Just as being in love can be the most incredible feeling in the world, falling out of love can be the most heartbreaking. For ‘compulsive dater’ Joshua Rider, the protagonist of the new comedy A FULL ROTATION, the end of the longest relationship he’s ever had leads him to spend a full year reassessing not only his life, but also how he approaches love and relationships while moving on from his last romance, and promising to make his next one the one that lasts. The 12 episode series was created by, and stars Dain Miller as Joshua, plus Kaye Hamilton (of the indie pop group Persian Rugs) as Charlie, a quirky young woman who tries to help Joshua recover from his failed relationship, along with Tony Hosselet as Joshua’s best friend Ethan, who suddenly finds himself in a faltering marriage, and Jessica Meredith as Bailey, Joshua’s old friend – and flame – from his high school days.
A FULL ROTATION debuted on January 26th of this year on Film Army, as well as on its official Youtube page, and new episodes air once a month. In addition to each episode, the Film Army page also features behind-the-scenes content and commentary from Miller and the show’s creative team.
Yet, unlike many web series, A FULL ROTATION is unique in its distribution. Normally, web series are strictly episodic, but when the show completes its run, it will be distributed not only as a series, but also as a feature-length film comprised of the entire 12 episodes that aired throughout the year. As Miller explains, this unique approach to the show’s distribution was the goal from the very beginning. “The idea actually stemmed from an ambitious pitch I wrote to my co-producer (Adam Park) while I was delirious from really bad fever at 4AM in December 2012. We wanted to make a movie, but we didn’t have the time or the budget to produce a full feature length film all in one go. So, we figured it would be far more manageable if we broke the story down into 6-10 minute episodes. From there it just seemed like a logical step to release it as a web series at the same time if we were going to break the film up into a narrative told month-by-month,” he says.
“While it posed its own challenges, namely the complete uncertainty of what the year would bring, it also had a huge bonus: at the end of the year we would have a completely edited movie. One of the biggest obstacles facing independent filmmakers isn’t shooting a movie, it’s finishing it. I think everyone’s encountered that project that just got stuck in post-production limbo. With A FULL ROTATION, we don’t have to worry about that because we’re literally completing the movie as we go.”
Miller and Park, who also contribute content to Film Army’s blog, pitched their series to the site, and after getting their approval, the production process began in earnest (with production of the last four episodes underway as of this writing). While the process of producing each episode had its own share of difficulties, it was also efficient given the month-to-month schedule, thanks in large part to the show’s cast and crew. “The first half of the month is spent writing and locking the script and then pre-production; finding our locations and scheduling our actors. We then shoot what is essentially a short film (episodes range from 6-13 minutes) over the course of a weekend (or in some cases one day) and then have roughly a week to edit and upload. Each episode takes a whole month to complete from start to finish as we upload the last day of every month. Then we do it all over again! We run with a small crew, usually one or two people, not including cast. Working with friends, especially when they are as talented and passionate as our team is, certainly helps alleviate some of the tension and stress,” Miller says.
Influenced primarily by the works of Judd Apatow (THIS IS 40, KNOCKED UP, FUNNY PEOPLE) and Zach Braff’s film GARDEN STATE, Miller not only hopes that A FULL ROTATION will inspire filmmakers to create their own works despite whatever obstacles they face, but he also hopes to bring a unique and humorous portrayal of people facing life’s awkward moments, and with A FULL ROTATION, his message is simple: that no matter how rough life gets, or how messed up romance can be, we’re all human. “It’s okay to be confused and scared and weak. We’re not the perfect people the movies depict, we make mistakes and we hurt people and we get hurt and that doesn’t necessarily make us good people or bad people. There’s a beautiful humanity to the struggles we go through as people, as friends and as lovers that doesn’t have to equate to suffering. Life is filled with little joys in our friends and in ourselves. There’s a phrase in Latin, ‘ad astra per aspera’, which means ‘to the stars through difficulties’, and I think that sums up A FULL ROTATION. We have to reach our highest point by finding our lowest.”
(Note: the show is currently not closed-captioned or subtitled, but Miller says he hopes to have captioning provided by InterKaye Services – which just happens to be run by Hamilton – by the time the series ends in December).
YOUTUBE (Playlist): http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmVWNAY8AEgQPmnmc8KFeWHOxecHZ5j0D
FILM ARMY (for additional content): http://www.blog.filmarmy.ca/tag/a-full-rotation/
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/AFullRotation
TWITTER: @AFullRotation