Frequently Asked Questions
Everything people usually want to know about the barcodes, the catalogue and what happens to your data.
What is a movie barcode?
A single image that represents an entire film's colour. Each slice of the running time is reduced to one average colour and drawn as a thin stripe, in order, from opening title to end credits. There's a longer explanation in what is a movie barcode.
How are the colours calculated?
Every catalogued film carries hue, saturation and lightness ranges drawn from its cinematography, plus its real average shot length. The generator paces stripes across three acts and mixes colour in OKLab rather than RGB, so blends stay perceptually even instead of turning muddy.
Is this based on real frame data?
No. The barcodes are reconstructed from a curated colour profile per film rather than decoded from the actual print, so the output reads true to a film's known grade without needing the footage. Colour profiles here are interpretive, not frame-decoded.
Why does the same title always look identical?
The stripe sequence is seeded from the title itself, so a barcode is fully reproducible. Share a link and the other person sees exactly the same image.
Can I download or share a barcode?
Yes. Generate a film, open it full screen and use Share to save a high-resolution image — 2048px on the long edge — with the film credited underneath. On mobile this opens the native share sheet; elsewhere it downloads a PNG.
Why do some films look similar?
Because they were graded similarly. Modern blockbusters share the teal-and-orange look, Technicolor musicals share three-strip saturation, and neo-noir leans on the same neon-and-rain palette. Comparing near-identical barcodes is often the point.
How big is the film catalogue?
It currently holds 1,633 titles with curated palettes and verified credits, and it grows in batches. Anything not catalogued still generates a barcode from its title — just without a hand-tuned palette, and without invented credits. Browse everything in the movie barcode directory.
Are my searches stored anywhere?
Only on your own device. See the privacy policy for the details.