Actor and director James Franco has paired up with four film students from The University of Texas at Austin to create and produce a Web series based on their filmmaking experiences.

"Undergrads: South" will air in a couple of weeks with eight to 13 episodes on www.JamesFrancoTV.com, but the students answered questions about the making of the episodes during a panel Saturday at the South by Southwest Film conference. Attendees also were treated to a screening of two episodes of the series, which was filmed entirely in Austin.

Franco was scheduled to attend the panel, but he was unable to make it at the last minute.

The series focuses on David Bukstein, a senior filmmaker whose goal is to be producer; Ali Haji, a radio and TV filmmaker; Morgan Young, a junior film student; and Bao Truong, who just graduated from UT and wants to be director.

"Ninety-five percent of this project was shot, edited and starred people who are in college or who are under 25 years old," said Joy Gohring, at UT alumna and director of the Web series. "I think they did an amazing job."

In each episode, viewers will see how each student filmmaker embarks on a new project and their different directing techniques.

"You see how each of us goes about making each of our visions come to fruition," Truong said. "I think that's what the show shows very well."

Young's project was filming a public service announcement for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. The series highlights how she deals with presenting sensitive material of a girl who was murdered by her boyfriend.

"You have to be professional and not too emotional," she said.

Bukstein said an episodes shows how he deals with learning that his father has become a cross-dresser.

"When you frame your life in short-form narrative, you distil down elements of your life that are most intriguing about your character," he said.

Gohring said the project was very low-budget, most likely under $30,000, with funding coming from Rabbit Bandini Productions, which was founded in 2003 by Franco and Vince Jolivette, and produces short films and documentaries written and directed by Franco and produced by Jolivette.

She met Franco at the Austin Film Festival in 2011 when he brought up an idea he had to produce a Web series following filmmakers.

"It morphed a lot and into James' philosophy of who are you as an artist and what do you want to put out and show to the world," Gohring said.

The experience, in the very least, provided the students with exposure in the filmmaking industry and something to add to their resumes.

"The worst thing that can happen is we were on a show with James Franco," Young said.