How to Make an Outstanding Tiny Desk AI Video of Yourself, Step by Step

The photo matters more than anything else, because the video rebuilds the lead singer’s face from it. Use a normal phone photo in which the person looks toward the camera, the eyes are visible and the light is even. A selfie works. Head and shoulders is the framing that gives the best results, and JPG, PNG and WebP files up to 10 MB are accepted.

A plain, light background helps. In our tests, a very dark or cluttered photo background sometimes showed up in the lead singer’s shots, so a simple backdrop is the safer choice. The expression in the photo can carry over too, so a relaxed, natural face is a better starting point than an unusual one.

Every video follows the same five shots in about 19 seconds. Your photo is used for the lead singer’s two shots, and the rest of the band is generated unless you add more photos. Add a sax photo and the sax shot is yours too; choose Full band and you can add up to five photos, one for each seat, which costs 20 credits.

A video uses 10 credits, or 20 for the full band. Credits are sold in one-time packs with no subscription: 10 credits (one video) for $9.90, 30 credits (three videos) for $19.90 or 50 credits (five videos) for $29.90. A full band video uses 20 credits. A full band video needs 20 credits in your balance, so a single 10-credit pack is not enough. Credits never expire. If a video fails, its credits are returned automatically, and an unused pack can be refunded in cash within 14 days.

You sign in with Google or an email address. You do this when you press the generate button, not before, so you can choose your photo first. Your photo stays in your browser while you sign in or pay, and when payment finishes the page returns to the home page and starts the video for you.

Generation takes a few minutes. While you wait, the page shows a progress panel with a running timer. You can lock your phone or switch apps, and you can close the page: the finished video is waiting when you come back signed in. Your uploaded photo is used only for your video and is deleted within 7 days.

If something goes wrong, the panel tells you, and the credits for that video go back to your balance automatically. You do not need to contact anyone to get them back.

Press the download button to save the MP4. It is vertical, so it fits TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts without cropping, and the sound is already in the file, so you do not need to add a track.

Before you post, switch on the AI-generated content label in the post settings. TikTok’s synthetic media policy asks creators to label AI-generated content that shows realistic scenes, and an honest label also protects you if the clip is shared further. Keep the caption light, and do not present the clip as real footage.

If you are not sure what to make, read Tiny Desk AI video ideas for friends, teams and group chats. If you want the background on the clip everyone is copying, read what the AI Tiny Desk trend is.