The scene that I chose to analyze is the opening scene from the film Hard Candy, directed by David Slade. For the first two minutes of the film's narrative we are shown tight shots of a computer screen with instant messages being sent and received between two people online, named Thonggrrrl14 and Lensman319. The aspect ratio is wide and the depth of field shifts to focus on each response in the conversation thread. There's also a very subtle rippling effect with each shot that is used to create a sense of atmosphere and perhaps danger.
Building on this sense of atmosphere and foreboding, the sound design in this sequence of frames is all seemingly all diegetic. We hear the typing of a keyboard queued to Thonggrrrl14's responses being typed out. We hear the bright dinging of each message being sent and received as we read onscreen. However, we also hear very loud and persistent ambient rumbling sound, akin to something you'd expect to hear in a basement or boiler room.
The decision to pair these images with this type of sound is meant to accomplish two things: one, to make use actually read the conversation carefully and two, to make us afraid for what’s to come of the imminent meeting between Thonggrrrl14 and Lensman319. It succeeds on both accounts. Through the images onscreen we are made aware that Thonggrrrl14 is likely very young; being teased and referred to as a “baby” by the same man who admits to fantasizing about her and urges her to hurry and shower so that they can meet, cluing us in to the fact that it is likely he is a child predator.
Through the backdrop of a sterile and ominous soundscape of mechanical rumbling, we feel a sense of isolation and premeditation that makes the calculated responses onscreen feel like a trap for prey that’s unaware of how much danger they’re letting in by agreeing to meet. It also juxtaposes well with the scene following it, where we finally get to see the faces of Thonggrrrl14 and Lensman319 and perceptions and previously made assumptions shift back and forth.
In my opinion, this type of composition highlights how films are designed with very specific intentions and purpose. Using the vast possibilities of both the medium of sound and image are what makes the medium so powerful, and this movie in particular, I would argue is one of the most thought provoking pieces of art to have ever been produced.
