As evidenced by the last US presidential election, motivating young people to get off their ass and into action is a tough gig - and one that often falls short of expectation. But not if master mobilizer Bob Geldof has his way. The man famously behind 1985's colossal Live Aid benefit concert, Geldof intends to make a mini Live Aid out of every major music event in 2005 with a striking 90-second film.

Created by UK five-piece minivegas, who direct commercials and videos through London's White House Pictures, the film, which employs heavy visual effects and the use of prosthetics to chronicle what happens to a child's body as malnutrition takes its toll, will debut at the Brit Awards on February 9 and will subsequently be aired at the beginning of music events throughout the year. The end of the film invites viewers to act by sending text messages to politicians.

White House Pictures became involved in the project when writer/director Richard Curtis, who is also head of one of the UK's largest charities, Comic Relief, approached White House producer Kit Hawkins to help commission a film that would get concert-goers' attention and prompt them to act immediately.

"We had to do something extraordinary, but we didn't want to use archived footage from the famine because people have kind of built up an immunity to it," says Hawkins.

Minivegas director Aoife McCardle says the main goal of the film was to do something arresting. Reference was drawn from anti-smoking and anti-drinking-and-driving campaigns, as well as horror films. "We felt the campaigns that work best are ones that give a specific scenario," she says, which is where the idea for a deteriorating child came from.

Originally, minivegas entertained the idea of using 3D to show the gradual malnourishment, but after researching what a body goes through, they felt creating as much in-camera as possible would be most arresting. They worked with famed prosthetics shop Burman Studio to create the profound changes. Each stage of makeup was shot with a motion control camera. All of the shots were then morphed together in flame to create a single 30-second shot of an African child wasting away to nothing, finally collapsing to the ground.

"It was quite a harrowing process," says McCardle. "And quite an authentic one."

Created in conjunction with UK charity Make Poverty History and US organization The One Campaign the objective of the film is to continue to raise awareness of the African AIDS crisis that began 20 years ago with Live Aid. In addition to airing the film at music events, the intention is to show it at the G8 Summit in Perthshire, Scotland, where African aid is on the agenda.

"This is all about people reaching out to the politicians," says Hawkins. "It's not about giving your money, just a piece of your time."

Make Poverty History> www.makepovertyhistory.com

The One Campaign> www.theonecampaign.org

White House Pictures> www.whpictures.com