How to do the Turn the Lights Off AI trend for free

The short answer

Yes, you can do the Turn the Lights Off AI trend for free in two ways: film it yourself somewhere dark with coloured lights, or paste a written prompt into the free tier of an AI video tool with your photo attached. Free costs you time and retries, and on most AI tools a watermark and no song.

If you’d rather skip all that, the paid route on the Turn the Lights Off page makes the 10-second video from one photo of you or your pet, with the song already in it.

The free routes compared

What you actually do

There’s no routine to learn. The whole trend is one feeling: you’ve stopped caring who’s watching. In plain words:

1. Eyes closed: chin up, a small smile, nod slowly to the song.
2. Hands to heart: just before the drop, bring both hands to your chest.
3. The drop: throw both arms straight up, right on the beat.
4. Sway: side to side, eyes still closed, arms high.
5. Let the room take over: whoever is filming steps back and the crowd fills the frame.

The arms going up on the drop is the whole payoff, so practise with the song a few times until you can feel it coming. Keep your eyes closed the entire time; opening them breaks the spell.

Free route 1: film it yourself

1. Find somewhere dark with coloured light: a club or party, or your living room with the lamps off and a disco light or a TV glowing behind you.
2. Have whoever is filming start close on your face, holding the phone vertical.
3. Play the song out loud so you can hear the drop coming.
4. Eyes closed, nod along, then hands to your chest just before the drop.
5. Arms straight up on the drop, and sway.
6. The person filming walks slowly backward until the room is in the frame. Keep your eyes closed until they stop.

Filming in a real club? Ask before you point a camera at strangers, and keep the people around you out of focus or from behind.

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

1. Open an AI video tool’s image-to-video or reference-image mode, such as Kling, Higgsfield, Runway, Veo or CapCut’s AI video tools. Free tiers change, so check what’s on offer.
2. Attach one clear photo: your face and shoulders, or your pet’s face and front paws.
3. Copy the person or pet prompt from the Turn the Lights Off AI prompt guide and paste it in.
4. Set vertical 9:16 and 10 seconds, or the longest the free tier allows.
5. Generate, then add the Turn the Lights Off sound when you post.

Expect a retry or two: eyes that open too early and hands with extra fingers are the usual problems. The fix-it table in the prompt guide covers them.

The Turn the Lights Off trend with your dog or cat

The pet version is the one people send to everyone: a dog or cat with its eyes closed, up on its hind legs, both paws in the air on the drop. Your pet won’t do that on cue, so for a pet the routes are AI: the free prompt, or one photo here.

• Use a photo of your pet’s face and front paws, at its eye level, in good light.
• Use the pet prompt, which asks for real paws, not human hands.
• Any size works. Small dogs and cats on their hind legs are just funnier.

The paid route: one photo, song included

On the Turn the Lights Off page you add one photo of you or your pet and get the whole clip: eyes closed in a packed club, hands to heart, arms (or paws) straight up on the drop, and the camera pulling back into the crowd, timed to the song. You dance in the clothes from your photo.

One Standard video uses 45 credits. The smallest pack that makes one is $12.90 for 90 credits (2 videos), 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 vertical, with no watermark. We email you when it’s ready and it waits in My videos. Your photo is deleted automatically 7 days after upload. Full prices are on Pricing.

Which one should you pick?

• Film it yourself if you’re going out anyway, or have a dark room and a friend. It’s free and it’s really you.
• Use the free prompt if you like tinkering and don’t mind a watermark or a few tries.
• Use one photo if you want the packed club, want your pet in it, or want it done once with the song in.

New to the trend? Read what the Turn the Lights Off trend is, and check the photo guide before you upload.

NowStarring is an independent fan tool, not linked to Kato, the TV series the trend comes from or anyone in it. The song belongs to its rights holders.

Perguntas

Is the Turn the Lights Off AI trend free?

It can be. Film it yourself somewhere dark with coloured lights, or paste a written prompt into an AI video tool’s free tier with your photo. NowStarring has no free videos; it’s the paid one-photo route.

Do I need to be in a club?

No. A dark room with a disco light, a party or a festival crowd works. The trend is about your face and your arms, not the venue.

Can I do the Turn the Lights Off trend alone?

Yes. Prop your phone up or ask one friend to film. The original moment is someone dancing on their own, so a crowd is a bonus, not a must.

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 Turn the Lights Off sound when you post.

Can my dog do it for free?

Only with AI. Your dog won’t stand up with its eyes closed on cue, so for a pet the free route is the pet prompt in an AI tool’s free tier.

When do the arms go up?

Right on the drop, a few seconds in. Hands come to your chest just before it, then both arms go straight up.