James Franco Announces Comedy Central Roast in Instagram Video

James Franco left a bleary-eyed, monotone message for his Instagram followers this week: "Hey y'all, what's up? I'm gonna get roasted on Comedy Central."

Comedy Central confirmed to Mashable that #FrancoRoast will tape in Los Angeles in August and premiere on TV in time for Labor Day.

"If only James Franco was a more successful, multi-hyphenated, incessant creative risk taker in different media, he'd be the perfect person to roast," Kent Alterman, president of content development and original programming for the network, said in a statement. "Oh well … I suppose we'll just have to make do."

Here's Franco's Instagram video announcement:

In addition to the roast, Comedy Central has acquired the exclusive digital rights to the Franco-directed documentary Francophrenia, a 90-minute program that gives viewers a front-row seat to Franco's experience during his time on General Hospital. Francophrenia will debut on the network's digital and VOD platforms after the roast.

Since Instagram video's release, Franco has let loose a flurry of 15-or-so-second (sometimes funny, sometimes nondescript) clips — many of which include his hair stylist Nana Fischer. Here are some highlights:

And some in honor of his Indiegogo campaign:

Franco has reportedly said he has been dreaming about getting roasted for as long as he can remember. Miles Levy and Joel Gallen from Tenth Planet Productions are attached to executive produce the Comedy Central Roast of James Franco, and Jonas Larsen is the executive in charge for the network.

BONUS: 6 Reasons Instagram Video Beats Vine

1. 

   1. Clip Editing

   Social media erupted in oooohs and aaaaahs when Instagram announced that its videos include editing features. Unlike Vine, Instagram allows users to delete unsatisfying past frames. Simply click the delete button marked with an "X" to remove the last frame (or two). Or just start all over, silly.

2. 

   2. Cover Frame

   It wouldn't be Instagram without a beautiful photo to entice users. Instagram encourages users to select a "cover frame," which is basically a splash photo that appears in-feed as a preview to your video. This is one of the smartest decisions Instagram could make -- when Instagram users have their choice of cover photo, it ensures they put their best feet forward. Hopefully, that means our scrolling remains beautiful, not fuzzy from poor video capture.

   Note: While we wait on an Android app update, those users will only see cover frames of uploaded videos, but are currently not able to play the videos themselves.

   Without the option to set a splash image, Vine simply plays videos from their first frames. Often, those aren't the most flattering or attention-grabbing of images.

3. 

   3. Filters, Duh

   It wouldn't be Instagram without filtering options -- 13 to be exact. They perform very similarly to the photo filters, but have all new names, like Moon, Gingham and Dogpatch.

   Vine keeps it raw. All "editing" must be performed in-video, meaning videographers have to think about lighting and exposure as they're filming -- if they want to achieve a groovy vintage effect.

4. 

   4. Tap to Focus

   When capturing video in Instagram, you can tap within the frame to focus your depth of field, which makes for more professional-looking footage.

   Tapping in Vine means you're already filming. You won't find an option to force-focus on the platform.

5. 

   5. Image Stabilization

   During its announcement, Instagram shared a brand new tool in its video arsenal: Cinema. According to the company, developers worked with "video scientists" to create a custom image stabilization product. It's meant to smooth shaky footage for a more professional, streamlined result. You can see the difference by selecting and de-selecting the "vibrate" icon during your edit.

   Vine offers no such technology. But we're guessing a small tripod would solve shaky hands on both platforms.

6. 

   6. Vision Beyond the Video Frame

   A minor difference, Instagram includes a slightly transparent frame around the video, in shooting mode. (Notice the white writing on the blue card in the screengrab above.) Depending on the user, this will either improve or confuse video shooting. You may find it helps to frame your video, if you're very particular. For others, this outside-frame movement may get in the way.

   Note: When comparing this feature on iOS, we noticed the frame appears above and below the video on iPhone 5, but only above on iPhone 4S (due to differences in screen size).

Image via Ian Gavan/Getty Images