Bill McGaw, an Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker residing in La Jolla, California, wanted to make a documentary about the “48 Hours of Madness” student film competition in April, 2005. And where did he go for assistance? To the Point Loma Nazarene University Department of Communication and Theatre.

48 Hours of Madness is a student film competition that is a part of the BestFest student film festival. The competition involved 30 high school and college filmmaking teams picking up a script on a Friday in April, and delivering a finished five-minute film two days (48 hours) later. McGaw hired a production company in Los Angeles to tape selected teams throughout the 48 hour process. However, he had misgivings about the company finishing the project, so he contacted Dr. Alan Hueth, Professor of Communication, and proposed that he and PLNU media communication students finish producing the documentary.
        
This past year, Dr. Hueth, Rick Moncauskas (Media Operations Mgr), and about 25 PLNU students have been involved in completing the shooting and editing of this feature length documentary. It has involved over 35 hours of competition, film festival, and interview footage, all being trimmed down to a 90 minute program. McGaw donated $25,000 to the university to finish the project. 

The documentary was originally scheduled to be finished by the end of June, 2006, however, the completion date has been extended. Once the film is completed, it will be submitted to film festivals and eventually sold to a cable network. Some prospective networks include A & E and other channels that exhibit educational documentaries.

        
Hueth says “a project like can be a once in a lifetime opportunity. How often do students, while in college, get to work with an academy-award winning producer?” He adds that “this is also giving students experience on a professional project, which looks very good on their resume.”

        
In addition to providing valuable experience to present students, future students will also benefit from this project. Part of the donation to complete this documentary will buy new digital video/film equipment. This includes a new camera, tripod, lighting, and audio equipment to add to the existing, continuously-growing media production facilities.