Race on for academics to produce movie

THREE Staffordshire academics will be racing against time to shoot, edit and screen a feature-length movie in just 72 hours for the Melbourne International Film Festival.

James Fair, Andy Paton and John Bradburn, who are film technology lecturers at Staffordshire University, will be pulling out all the stops to impress judges at the major event this summer.

The trio were approached to take part in the 72-hour film project after achieving a similar feat at Galway Film Fleadh in 2008. James, who has already scripted the film for the Melbourne festival, said: "It is a very demanding challenge, especially as the technology has moved on, even within the last two years.

"Galway is one thing, but the geographical hurdles involved in doing the same thing in Melbourne is quite another. I am confident it can be done though, with the right amount of planning."

It is the lecturers' experience in such pressured filmmaking that has led them to create a masters degree in digital feature film production at Staffordshire University.

It is believed to be the only course of its kind designed to help first-time filmmakers get their movies made.

The university team of filmmakers will start shooting just three days before the movie is premiered on August 7 at the Australian Centre for Moving Image.