I Think We Got It!

“The Face Painter” Genre: Romance

A man (20’s) is walking on the boardwalk at a beach and spots a face painter who is finishing painting a child’s face. He is intrigued by her and we cut to him sitting down and getting his face painted.

She’s very enthusiastic about her craft and they share a couple of laughs while she paints his face.
She shows him with a mirror what he looks like and they exchange smiles. He goes to pay her and their hands touch. They are very clearly attracted to each other.

We cut to another day at the beach and he shows up again to get his face painted. We go into a montage of him coming back a bunch of times and getting his face painted. Their relationship clearly begins to grow stronger and they get more and more comfortable with each other.

One day, he stays with her after he gets his face painted and they hang out at the beach. He proposes to her the idea of him painting her face for a change. She is a little uncomfortable with it, but she lets him do it.

He shows her what he painted on her and it brings her to tears. The guy tells her that he has a present to give her and that he will be back. She stays and ponders what he painted on her face.

He comes back and has a new set of face paint for her, but she isn’t there. He anxiously looks around for her, but she is long gone.


This was just a general plot idea, but we have a couple of kinks to work out before diving into the script:

1. We established that she leaves him in the end because she is afraid of commitment and feels undeserving of his affection. We need to create a background for this throughout the story… or at least hint at a reason for her leaving at the end.
2. We need to add some kind of meaning to each of the face paintings that she gives him. They cannot be entirely random.
3. Create a better understanding of what kind of people these characters are e.g. hipsters, homeless, college students, etc.
4. I want to make the film with no dialogue, so their intentions need to be communicated nonverbally and there needs to be a good score to accompany it. 

This story is perfect because it is two people in their twenties, silent, outside in the daylight, and it's overall just a simple story. We have a lot more freedom to squeeze in symbolism and metaphors because we don't have to try and fit in a crazy plot.

I drew a lot of inspiration from Steven Spielberg's first short film 'Amblin''

I have watched this short film probably a dozen times and it is the epitome of economic storytelling. It's a great story and fits the criteria for a cheap production; it has limited actors, shot in the desert (great weather), no dialogue.

Another film I drew a lot of inspiration on was Damien Chazelle's first feature film Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, most especially a scene where two strangers meet while riding the metro.

It has a really rugged documentary style and it manages to communicate the connection the two characters have through subtle nonverbal movements like their hands slightly touching. The still shown above is a not-so-subtle way of showing attraction,  but it's quite unique, which is what I'm aiming to replicate.