From the makers of the acclaimed ABC documentary about the treatment of attention deficit disorder, Kids on Speed, comes this response to 2am lockout laws. They were imposed in February on Sydney's nightclubs, including in the King's Cross precinct, in the wake of the violence there that has killed teenagers, most recently on New Year's Eve. As the program was filmed in its entirety at the weekend, no advanced screening was available to preview. Twelve hours of footage from six camera crews must be edited in nine days, by far the fastest turnaround that director Marc Radomsky has been asked to deliver in his 18-year career. Given the location and burning issue at hand of alcohol-fuelled violence, coupled with the implications of the lockout on patrons and venue owners, and indeed the underlying problem, there is bound to be an abundance of material.

Four groups of young punters were observed from 6pm until 6am on Saturday, April 5 - a 21-year-old birthday boy from the northern suburbs in the Cross for the first time with his mates; a "girl's night out" party; a group of tradies; and a Middle Eastern rap outfit from Liverpool performing in the Cross.

The intention, Radomsky told Green Guide, is to present diverse points of view from ground zero, with perspectives from psychologists, venue owners, law enforcers and some of the King's Cross regulars.

"We're not coming in with some tabloid sensational agenda and saying lockouts are bad or good," Radomsky said.

"We're also talking to people who have done research into drinking in the wake of the 'Newcastle solution' (1am lockouts and a ban on the sale of shots after 10pm), so the audience can have a much more comprehensive picture of it all and can come to their own conclusions."

The program will be followed by Dead Drunk: After Hours, on ABC2 at 9.30pm.

Hosted by triple j's Tom Tilley, the live forum, billed as a "chat", will involve some of the people who appear in the documentary, experts and nightclub managers, as well as young people, including, Tilley hopes, some of the perpetrators of violence who have participated in his current affairs radio show, Hack.

''I don't think young people have really been involved in this debate so far,'' Tilley said. ''I'd like the conversation to go beyond the fine details of policy reaction and move into the deeper culture of violence, but also of nightlife, and get a really proper understanding of what drives these individuals to commit this kind of violence.''

Dead Drunk will reveal where the locked-out go after a night on the turf, and whether the limitations placed on drinking time will only make people drink more, quicker. Radomsky hopes the program sparks a discussion as robust as did Kids on Speed.

"With the HIV campaign, the drink-driving campaign and even the gun-control campaign, Australia's got a really strong record of changing cultures, '' he says. He then asks, ''What is different about alcohol?''

Bridget McManus