Ahead of the third edition of Melbourne WebFest, we are profiling all the official selections that will be screening 10-12 July at Deakin Edge. 

Set in the city of Melbourne, the series sets a different scene in every episode, with the common theme of getting through the awkward situations of life.

Inspired by big named comedians such as Monty Python and Tina Fey, The Peloton Sprints hopes their audience finishes the season with sore cheeks and abs.

The Peloton Sprints focuses on five guys, can you tell us a bit about their relationship prior to filming?
Prior to filming The Peloton Sprints, we were all old mates who had turned our backs on stable professional careers (we have four law degrees and three Victorian Supreme Court admissions to practice between us) and went to work in a Mexican restaurant together. In our spare time, we would sneak into fancy tennis clubs and pretend we were members in order to use their squash courts and saunas.

And can you tell us a bit about how you came together as a group?
We met while performing in university law revues and are now professional actors, comedians, writers, business owners and television producers. It was a bit of a perfect storm of five guys coming together who loved comedy, watching footy, each other’s company, talking footy, performing together and kicking the footy.

What (and/or who) inspired your series?
A love of comedy, a love of performance and a desire to produce content that we would want to see has inspired us to produce The Peloton Sprints. As to who inspired us, our style is hopefully a product of all our comedy heroes: Big Train, Mr Show, Monty Python, Tina Fey, Key & Peel, Nick Kroll, Amy Schumer, Shaun Micallef, Ricky Gervais and Louis C.K, just to name several.

As a content creator, where do you go to find information about other filmmakers and web series?
Primarily online. That’s where we consume our content nowadays, so that’s the world we inhabit. Also, given we all individually work in the TV industry (as writers, directors, performers and producers), we try to keep our finger on the pulse regarding what’s being made.

Why should people watch your series?
People should watch The Peloton Sprints if they want to laugh at themselves and relate to the awkwardness of everyday life and situations, in worlds that are far removed from reality and everyday experience.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome making this series?
One of the biggest challenges was trying to breathe new life into straight sketch comedy and exploring an already saturated genre. Also, at times it was challenging to juggle the rigours of working in film and TV as our day jobs with writing and producing our own series on the side.

How do you reach your audience?
We reach our audience, both physically and emotionally, through our online presence and social media.

How do you finance your series?
We financed our series via cold hard Yen, and hedging on the Nikkei futures. Also, we’ve sold a few sketches to American production companies, which helps cover those times when the Yen takes an unexpected tumble against the AUD. In addition, we run the social media accounts for a few businesses, which helps covers those times when American production companies don’t want to buy our sketches.

The Peloton Sprints on the web:

Watch The Peloton Sprints
The Peloton website
The Peloton Sprints on Facebook
The Peloton Sprints on Twitter

Keep up to date with Melbourne Web Fest on twitter: @MelbWebFest

La Trobe University is Melbourne WebFest’s exclusive learning partner.