Show Notes
Writer-director Sabrina Greco joins No Film School to discuss the making of her feature debut, Lockjaw, a dark comedy centered on a woman whose jaw is wired shut after a car accident. Greco explains how the project grew from a short into a feature, why she committed to an 11-day all-night shoot in Los Angeles, and how a tight-knit filmmaking community helped make the production possible. She also breaks down directing Blu Hunt’s physically constrained but highly expressive lead performance, adapting scenes when they stopped working on set, using two cameras to move quickly, and drawing on her editing background to reshape the film in post-production.
In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Sabrina Greco discuss...
How Greco went from studying film at Boston University to editing for digital media, Nickelodeon, and feature films
Why filmmakers like John Cassavetes and the mumblecore movement changed the way she thought about feature filmmaking
How Lockjaw evolved organically from a 25–30 page short into Greco’s first feature
Planning the production a year in advance so winter’s early sunsets would make an entirely nighttime shoot more manageable
Building the film around an existing Los Angeles creative community of actors and crew members
How producer Abbie Jones helped secure a house where the production could shoot for eight of its 11 days
Deciding to move forward with the movie after Greco lost her job during the Hollywood strikes
Developing Rayna as an active, magnetic, self-destructive protagonist rather than a passive victim
How Blu Hunt approached Rayna without judging the character’s choices
Using Rayna’s wired jaw as both a physical filmmaking constraint and a source of conflict, comedy, and miscommunication
Why Greco wanted Rayna’s accident to complicate her behavior rather than simply justify it
Shooting an 80-page feature in 11 days using two Canon XF605 cameras, small crews, autofocus, and minimal lens changes
Rehearsing and blocking scenes before sunset so the production could begin shooting immediately once it was dark
How Greco, Blu Hunt, and Colin Burgess reworked a breakup scene on set when its original tone stopped working
Learning when a director needs to stop rushing, reconsider a scene, and ask collaborators for help
How Greco’s editing background helped her know which shots were essential and which material could be sacrificed
Cutting entire storylines that were not serving Rayna’s central story
Bringing in co-editor Neal Wynne when Greco needed fresh ideas, then returning to the film for the fine cut
The process of getting Lockjaw into Slamdance and finally watching audiences respond to the film
What Greco learned about LLCs, paperwork, and production infrastructure that she applied to her next project
Why making a feature reinforced the importance of trusting collaborators instead of believing the director has to solve everything alone
Memorable Quotes:
“I’m going to make this happen no matter what.”
“But it would be so much more fun if it was the opposite.”
“Take a step back. You need to figure this out. Like, it’s okay if it takes 10 minutes away from shooting.”
“Anything’s on the chopping block. I don’t care what it is. Like, if it’s, it’s not working, it’s not working.”
Guest:
Sabrina Greco
Resources:
Lockjaw on IMDb
Lockjaw on Instagram
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