I came across the Tiny Desk AI trend while scrolling through TikTok. People were turning familiar performance setups into AI-generated videos with their own characters, and I thought it looked fun to try.
The video I found had three performers, and that made me think of Harry Potter, one of my favorite book series. I wanted to see what a Tiny Desk-style performance might look like with my own wizard-school-inspired trio: a lead singer, a keyboardist, and a backing singer.
While exploring PicLumen, I found a Tiny Desk AI template that looked like an easy way to try the trend. I decided to give it a go, then try making a version with my own character portraits to see how the results compared.
Method 1: Use the Ready-Made Tiny Desk AI Template
If you’d rather start with something ready to go, you can also try the Tiny Desk AI template on PicLumen.
Upload your lead singer image first. That’s the only required character image. You can also add images for the keyboardist and backing singer if you want to customize all three performers.
I adjusted the role assignments to match my setup. The reference video and other settings were already filled in, so I only needed to check the character images and roles before clicking Generate.
Method 2: Create a Tiny Desk Video from Scratch
Step 1: Generate Three Character Portraits
I started on PicLumen’s AI Image page and used the GPT-Image-2.5 Flare model to create all three portraits.
Lead Singer
Prompt:
Create an ultra-realistic character portrait of an original young adult male student at an old British academy of magic. The character belongs to a whimsical fantasy world of spellcraft, ancient libraries, enchanted architecture, and traditional magical education. Design a distinctive, original individual rather than referencing or recreating any existing movie character, book character, actor, or franchise.
Character appearance: A young adult man around 20 years old, with soft, slightly wavy dark auburn hair swept casually to one side, warm brown eyes, light olive skin, subtle freckles across his nose, and a defined but youthful jawline. Give him a thoughtful, approachable expression with a quiet sense of curiosity and confidence. His facial proportions, hairstyle, and overall appearance should be unique and natural.
Outfit: A sophisticated vintage-inspired uniform for a fictional British magical academy. He wears a cream-colored collared shirt, a deep forest-green waistcoat, a burgundy necktie with fine gold geometric lines, and a long charcoal wool robe with understated brass-colored fasteners and subtle gold piping. Add an original abstract embroidered emblem inspired by stars and botanical motifs, without any recognizable existing symbols or logos. The clothing should feel like traditional boarding-school attire adapted for a fantasy setting, with detailed wool textures, realistic stitching, and natural fabric folds.
Pose and framing: A single person standing upright, facing directly toward the camera. Front-facing head-and-shoulders to mid-torso portrait, relaxed shoulders, level chin, natural posture, and direct eye contact. Keep the entire face unobstructed, with both eyes clearly visible. Hands remain outside the main frame.
Photography and image quality: Professional photorealistic studio portrait, lifelike skin texture, natural pores, finely rendered hair strands, accurate facial anatomy, realistic eye reflections, crisp focus across the face, soft diffused studio lighting, gentle natural shadows, balanced exposure, restrained cinematic color grading, and high-resolution detail.
Background: Plain warm-gray studio backdrop with subtle depth. Clean, neutral, and free of distracting objects.
Output: Vertical 9:16 composition, one original character only, centered framing, consistent photographic treatment suitable for use as a character reference in AI video generation.
Negative constraints: No resemblance to specific actors or established fictional characters; no copied character designs, signature facial marks, iconic accessories, franchise costumes, recognizable crests, copyrighted logos, text, watermark, cartoon styling, plastic-looking skin, blurry eyes, distorted facial anatomy, or additional people.
Keyboardist
Prompt:
Create a photorealistic, cinematic character portrait of an original young adult female student at a prestigious British school of magic. She should evoke the familiar atmosphere of a classic wizarding-school fantasy, while having her own distinctive appearance and original character design.
Character appearance: A young adult woman around 20 years old, with voluminous, naturally wavy chestnut-brown hair, expressive brown eyes, fair skin with subtle natural freckles, delicate but distinctive facial features, and an intelligent, confident expression. Her face should look realistic and individual, not modeled after any specific actress or existing fictional character.
Outfit: A traditional British magical academy uniform inspired by vintage boarding-school fashion. A crisp white collared shirt, a burgundy-and-gold striped tie, a dark charcoal pleated school robe with subtle antique-gold piping, and a small original embroidered crest featuring a crescent moon and an open book. Add a dark knitted vest beneath the robe. The outfit should feel timeless, scholarly, and slightly whimsical, with realistic fabric textures and tailored details. Do not reproduce any existing film costume or recognizable franchise insignia.
Pose and composition: One person only, standing upright and facing directly toward the camera. Front-facing head-and-shoulders to mid-torso portrait, shoulders relaxed, arms naturally positioned, eyes clearly visible and looking into the camera. Keep the entire face unobstructed. Neutral, composed expression with a subtle hint of warmth and curiosity.
Photography style: Ultra-realistic professional studio photography, natural skin pores, finely detailed individual hair strands, anatomically accurate facial features, sharp focus on both eyes, soft cinematic key lighting, gentle fill light, balanced exposure, realistic colors, high dynamic range, premium character casting portrait.
Background: Plain light warm-gray studio background with very subtle atmospheric depth. No busy scenery or distracting objects.
Output requirements: Vertical 9:16 portrait, single character, centered composition, consistent realistic photographic style, high resolution, crisp facial details. This image will serve as a reference portrait for an AI video generation workflow.
Avoid: Cartoon, anime, illustration, plastic skin, excessive beauty retouching, blurry eyes, distorted hands, extra people, hats covering the face, visible text, watermarks, logos, recognizable franchise emblems, or an exact resemblance to any existing character or actor.
Backing Singer
Prompt:
Create an ultra-realistic character portrait of an original young adult male student at a traditional British academy of magic. The character should feel like a friendly, loyal, slightly mischievous student from a whimsical fantasy-school setting, while having a completely original appearance and design. Do not recreate or imitate any existing fictional character, actor, movie costume, or franchise.
Character appearance: A young adult man around 20 years old, with naturally tousled copper-auburn hair, soft waves, light skin with scattered freckles across his cheeks and nose, blue-gray eyes, and a slightly rounded, approachable face. Give him a relaxed, genuine expression with a subtle half-smile, conveying warmth, humor, and quiet confidence. His facial proportions, hairline, hairstyle, and overall appearance should be distinctive and original.
Outfit: A refined vintage-inspired uniform for a fictional British magical academy. He wears a cream-colored collared shirt, a muted olive-green knitted waistcoat, a dark burgundy tie with fine gold geometric detailing, and a long charcoal-gray wool robe with understated antique-brass fasteners and subtle gold piping. Add a small original embroidered emblem inspired by leaves and constellations, with no recognizable franchise symbols. Include realistic stitching, layered fabrics, natural folds, and tailored details.
Pose and framing: One person only, standing upright and facing directly toward the camera. Front-facing head-and-shoulders to mid-torso portrait, shoulders relaxed, chin level, arms naturally resting outside the main frame. Both eyes must be clearly visible. Keep the entire face unobstructed and sharply focused.
Photography style: Professional photorealistic studio portrait, natural skin pores, individually defined hair strands, realistic freckles, accurate facial anatomy, lifelike eye reflections, soft diffused studio lighting, gentle shadows, balanced exposure, restrained cinematic color grading, and crisp high-resolution detail.
Background: Plain warm-gray studio background with subtle depth of field, matching a professional character casting portrait. No scenery or distracting objects.
Output requirements: Vertical 9:16 portrait, centered composition, single original character, natural proportions, realistic clothing textures, and consistent photographic style suitable for an AI video character reference.
Negative constraints: No resemblance to specific actors or established fictional characters, no copied character design, no iconic movie costume, no recognizable franchise crest or logo, no text, no watermark, no additional people, no cartoon styling, no plastic skin, no blurry eyes, and no distorted facial features.
My first prompts mentioned Harry Potter characters directly, and I got a copyright-related warning. I changed the prompts to describe the characters’ appearance and wizard-school style instead of naming existing characters. That worked for my next attempts.
Step 2: Upload the Images and Reference Video
Once I had all three portraits ready, I switched to PicLumen’s AI Video page and uploaded them along with the Tiny Desk video I wanted to use as a reference.
I liked the casual, close-up feel of the original performance, so I wanted to keep a similar atmosphere in my version. With the portraits and reference video uploaded, I was ready to work on the prompt.
Step 3: Add the Video Prompt
Next, I wrote a prompt for the performance. I wanted each character to have a clear role, with the lead singer at the front, the keyboardist playing alongside them, and the backing singer joining in. I also described the cozy desk setup and warm lighting to keep the Tiny Desk feel.
Here’s the prompt I used:
Create an original, intimate three-person live music performance using the uploaded video as a general visual reference.Use Image 1 for the lead singer, Image 2 for the keyboardist, and Image 3 for the backing singer. Keep each character’s facial features, hairstyle, skin tone, and clothing consistent with their reference image throughout the video.Place the three performers in a cozy, office-style music setting with a desk, musical instruments, warm indoor lighting, and a relaxed live-performance atmosphere. Give each performer natural movements that fit their role: singing for the lead, playing the keyboard, and providing backing vocals.Use the reference video as inspiration for the overall mood and composition, while creating an original performance and shot sequence. Keep the three characters visually distinct and avoid adding extra performers or unnecessary visual effects.
Step 4: Choose the Video Settings and Generate
I used Seedance 2.5 for the video, with a 16:9 aspect ratio, 720p resolution, and an 11-second duration to match my reference clip.
Once everything was set, I clicked Generate.
Step 5: Check the Final Video
I was pretty happy with how the video turned out. The three characters were still recognizable, and their outfits looked close to the portraits I’d made. I also liked how they fit into the cozy Tiny Desk setup, especially with the desk, instruments, and warm lighting.
Which Method Would I Use?
For a quick try, I’d go with the template. But I had fun designing the three characters myself, so I’d probably use the from-scratch method again if I wanted to try another version.
