How to do the Smalltown Boy AI trend for free (the screaming pets)

The short answer

Yes, you can do the Smalltown Boy trend for free in two ways: film your own two pets and cut the clips to the song, or paste a written prompt into the free tier of an AI video tool with a photo of each pet. Filming it yourself gets you your real pets, but not the upright scream-and-dance. Free AI tools cost you retries, and on most of them a watermark and no song.

If you’d rather skip all that, the paid route on the Smalltown Boy page makes the 15-second video from a photo of each pet, by the red fence, with the song already in it.

The free routes compared

What happens in the video

It’s 15 vertical seconds of two pets on their hind legs, with four hard cuts. In plain words:

1. The scream: the first pet is right up against a wide phone lens, paws on its head, mouth wide open. The other dances behind it.
2. Paws on the lens: the first pet reaches out and pats the camera.
3. The swap: hard cut at about 6 seconds, and now the second pet screams up close while the first dances behind.
4. Side by side: a wider shot of the two of them swaying together by the fence.
5. The rush: in the last two seconds, both rush the lens, paws first.

The swap is the moment people watch for. Whichever route you take, make sure it lands clearly, with a hard cut, at about 6 seconds.

Free route 1: film your own pets

1. Hold the phone vertical, low, at your pet’s eye level, with a plain wall or fence behind it.
2. Film each pet on its own, as close to the lens as it will come. A big yawn is the closest thing to the scream; a paw reaching for the phone is the lens pat.
3. Film the two of them together, a little further back.
4. In CapCut, put the first pet’s clip first, cut to the second pet at about 6 seconds, then the two together to the end.
5. Add the Smalltown Boy sound when you post.

Keep it fun for them: no lifting your pet onto its back legs, no holding its paws up, and stop if it’s had enough. Use your own footage, never someone else’s video.

Free route 2: our prompt in an AI tool’s free tier

1. Open an AI video tool that takes two reference images, such as Kling, Higgsfield, Runway or Veo. Free tiers change, so check what’s on offer.
2. Attach a photo of the pet that screams first, then a photo of the other one.
3. Copy the prompt from the Smalltown Boy AI prompt guide and paste it in.
4. Set vertical 9:16 and 15 seconds, or the longest the free tier allows.
5. Generate, then add the Smalltown Boy sound when you post.

Expect a retry or two: the two pets swapping coats, a collar or bell that isn’t there in real life, a third cat and extra legs are the usual problems. The fix-it table in the prompt guide covers them. If your tool takes only one image, a photo with both pets in it can work, but expect them to get mixed up more often.

The fence, the scream and the swap

The place is part of the joke: a tall, dark-red wooden fence with ivy along the top, grey ground and flat daylight, so the only drama in the frame is the scream. It’s filmed on a wide phone lens, which is why the screaming pet looks so big and the one behind looks so small.

• Two pets that look different read best: the swap only works if you can tell who’s screaming.
• Put the drama queen first. The pet in the first photo screams first.
• Cats started it, and they come out best so far. Dogs work too; long, floppy ears can come out a little different.

The paid route: two photos, song included

On the Smalltown Boy page you add a photo of each pet. Your first pet screams into the lens with its paws on its head and pats the camera, then they swap and your second pet screams, then the two of them dance side by side by the red fence and rush the lens together. Each keeps its own face, coat and markings.

No prompt, no treats and no editing.

One Standard video uses 65 credits. The smallest pack that makes one is $9.90 for 90 credits (1 video), a one-time buy whose credits never expire, and plans start at $19.90 a month for 270 credits. If a video fails, its credits come back.

It’s 15 seconds, vertical, with the song and no watermark, ready in a few minutes. We email you when it’s ready and it waits in My videos. Your photos are deleted automatically 7 days after upload. Full prices are on Pricing.

Which one should you pick?

• Film your pets if you want the real them and you’re happy with yawns instead of screams. It’s free.
• Use the free prompt if you like tinkering and don’t mind a watermark or a few tries.
• Use two photos if you want the whole upright scream, swap and dance, done once with the song in.

New to the trend? Read what the Smalltown Boy trend is, and check the photo guide before you upload.

NowStarring is an independent fan tool, not linked to Bronski Beat, their label, the song’s rights holders or the creators who started the trend, and the song belongs to its rights holders.

Domande frequenti

Is the Smalltown Boy trend free?

It can be. Film your own pets and cut the clips to the song, or paste a written prompt into an AI video tool’s free tier with a photo of each pet. NowStarring has no free videos; it’s the paid route from two photos.

Can I film my real pets doing it?

Partly. No pet screams or stands up and dances on cue, so the real version is a cut of what your pets already do: a big yawn up close for the scream, then both of them together. The upright dance is what the AI routes add.

Do I need two pets?

For the trend as it’s posted, yes: it’s a duo, and the joke is the swap. Each pet needs its own photo. If you have one pet, a friend’s pet works, with their yes.

Do I need a red fence?

No. A plain wall works for filming it yourself. The dark-red fence with ivy is where the trend started, and the AI routes put your pets there.

Does a free AI video come with the song?

Usually not. Most AI tools make a silent clip or their own music, so you add the Smalltown Boy sound when you post.

Can people do it?

Not on NowStarring yet: for now the video is made for two pets, and the prompt in our guide is written for pets too.