hp48hour film launch hosted by BOP Film from Sun Live on Vimeo.

The hp 48 hour competition kicked off with great excitement in the Bay of Plenty on Friday night with over 20 local teams registered.

There are 500 teams competing NZ-wide from Dunedin, Gisborne, Taranaki, Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Hamilton, as well as the Bay of Plenty.

The local teams come from Opotiki, Rotorua, Tauranga and Te Puke. Each team was given two t-shirts, a USB stick, a 24-pack of V and their genre number which is randomly assigned. There are 15 genres covering action, alien, 'at night', 'bad seed', buddy, Christmas, crime, fairytale/fantasy, horror comedy, musical or dance, science fiction, supernatural, survival, thriller and Z-Grade.

Filmmakers don't know what genre they will be shooting until the start of the competition. All creativity - writing, shooting, editing and adding a musical soundtrack - must occur within the 48-hour window beginning Friday evening at 7pm and ending Sunday at 7pm. To add to the mayhem, they must also add some random elements.

In previous years, these random elements included lines of dialogue, props, characters and special camera moves. In 2017 the teams are required to choose one of ten possible themes to go with their assigned genre. The theme choices are redemption, love, transformation, sacrifice, vengeance, friendship, justice, jealous, ambition and fate.

Other required elements for 2017 are a female (character), a collision (physical element), a smash cut (technical element) and a Wilhelm scream (sound effect).

As the clock ticked down to the start time, BOP Film CEO Anton Steel reminded the teams of the health and safety aspects around filming, and to be mindful of the public, the bylaws and the environment. He also announced a special BOP Film prize of $100 which will be awarded on Sunday night as the teams return, for the best social media post made over the weekend.

The best films are selected by judges to compete in the BOP finals which will be held at Baycourt on Saturday September 2, at 6.30pm with MC Mark Eagle from The Breeze.

The judges then select the best of the best and along with Peter Jackson's Wildcards, these films compete in a massive Grand Final offering fabulous prizes and glory.

The BOP regional award winner receives an APEE statue and certificate; $300 cash grant courtesy of Wingnut Films; $300 cash grant courtesy of NZ Film Commission; and 4K 27” Display, HP Chromebook and an HP Sprocket printer, the total package valued at $1500.

There are also regional awards for best director, cinematography, female and male actors, original song, original score, best school team, animation, script, editing, makeup, use of props, use of line and best use of character.

The Grand National Champion wins the Grand National Champion APEE; $10,000 Cash Grant; courtesy of NZ Film Commission; $6,000 cash grant courtesy of Wingnut Films; $10,000 HP Tech package; $15,000 of post production time at Curious Films; $5,000 of rental from Professional Lighting Services; up to $65,000USD worth of a Premium Production Bundle from Moxion; two days of Professional Foley Perform, Record & Edit (valued at $2,500) courtesy of Bespoke Audio; one day sound editing and one day of sound mixing (valued at $2,000) courtesy of Northwestern Digital; and a 12-month Professional Subscription (valued at $1,200) courtesy of Digital Pigeon.

The competition is in its 15th year, having started in 2003 with just 44 teams taking part in Auckland. In 2014 over 800 teams took part right across New Zealand.

To follow the teams over the weekend on social media use the following hashtags:

#HP48

#HP48HOURS

@bopfilm

@48hoursnz

Two teams from Te Puke with their t-shirts and packs of V before heading off to begin their 24 hours of film making.