This opening sequence to Michael Winterbottom's film Code 46 exemplifies the potential of title sequences to establish the setting, tone and narrative context for the story that follows. The sequence begins with long, aerial shots of a desert that moves progressively toward an ultra-developed urban environment, separated by a boundary that will prove to be narratively significant later in the film. The world constructed by Code 46 also presents a unique linguistic environment in which English speech is seamlessly and inexplicably mashed up with selected words and phrases from Spanish, French Arabic and other languages; this linguistic equivocation is mirrored in the title design for this sequence. The highly stylized cinematography also resonates with the seemingly impossible architecture and urban design of the city, purported to be Shanghai. Evoking a futuristic impression, it is difficult to imagine that the physical spaces being entered by the Tim Robbins character can possibly be a real city and not digitally generated. This too, resonates productively with the futuristic narrative context which focuses on genetic engineering and assisted reproductive technologies.