She is known as his 'angel' because of her unique style in which she operates the clapperboard. Usually on set, the second assistant camera uses the Military, or International Radio Operator, alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, etc.) when announcing the scene. However, Geraldine employs a fun foul-mouth approach, which often catches a lot of the actors off guard. In a movie about an alternate history of Nazi-occupied France in World War II, she uses words that correspond to the action of the scene. For example, she'll use words and phrases such as Nazis, Fucking Explosives, Humiliation, Adolf, Hitler, and Au revoir Fuckers, which generates lots of laughs from the crew and the talent alike.
Having been a second assistant camera on a couple of features, I too have jokingly deferred from the military phonetic alphabet a couple of times, especially martini shots, for kicks. However, Geraldine does this for almost every single take.
Although humorous, this would sometimes take the actors briefly out of character before a scene begins. Tarantino made a bold director's choice by employing someone who distracts the actors in such a way. He must use this technique of distraction to provoke his actors to 'act' in the certain way that he wants by setting this clapper operator loose upon them to provide either a funny remark or loud sticks to startle the talent before a take.
Does this technique help or hurt the actors? Well, if you watch the video, you will notice that Mr. Waltz, who plays Col. Hans Landa, seems the most annoyed, or unamused, and has been taken the most out of character. Despite this 'annoyance' he won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival as well as a BAFTA, Golden Globe, and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor due to his performance in this film. I'd say Tarantino's technique certainly helped him with that. What a fantastic movie.
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