Codes and Conventions of The Notebook

In the opening of The Notebook an elder woman is show standing by a window looking out at the sunset as doves are flying towards her. Behind the technical codes and convention of the scene and the woman, a piano is playing a soft song almost to say that there's a story behind this woman's eyes, and this is the hook and makes the viewers want to continue to see the story that lies beneath. 

The scene of the film opening shows a lake, so show that this may be by a countryside, or somewhere beautiful yet very quiet and abandoned. The film looks like its set slightly in the past although still quite present. 

The characters of this film are shown in written codes of conventions, with the characters not being shown visually, although a woman who is seen at the end of the opening. 

The genre is quite easily seen as a romantic, this is clearly presented through the soft, sweet music of the piano that plays throughout the whole opening, and the calm atmosphere of a person rowing their boat through the lake. The sunset also adds to the idea of romance with the ending showing doves flying towards the woman, with doves being a symbol of love.

The credits were very basic, and were written codes of convention. They were very a very small font, and were white which may add to the suggestion of romance to show the story's love as innocent and pure.