Pittsburgh moviemakers will be in a mad, merry dash next weekend to write, shoot and edit a three- to seven-minute film. It may sound like a reality show, but it's actually part of a national competition called the 48 Hour Film Project.

Filmmaking teams will be doing drama on deadline or possibly comedy, horror, sci-fi, cops-and-robbers, westerns or other genres, depending on what they draw at the kickoff at Screenworks (the former Star City Theater) in South Fayette near Bridgeville a week from today.

They will hit the ground running at 7 p.m. Aug. 3 and be required to deliver a three- to seven-minute video by 7:30 p.m. Aug. 5.

Each team will receive a genre, prop, character, line of dialogue and Pittsburgh landmark to incorporate, and some teams are already scoping out makeshift soundstage space. So far, 25 teams of anywhere from two to 20 people are signed up.

"Out of the first-year cities, we're at the top of the list as far as participants," Rick Frisco from RemNS Productions of Brownsville, said yesterday. He is the local producer for the project and was instrumental in bringing the competition here.

If Pittsburgh follows the same pattern as other cities, Frisco expects that number to blossom to 50 to 60 by the second or third year and possibly 90 by the fourth or fifth year.

"Just looking at some of the teams, there's a vast array of knowledge in here," said Frisco, who is barred from competing since he is an organizer. Participants range from amateurs and student filmmakers to professionals well-versed in creating short films.

Although competitors can allot their time however they want, Frisco said most likely will spend Friday night brainstorming and writing and shooting on Saturday and finishing and editing on Sunday to meet the 7:30 p.m. deadline.

A panel of three judges (whose names aren't being revealed just yet) will choose the best-of-city winner along with a runner-up, but audiences will get the chance to have their say, too. They can see the finished products at 7 and 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 8 and 9, with an awards ceremony at the theater Aug. 11 at 4 p.m.

The competition, designed to emphasize creativity and teamwork, was born in May 2001 when filmmaker Mark Ruppert came up with the idea of making a film in 48 hours. He enlisted filmmaking partner Liz Langston and other Washington, D.C., residents in the experiment.

Now, six years later, the project has welcomed 3,000 teams of one to 70 members. The winner of the Pittsburgh competition will have the chance to vie for Panasonic equipment and film festival exposure.

With more than 50 American cities participating, the competition is more heightened than ever, Langston, executive producer, said in a press release. "We are thrilled that the 48 Hour Film Project continues to grow exponentially with each year," with teams from Tel Aviv, Amsterdam and Paris now represented.

Go to www.48hourfilm.com/pittsburgh for details, including how to register. See www.48hourfilm.com for information on the overall competition.