Comedian Fred Armisen, celebrated for being funny on SNL and Portlandia, is requesting that Internet users do the complete opposite.
Armisen introduced a project called "Be Serious For 30 Seconds." He asks users to submit videos to YouTube, whether scripted or improvised, that are totally serious -- they must contain no humor and must last 30 seconds or less. The title of the project must appear somewhere in the submission titles.
He's included a few other oddly specific rules.
Rule 1: It has to be serious.
Rule 2: It has to be 30 seconds or less.
Rule 3: No more than two people in it.
Rule 4: At least one five-second dramatic pause.
Rule 5: At least one cutaway to an object.
Rule 6: Do your best acting.
Rule 7: It needs to have a door slamming.
Although the project has requirements, Armisen says "Be Serious For 30 Seconds" is not a competition, but rather, a collection of serious videos. He then shares his own version of the project, alongside his Portlandia costar Carrie Brownstein.
Users are getting really creative with their submissions. We've gathered five noteworthy picks from the competition to give you an idea. Do you think this is really just a collection of serious videos, or does Armisen have something else up his sleeve?