the Acropolis. One senses the gods looking down with amused alarm. Director Paul Greengrass, centered by Damon’s train-like doggedness, summoned chaos with balletic restraint. (Unfortunately, the Las Vegas car chase toward the end is the overdone opposite, an endless screeching scourge.)


 

But the revolt in Athens — one can recall the not-too-distant past when Greeks protested for months as their prospects tumbled and their debt widened — was closer to the genuine thing than Hollywood often gets. Studios increasingly prefer the comic book to the complicated, careening light years from reality into parallel fantasy worlds and characters sheathed in titanium, Spandex and urethane. But “Jason Bourne,” which was No. 1 at the box office over the weekend, suggests that an unadorned man battling earthly forces can still be riveting.

 

It is hard for a feature film to sketch true the intricacies of wars, rebellions and other nation-altering moments. Something happens when the real is transposed through the dramatic. A bit of the soul and intimacy get lost. The lens can only distill so much; something needed lingers beyond the frame. The world’s traumas and conflicts are stubborn to the designs of art and are more powerful than a director’s vision or special effects gimmickry.

 

“Jason Bourne” reminds us, however, that it is possible for a few minutes in a long movie to get close to the authentic, whether it’s the Arab Spring, the anguish in Greece, the failed coup in Turkey, terrorism in North Africa or the withering war in Syria.


Job Done!