Children Of Men - Code and Conventions

Children of men

Narrative to set the scene

The children of men opening sequence conforms with the codes of conventions of a film opening as it shows and includes all of the necessary conventions. One of these codes of conventions may include Narrative to set the scene. This Narrative within this opening sequence would be when it starts of talking about a boy called Diego Ricardo at the age of 18 being the youngest person alive that has been stabbed for not giving an autograph. This was shown at the very start of the film to give the film a background story and to rase questions in the viewers minds as it will keep them wanting to watch. This fits in with Barthes' theory on the enigma code. This fits in with that theory because the opening builds up a number of questions in the viewers mind to make the viewer want to carry on and watch the rest of the film to have their questions answered. This makes the opening more effective as this makes the viewers want to watch the film. In a way the narrative works as a cliff hanger as it almost leaves you on the edge wanting to find out what happens next. This also helps the audience try to figure out what is going on and what might go on. This helps the viewers decide on whether they will like the film  and whether it is the type of film they would usually watch. this subverts with Todorov's theory as this opening doesn't start with an equilibrium as it starts of with news reports about an 18 year olds death. This makes the the opening more effective as it jumps straight into the action and drama to make the audience want to watch and find out what has caused all of this. However if it did start off with an equilibrium this opening may have brought up more unanswered questions as the audience would understand what is actually happening more and may have a clue to what has caused this explosion of drama.

Sound

Another convention this opening sequence conforms is sound. This is used to create tension within the film as it creates a mood and makes the audience feel that emotion with the shots they use and the non-diegetic sound in the background which connotes that this is an important scene. This was also used to make the scene more effective as without the non-diegetic sound the scene wouldn't seem as important and wouldn't attract the viewers attention as much. This also fits in Todorovs theory on equilibriums as the sound is there to connote that the calm ha been disrupted and also is used to connote what is happening and helps the viewers understand what's going on better. Another bit of sound used in the opening is at the very start when you can only hear the news readers reporting with their voice overlapping each other. This was used to connote that something serious had happened and that it is important to understanding the plot of the film. Without this part the viewers wouldn't have understood the importance of this part as it was being reported on the news.This fits in with Barthes' enigma code theory as the start of it create questions in the viewers minds because they will want to know what's happened and why it's so important to the films plot. This makes the scene more effective because it leaves the viewers wanting to watch more and it just helps the characters figure out whether they want to watch anymore or not. This helps the producers as it will make more people want to watch the film and acts as a cliff hanger making the viewers want more. This also applys to the part in the opening sequence when the explosion has just happens and there is a girl repeatidly screaming really loudly. The scream will catch the viewers attention as it will leave them thinking why has this explosion happened and who was that supposed to kill. This leaves the viewers wanting their questions answered. 

Introduction to main characters
Another convention the opening uses is an introduction to the main characters. In this opening you are only introduced to two main characters. In the opening sequence a news report is showing a boy called Diego Ricardo who is 18 and currently the youngest boy alive which fits in with Barthes theory of enigma code as the viewers are left wondering why he is the youngest and why there are no kids. This make sit more affective as the viewer will now carry on watching to find out what this boy is about and why he is the youngest boy. This also shows the viewers that there was a lot of pressure on this boy and he obviously didn't like it. This makes the viewers feel more involved as it's like a puzzle try have to find the pieces for. The news report of Diego connotes that the film will be based around him and his story. Another main character introduced at the beginning seems very mysterious and is followed around which connotes that he is very important to the story. This also fits in with Barthes theory on enigma code as it leaves the audience wondering who he is and why he is important as his name isn't mentioned. Also there was an explosion in the coffee shop that he was just in which also leaves unanswered questions as it leaves the viewers wondering whether the explosion happened because of him or if it was supposed to kill him. This connotes that the explosion is very important to the film and will leave the viewers wanting to did out what's going on and why. This also fits in with Vladmir Propp's theory of characters as this man could be the hero or villain of the story or could ever be the one that helped the villain. This fits in with Propp's theory because it denotes him near the explosion which could mean he will be the one to help the people hurt and injured from the explosion but also could be the one that has caused this I happen.