Bad Times AI trend for free: every route compared
Make the Bad Times AI trend for free: film it in your kitchen, try a CapCut template or run a free prompt in an AI video app. What each route gets you.
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The short answer
Yes, you can make the Bad Times AI trend for free in two ways: film the kitchen routine yourself, or paste our free prompt into an AI video app’s free tier. Free costs you something else: retries, a possible watermark or a shorter clip, and no song, which you add when you post.
| Route | What you need | What you get | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Film it yourself | A phone, a kitchen, 15 seconds of nerve | The real thing, in your own kitchen, with your own face | You have to perform it, and a pet won’t do it for you |
| CapCut template | The CapCut app and a photo or clip | A quick edit set to the song | Templates rarely copy this exact routine; it’s often photos cut to the beat |
| Free prompt in an AI app | A photo, an account on an AI video app, our prompt | An AI clip of you or your pet in a kitchen | Timing drifts, paws can turn into hands, and you add the song yourself |
| One photo on NowStarring | One photo and credits | The full routine, on the beat, with the song in the file | It isn’t free: there are no free credits |
If you’re new to the trend, start with what the Bad Times AI trend is. The Bad Times page shows finished examples.
Film it yourself: the shot plan
The original is one take on a phone in a home kitchen, no cuts. Prop the phone on the counter at chest height, step back until you’re in frame from head to knees, and play the song out loud so you can lip-sync it.
- 0–1 s: face buried in both hands, like you’ve heard enough.
- 1–2 s: your head snaps up, hands to your temples, a glare straight down the lens.
- 2–3 s: turn side-on, one hand on your hip, the other palm up: excuse me?
- 3–6 s: the back of your hand to your forehead, a big eye-roll, hips swaying.
- 6–10 s: square up and push both palms at the phone in a stop, nodding on every beat.
- 10–11 s: on the drop, lunge at the phone.
- 11–14.5 s: up close, a sarcastic thumbs-up, then point and count off on your fingers while you mouth along.
- 14.5–15 s: slap a hand flat over the lens.
- Do a dry run without the phone so the drop doesn’t catch you out.
- Keep the background tidy but lived-in: the kitchen is part of the joke.
- The lunge and the slap are what people wait for, so save your energy for them.
The free prompt route, step by step
AI video apps such as Kling, Higgsfield, Runway, Veo and CapCut’s AI video turn a photo and a written prompt into a clip. Some give new accounts something to try, so check what each one offers today.
- Pick a photo of you, head to knees, facing the camera, in soft light. For a pet, the whole body at its eye level.
- Copy the prompt from our Bad Times AI prompt guide. It has a person version and a pet version.
- In the app, choose image-to-video, upload the photo, paste the prompt and set the shape to vertical 9:16.
- Generate. If the moves come out in the wrong order or too slow, use the fix-it table in the prompt guide and run it again.
- Download the clip and add the Bad Times sound when you post. Our sound guide walks through it.
AI apps don’t hear the song while they make the clip, so the drop won’t land on the beat by itself. Line it up in the editor before you post.
The free route with your dog or cat
The pet version is the one people share most: a dog or cat stands up and tells off the camera with its own paws. You can’t direct a pet through 15 seconds of choreography, so for a pet the free choices are the prompt route or a template.
- Use a photo where the whole animal is in view, at its eye level, in good light.
- Use the pet version of the prompt, which tells the app to keep real paws.
- If the paws grow fingers, run it again: a pet with human hands loses the joke.
What a free CapCut template gets you
Search “Bad Times” in CapCut’s templates and you’ll find edits set to the song. Most are photo slideshows or zooms timed to the beat, not this kitchen routine. They’re fast and free to try, and some sit behind a paid tier.
If you want the moves, not just the song, read CapCut vs AI for Bad Times before you spend time on templates.
The paid route: one photo
On the Bad Times page you upload one photo of you or your pet, and you get the whole routine back in the same kitchen, on the beat, with the song already in the file. One Standard video uses 65 credits. The smallest pack that makes one is $12.90 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.
- The smallest pack, $12.90 for 90 credits, makes 1 Standard video.
- The video takes about 3 minutes. We email you when it’s ready, and it waits in My videos.
- You get a 15-second vertical MP4 with no watermark, in Standard 480p or HD 720p.
- Your photo is deleted 7 days after upload.
See plans and packs, or read how to do the Bad Times AI trend for the full walkthrough.
Which route to pick
| If you… | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Like being on camera | Film it yourself | Free, and the real thing beats any AI copy |
| Just want the song on a photo | CapCut template | Fast, and fine for a slideshow |
| Want to tinker and don’t mind retries | Free prompt | You keep control, but it takes a few goes |
| Want your pet doing the routine first time | One photo | The beats, the kitchen and the song come in one file |
NowStarring is an independent fan tool, not linked to the song’s artist or the creator of the original video. The song belongs to its rights holders.
よくある質問
Can I do the Bad Times AI trend for free?
Yes. Film it yourself, try a CapCut template, or paste our free prompt into an AI video app that gives you something to try. Our own one-photo route uses credits.
Is there a free trial on NowStarring?
No, there are no free credits. You buy a small pack or a plan, and if a video fails its credits come back automatically.
How do I make the Bad Times cat AI video for free?
Use a full-body photo of your cat and the pet version of our prompt in an AI video app. Run it again if the paws turn into hands, then add the Bad Times sound when you post.
Does the free prompt come with the song?
No. AI apps make silent clips or their own audio. Add the Bad Times sound in TikTok, Reels or Shorts when you post.
Will a free CapCut template do the dance?
Usually not. Most Bad Times templates cut photos to the beat rather than act out the kitchen routine.
What photo works best?
Head to knees, facing the camera, in soft light, or your pet’s whole body at its eye level. See the [best photo guide](/guides/best-photo-for-the-bad-times-ai-video).
