Photo 1 · 0–5.5 s
Photo 1 screams into the lens first
Hands on the head and mouth wide open, inches from an ultra-wide phone lens. Both palms then push at the camera and curl into fists under the chin. Photo 2 is the small dancer behind on the left.
Smalltown Boy AI Dance
Upload two photos and get the Smalltown Boy AI dance: you each scream into an ultra-wide lens, a hard cut swaps places, then you dance by the red fence.
- One click · no prompt
- Two photos → one scream-swap video
- Any two adults, any gender
Example · Scream swap
PNG / JPG / WebP · up to 10 MB · at least 512px on the short side
0/2 photos
Two photos, one person each, face to the camera. Photo 1 screams first and ends up on the left; photo 2 takes the longer second scream.
Video settings
No prompt needed. Only upload photos of yourself or people who agreed to be featured; celebrity photos and film stills aren't allowed.
Who screams first in the Smalltown Boy scream swap?
Photo order sets every role. The 15-second reference clip has two people and one hard cut where front and back trade places, so each photo gets a close-up and a turn as the dancer behind. Times below are in the reference clip.
The hard cut · 5.5 s
One cut flips who is in front
No transition: the frame jumps and the two trade places. Person 1 drops back to the right, and person 2 steps out from the back left into the lens. Your photos follow the same numbers.
Photo 2 · 5.5–12.9 s
Photo 2 gets the longer close-up
The second scream runs longer than the first and ends with both hands sliding down to the cheeks in mock horror, while photo 1 dances behind on the right. Give this slot to the more dramatic of the two.
Side by side · last 2.1 s
Both dance at the fence, photo 1 on the left
The wide shot brings them together, photo 1 on the left and photo 2 on the right as you watch. The original keeps going with a shot from the ground and a lunge at the lens; those come after the 15-second excerpt, so they are not in your video.
Add your two photosWhat do your two photos replace in the Smalltown Boy reel?
Your two photos replace the two people. The built-in reference clip keeps the scene and the performance, and nothing of the original pair stays on screen.
Set by your two photos
You choose- People
- Face, hair and build of each person
- Outfits
- Whatever each photo shows them wearing
Kept from the fence clip
Built in- Scene
- Red plank fence, ivy, sunny asphalt
- Camera
- Ultra-wide handheld phone lens
- Moves
- Two screams, the cut, the duo dance
Don't cry. Dance!
Who can you cast in the scream swap?
The original pair captioned it “Don't cry. Dance!”, and any two adults who agree can take it from there.
Photo 1: whoever starts the bit
Two friends who egg each other on
Roommates, best friends, the duo from the group chat. Whoever would scream first goes in photo 1; the one who can hold a longer close-up goes in photo 2.
Swap to switch roles
A couple, either way round
The original is a woman, then a man, so a couple maps straight onto it. Each slot is a role, not a gender: swap the two photos to trade the screams, and any pairing works the same way.
Photo 1: the parent
A parent and a grown-up kid
Smalltown Boy already had a parents-dance-to-the-80s moment on TikTok in 2024. Let the parent open with the scream and the adult child dance behind, then swap.
Two different photos
You, screaming at yourself
Use two different photos of the same person, ideally in different outfits, so the two of you are easy to tell apart.
“Don't cry. Dance!”: where the Smalltown Boy dance trend started
Two real creators posted the scream swap first; the cats came later, and the same song trends on TikTok for other reasons too.
| Date | What it is | Who's on screen | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 4, 2026 | The original scream swapCaption: “Don't cry. Dance!” | Two real creators | Instagram · elvira.mua.music × mr_unvrs |
| September 10, 2026 | Hand-drawn cat versionAnimation, not AI | Two cartoon cats | TikTok · @mingdooart |
| October 2, 2026 | AI cat versions go viral“The cats edition!” | Two cats | TikTok · @bellvtrix.aiSame day: Instagram · @wolzak.studio |
| September 2026 | Monster dance sceneLizzie Borden Story · separate trend | Series cast | Netflix · Monster, season 4 |
| 2024 | “Dance like it's the 80s”Same song, older challenge | Parents | TikTok challenge |
How should each photo look for an ultra-wide close-up?
Each person fills the frame for several seconds, so the face has to hold up close. Clear photos of two different-looking people also help the model keep them apart after the cut.
Holds up in the close-up
Eyes open, face square to the lens
Eyes open, whole face visible. The close-up stretches every detail.
Waist-up, outfit showing
Clothes come from your photo, so show the top and some of what's below.
Two people who look different
Different hair, clothes or build keep each person in their role after the swap.
Breaks the close-up
Sunglasses or tinted lenses
The scream is all eyes and mouth; dark or tinted lenses hide half of it.
Your hands already on your face
The clip adds the hands on the head. In the photo, keep them off the face.
A group shot in one slot
Each slot takes one person. Crop a group shot down to a single face first.
Before you postCheck both faces after the cutAdd the song in the appLabel it as AI-madeOnly adults who agreed
Photos under 512px on the short side, low light and heavy filters come out soft or unlike the person. No celebrities or film stills.
What are the Smalltown Boy AI inputs, length and credits?
Two photos in, one vertical video with generated sound out. The Generate button shows the exact price for the settings you pick.
What are the Smalltown Boy AI inputs, length and credits?
- Photos
- 2: “First scream”, then “Second scream”
- Photo files
- PNG / JPG / WebP, up to 10 MB, at least 512px on the short side
- Reference clip
- About 15 seconds built in: both screams, the swap, the start of the duo dance
- Video length
- 10–15 seconds; 15 by default, close to the reference clip
- Aspect ratio
- 9:16 by default, like the original post; also 21:9, 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 3:4, or Auto
- Resolution
- 480p, 768p, 2K, or 4K; 768p by default
- Sound
- Generated with the video; not the Bronski Beat recording
- Prompt
- None needed: roles, scene and moves are built in
- Credits
- 250–960 per video; 360 for 15 seconds at 768p
- If generation fails
- The credits are refunded automatically
More trending AI video effects
Every template works the same way: add your photos, press Generate and get a shareable video without writing a prompt.
View all effectsSmalltown Boy AI FAQ
Questions about the Smalltown Boy AI dance
What is the Smalltown Boy AI dance?+
It's the AI version of a 2026 duo trend set to Bronski Beat's “Smalltown Boy”: one person screams into an ultra-wide phone lens while the other dances behind, a hard cut swaps them, then both dance side by side at a red plank fence. Here you add two photos and the template does the rest.
Was the Smalltown Boy dance originally cats?+
No. Two real creators, elvira.mua.music and mr_unvrs, posted it on Instagram on August 4, 2026 with the caption “Don't cry. Dance!”. A hand-drawn cat version followed on September 10, 2026, and AI cat versions from October 2, 2026 are what sent it viral.
Why did the Smalltown Boy dance go viral?+
Contrast. A wistful 1984 synth-pop song with a famous falsetto plays while two people scream at the camera, and the caption turns the song's crying into an order: “Don't cry. Dance!”. AI versions with two cats screaming upright spread it further from October 2, 2026, and people went back to the original to see who did it first.
How do I make a Smalltown Boy AI dance from two photos?+
Add the person who screams first to “First scream” and the other to “Second scream”, check the price on the Generate button and start. No prompt, CapCut template or editing needed; you download a finished vertical video.
Which photo screams first, and who ends up on the left?+
Photo 1 screams first, dances behind on the right after the cut, and stands on the left in the side-by-side dance. Photo 2 dances behind on the left at the start, then takes the longer second scream. To swap roles, swap the photos.
Do we have to be a woman and a man?+
No. The slot names describe the roles in the original clip; each slot is a role, not a gender. Two women, two men or any pairing works: whoever is in the first slot screams first.
Can I use my cats or other pets?+
Not with this template. It's built for two people, and pet photos aren't supported. The viral cat versions were made by other creators with other tools.
Does the video include the Smalltown Boy song?+
No. Your video has sound generated by the model, not Bronski Beat's 1984 recording. When you post, mute or lower it, add Smalltown Boy from the TikTok or Instagram sound library like the original post did, and label the video as AI-made.
Why is it 15 seconds and not the full routine?+
The original post runs about 22 seconds, longer than the model accepts as a reference. The 15-second excerpt keeps both screams, the swap and the start of the side-by-side dance; the low-angle shot and the lunge at the lens are left out. You can pick 10 to 15 seconds; shorter videos may squeeze or drop part of the second scream.
Why do the faces sometimes swap after the cut?+
The ultra-wide distortion, the hard cut and two people in one frame make it easy for a model to mix them up. Sharp, front-facing photos of two people who look clearly different hold up best, but results vary between runs.
Is the Smalltown Boy AI dance free?+
No. Each video costs 250 to 960 credits depending on length and resolution, and 360 credits for the default 15-second 768p clip. New accounts start with 10 free credits, and previewing the effect and checking prices cost nothing.
Is this the “Ai Scream” dance?+
No. Searches for “ai scream dance” usually mean “Ai♡Scream!”, a 2025 TikTok dance by the Love Live! unit AiScReam. This page is the Smalltown Boy scream swap.
Is this an official Smalltown Boy or Bronski Beat generator?+
No. Oeneo AI isn't affiliated with Bronski Beat, the original creators, Netflix or any app named on this page. This is an independent effect based on a public trend.
Whose photos can I use, and who sees the result?+
Use yourself and adults who agreed to be in the video; no celebrities or film stills. Videos made on free accounts appear in the public Oeneo AI gallery; paid plans can keep them private.
Smalltown Boy AI dance
Pick who screams first
Add both photos in order and let the hard cut do the rest.