It’s a TV cliché that became a huge internet meme: the music abruptly stops, the scene around the lead actor comes to a halt, and he begins talking to the audience: *record scratch* *freeze frame* “Yep. That’s me. You’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.” It’s so formulaic, a Twitter bot could do it. In fact, a Twitter bot is doing it.
Freeze Frame Bot, created by Brian Moore, has automated the process of making *record scratch* *freeze frame* jokes. It drops five new ones every day.
https://twitter.com/freezeframebot/status/798344814785871872
https://twitter.com/freezeframebot/status/798342272874061824
https://twitter.com/freezeframebot/status/798315466959757313
https://twitter.com/freezeframebot/status/798027102901522432
The bot grabs random YouTube videos, lets them run for a few seconds, and then hits them with the freeze frame, zooming in on whoever (or whatever) is in the center of the frame. Moore even added the classic “Yup, that’s me…” voiceover.
Not all of them are funny, but when serendipity strikes and the bot gets something good to work with, it really works:
https://twitter.com/freezeframebot/status/798391235018887168
https://twitter.com/freezeframebot/status/798030047848169472
https://twitter.com/freezeframebot/status/797714335065841664
https://twitter.com/freezeframebot/status/797711755589861376
Freeze Frame Bot is just the latest good Twitter project from Moore, who’s responsible for the bot that overlays the golden ratio on random images:
https://twitter.com/goldenratiobot/status/798529755771502592
He’s also the mastermind behind Thoughts and Prayers: The Game, a clever commentary on mass shootings in America.
*freeze frame* *record scratch* I’m not sure how Moore found himself in this situation, but we’re lucky to have him.
