A NORWEGIAN film-maker is causing a storm on the internet with his new timelapse video of Southend receiving more than 2,000 views in 24 hours.

Morten Rustad, 20, has been studying at the Essex Business School in Colchester for 18 months, and has previously produced films of both Colchester and New York.

The business student was contacted by the University of Essex after his film of the Colchester campus was viewed thousands of times on video sharing site Vimeo.

A special Christmas edition of the film was produced and he was asked to do a similar film showcasing the sights of Southend.

Filmed in just two trips to the town, the two-minute film shows off the seaside town at its best, opening with a stunning clip of a sunset filmed from the pier.

He said: “The sunset looked really good. It had been a very cloudy day in Southend, but I was out on the pier and all of a sudden it just cleared and gave this wonderful view.

“The Colchester video had a good response and got lots of views. It’s nice to get very nice comments on your work.

“The Southend film was shot on one camera. They were long 15-hour days and then post-processing takes ten times that as well. It’s not quick.”

Morten, from Fredrikstad , Norway, had always dreamed of studying abroad, and has set up his own ‘Rustad Media’ company.

He added: “Essex is good in that it’s not too far from Norway. It’s a short flight home.

“I study business, but do freelance film work in my spare time.”

The film is set to be shown on the big screen outside Southend Forum as part of the new film reel starting this week.

To see Morten’s films, visit: vimeo.com/ rustadmedia