Queen of the Damned- Intro analysis.

(Analysed from a DVD)
The first scene you see when watching Queen of the Damned is their distributor- Warner Bros. The usual gold metallic structure is now silver and grey with a gloomy background 
which creates an eerier tension for this film. 

As some credits come on the screen, the audience can see the statue Akasha from various angles and shots. This is important to the plot because Akasha has a massive impact to the storyline. These shots give the audience a good chance to see her and what state she is in so they can further understand the plot further on. Each shot fades to another one of Akasha which creates a soft flow between cuts. The non-diegetic sound used here is similar to "Egyptian" music, it creates a creepy atmosphere because it is slow and is made from cellos, violins and other typically used horror instruments. Also, a woman singing can be heard but her voice is distorted to sound very creepy.

The title screen is very low key, the font is sans serif and quite small at the bottom of the screen, sans serif connotes old ages and sharp edges, it is a more serious font. The font is filled with white and the shadow is red, this may connote blood. Red is a stereotypical eerie colour so this adds to the mystery and creepiness of the film. The title then turns red as the background turns to dark. The low camera shot being underneath Akasha makes the atmosphere uneasy because she is so much higher than the audience, it feels like she is able to look down at the camera suddenly which creates a lot of tension.

The first scene you see that is in the plot is the graveyard. Obviously graveyards are a very stereotypical location for horror films with vampires or paranormal species. The lighting of the location is very dark, lots of shadows are seen and the hue of the scene is blue which connotes night time and darkness. This contrast also creates tension because the audience knows that the most bad things happen in the dark and because it's a graveyard, there are dead bodies and skeletons there which is a frightening thought. Lestat's narration starts here whilst the camera sways from each tomb, his voice is husky and smooth which creates mystery about his character.

Lestat rests in a tomb with a skeleton attached to the lid. This is where the tension rises for the audience because it's the first actual scene with something physical to feel anxious about. The shadows on the curves of each surface also emphasizes the features of the tomb and skeleton.

Shortly after this zoom onto the skeleton, a cut away is used to show a band playing a rock song while the camera zooms in onto small parts of the instruments such as the drum foot pedal, the guitar strings, a womans fingers on a keyboard and so on. The hue of this scene is much more colourful than the previous scenes which connotes life, compared to Lestat.
These little details are helpful to paint a picture of what Lestat's narration is leading to- he want's to be a rock God.

The camera then cuts away back to the tomb when a creepy thing happens next. Lestat's old, dry hand pushes the lid up and appears out of the gap of the open tomb. A lot of stage make up and MES is used here to create a realistic appearance of the old vampire and the old dusty tomb. 

When Lestat escapes his tomb and stands outside, you can see he is not facing the camera, his character appearing only as a silhouette holding a violin. The audience cannot see his face or who this character is which creates mystery and tension because he is being a secret. I like this about this scene and I am planning to use it in any future production.

The next scene shows Lestat feeding on a stranger in an alley and the camera pans upwards to show his emotions. The blood on his chin looks very realistic and is dripped over his chin in a way that looks realistic, not the stereotypical one drip out the side of the lips.
This is a very useful reference for any future production. During the scene away from the band, the bands music can still be heard which acts as a score for the following scene.

During the scene when Lestat drops the hyperventilating victim at his feet, the camera pans up to Lestat's face. This is a very clever tactic to very slowly show Lestat's character because the audience hasn't met him yet. This creates impatience for this scene and also creates tension because his character now seems dangerous. His character is placed in the middle of the screen which helps the audiences attention be focused on him and only him.

You can see that his skin has returned it's softness and elasticity because Lestat has fed. This makeup idea is brilliant to show the power of feeding to vampires in film. When Lestat makes a face when the energy races through him, a windy metallic sound is added to emphasize the power of this scene. Throughout these scenes, his narration and the bands music still continues which creates flow and no "awkward scenes".

The bands music's volume increases as the camera then moves across the floor and up a building in a POV shot type. This is showing that Lestat is moving like an animal because the camera is swaying from left to right which is very disorientating to the audience. The movement of the camera going up the side of the building shows Lestat flying which you can also hear. This creates a lot of creepiness in the scene because obviously humans can't fly. I will use this technique because POV show what the character sees and you experience the film from another perspective.



The scene then cuts to the previously saw band practicing in a room. Lestat appears on the amps, singing with a creepy voice and with his fangs apparent and his eyes rolled up into his head. This is very creepy because the camera angle used here is a low angle which makes Lestat higher than the camera and audience which makes him appear powerful. He is also off center which is a good way to create diversity of camera shots.


When he moves to confront the band members, his back is towards the audience and covers a lot of the camera shot, this is a powerful camera angle because him blocking out the camera shows power and this also allows the audience to see the other characters reactions.





His emotions and gestures towards the innocent people are very unnerving and "charming" at the same time, almost like he is capable of a lot of harmful things but he is just playing them along. His narration then starts up again, which again creates flow and allows the plot to run smoothly.

He shows his fangs a lot which creates tension among the audience and the way his head is angles when talking to someone smaller than him shows he is attempting to be intimidating and succeeding by the way the background characters react.
These body language gestures can be taken to create another horror movie with my production later on in the year.


In this second to last scene of the intro, the background warps behind him, a used technique where the camera approaches the character physically whilst zooming out to make the background warp and seeming to be getting longer and more distant while the character stays in the same focal distance from the camera.
This warp disorientates the audience and makes the atmosphere appear much more unnerving.

The last scene of the intro finally shows the cast members names which connotes the idea that either the actors and actresses are not as well known because it isnt at the start, OR the film production team wanted the audience to witness a drama packed introduction before they see the cast so it's harder to leave during the introduction. The fonts are white on a scene of Lestat singing with his band, which gives away the plot. 

I love every aspect of this film (my favourite film), so this will be the film which I take a lot of references and points from because it includes clever techniques to get across certain messages.