Impressionist narrative

Narrative Techniques Employed by Impressionists

Achronology

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A "corrected chronicle" that transformed the immediate epistemological experience into an organized account, taking unorganized incidents projected onto human consciousness at different times and places and organizing them into an ordered, chronological narrative.

Intentionally Limited Point of View

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With omniscient narrative, the reader has access to all things seen, thought, and heard by the individual characters as well as details go beyond that viewed by the character. By limiting the point of view of the narration, Conrad forces the reader to follow the characters, only receiving information that is experienced by the character.

The beginning paragraphs of Act II in Heart of Darkness provides one example of limited point of view, in the form of our narrator, Marlow. The scene begins by describing the drowsy state that Marlow is in, through his point of view, two voices can be heard between his uncle and the manager at Central Station. Only fragments of the conversation are heard and Marlow, still in the sleepy state, uses his impressions of the conversation to create theories on the meaning of their talk.

• By following the broken conversation heard by Marlow, the conversation must be stitched together in his mind. This assembly echoes back to the reader, who also performs the same construction of broken conversation. Is this type of limited point of view more enjoyable than omniscience?

Example of French Impressionist Cinema: Technical Codes 

I. Camerawork

A. Camera distance: close-up (as synecdoche, symbol or subjective image)

B. Camera angle (high or low)

C. Camera movement (independent of subject, for graphic effects, point-of-view)

II. Mise-en-scene

A. Lighting (single source, shadows indicating off-screen actions, variety of lighting situations)

B. Décor

C. Arrangement and movement of figures in space

III. Optical Devices

A. As transitions

B. As magical effects

C. As emphasizing significant details

D. As pictoral decoration

E. As conveyors of abstract meanings

F. As indications of objectivity (mental images, semi-subjective images, optical subjectivity)

IV. Characteristic Editing Patterns

A. Temporal relations between shots (Flashback or fantasy)

B. Spatial relation between shots (synthetic, glance/object, crosscutting)

C. Rhythmic relations between shots