How to make an Outstanding Tiny Desk AI video
The Outstanding Tiny Desk AI generator turns one portrait into a short performance behind a tiny desk. You do not write a prompt. The template you pick already carries the band, the room and the camera move, and your photo replaces the lead in that reference.
Start from a desk, not a blank prompt
Open the workspace and choose a template first. Each card is a finished reference clip: a friends band, college teammates, a coaches’ desk, five strangers, or the original office concert. The generator sends that clip with your photo, so the result follows the reference instead of inventing a performance from text.
Friends Band is the first template because it is the simplest one to upload: one adult portrait replaces the lead, and the band, desk and room stay with the reference.
Match the photo to the desk
Every Tiny Desk template needs one clear, front-facing portrait. Head and shoulders is enough; a full body helps when the template walks into frame. Avoid sunglasses, heavy filters, cropped heads and tiny figures in a wide group shot.
The model keeps your face, hair and outfit. A second face in the frame is ignored rather than blended in, so there is no need to upload a group photo.
Frame, quality and credits before you submit
The template sets the length. Each desk clip runs 11 or 14 seconds and the render follows it, because that clip is uploaded as the reference for your run. You choose the frame — 9:16, 1:1 or 16:9 — and the quality, 768P or 2K.
The estimate shown in the workspace is the amount that will be charged, and it covers the template reference as well as the output. A 14-second 768P render is 10 credits; the 11-second Five Strangers clip is 8. 2K costs more, so check the number before you create. Failed runs return the credits automatically.
Post it with the sound
The file comes back silent and 14 seconds long. That is deliberate: add a licensed or trending sound in TikTok, Reels or Shorts when you publish, and the performance lines up with the audio.
Write a one-line hook, name the template, and tag the people in it. A short caption beats a paragraph.