Bad Times AI: The Bad Times Video, Starring You or Your Pet
Head in hands, a stop palm at the lens, then a walk right up to the camera to point and argue with whoever is watching. One photo of you, or of your dog or cat, is all it takes.
Updated : Page published.
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In one sentence
Bad Times AI is the 15-second TikTok clip in which a person, or a dog or cat standing upright, performs an over-the-top argument with the camera to Imael Angel's song "Bad Times", ending in a finger-pointing close-up; videosi makes it from one photo of you.
- Fast facts
- First seen
- Stage
- Spreading
- Started on
- TikTok (unconfirmed)
- Sound
- Bad Times — Imael Angel
- Meaning
- The Bad Times trend is a TikTok format in which a person or an upright pet performs an exaggerated argument with the camera to Imael Angel's song "Bad Times", ending by walking up to the lens and wagging a finger.
- Related trends
- Cat Dancing AI
Page updates
- October 26, 2026 — Page published.
How it is made
The Bad Times AI prompt and model
Bad Times AI is made with Seedance 2.0 / 2.5 (you pick the tier) by ByteDance. The prompt behind it has 5 parts, and the timing is what makes or breaks it.
- Model
- Seedance 2.0 / 2.5 (you pick the tier)
- Mode
- Photo + motion reference to video
- Length
- 15 seconds, 9:16 or 16:9
- Input
- 1 photo
- Identity lock Your photo is the only source for the performer: your face, hair and outfit, or your pet's breed, coat and markings, held in every frame.
- Motion reference A 15-second clip of the original kitchen take supplies the moves, timing and the walk toward the lens, and nothing else.
- Scene One bright home kitchen with daylight, nobody else in the shot.
- Timeline Six beats, from head in hands to the stop palm, the walk-in and the finger-pointing close-up.
- Rules Comic, never threatening; paws stay paws for pets; no text, logos, slow motion or cuts.
Photorealistic live-action phone footage, 15 seconds, one continuous take, phone on a tripod at chest height in a home kitchen.…
Why it goes wrong when you do it yourself
- Without a motion reference the walk-in and the close-up rarely land on the beat, and the clip loses its punchline.
- Pets grow human fingers on their paws unless the prompt forbids it outright and repeats it for the close-up.
- The face or the coat drifts in the close-up, where it fills the frame, unless the identity lock comes first.
- Each try costs model credits and several minutes, and getting a standing pet to look natural can take several tries.
Bad Times AI examples
Husky Bad Times argument
Towel dog Bad Times
Cat points at camera
How to make your Bad Times AI video
Upload one photo
A photo of yourself, or of your dog or cat, facing the camera in good light. For a person, knee-up or full body works best; for a pet, the whole body.
Pick who performs
Choose You or Your pet. The pet version keeps the animal standing on its hind legs and turns every hand move into a paw move.
Generate and download
Press Generate and the 15-second clip is rendered for you, a silent MP4 with no watermark, saved in My creations.
Add the Bad Times sound and post
Open TikTok, Reels or CapCut, add Imael Angel's "Bad Times" from the sound library and line the close-up up with the hook.
What is the Bad Times AI trend?
Updated · videosi is an independent tool. It is not affiliated with TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, or with the owners of any trend, song, game or brand named on its pages.
Bad Times is a 15-second TikTok format built on one performance. Someone stands in a kitchen with the phone on a tripod, clutches their head, waves the bad times away, puts a hand on the hip and one on the forehead, holds a palm up to the lens like a traffic cop, then walks straight into the camera to point and argue with the viewer. It is not choreography so much as a lip-synced argument, played for laughs.
The performance that set the template is a close-up lip-sync by a French TikTok creator, first posted in late August 2026 according to one trend write-up (unconfirmed). The pet version took over in late September: on 22 September 2026 a clip of a dark shepherd dog standing upright and doing every move in a kitchen was posted, and dog, husky and cat versions followed through October, many of them made with AI video models.
The song is "Bad Times" by Imael Angel, a deep house track released in March 2026 whose "da da dadada" hook is what most posts are cut to. It charted in the UK and reached the US iTunes Top 10 in October 2026. Its production is described as AI-assisted, which is not officially confirmed.
This page does the AI version for you. The moves and camera come from a motion reference of the original kitchen take; you upload one photo of yourself or your pet and get a silent 15-second clip. Nobody actually sings in the result: you add the Bad Times sound on TikTok, Reels or CapCut when you post.
Bad Times AI: shot by shot
- 0–2 s
Head in hands
Both hands, or both front paws, clutch the head, eyes shut tight, as if the bad times just landed.
- 2–3 s
The brush-off
One hand flicks out to the side to wave the bad times away.
- 3–6 s
Hand on hip, hand on head
One hand on the hip, the other on the forehead, swaying with the beat in a wide shot of the kitchen.
- 6–10 s
Stop palm
An open palm is pushed at the lens like a stop sign, then both hands go up and the head shakes in disbelief.
- 10–11 s
The walk-in
Two quick steps straight toward the camera until the face fills the frame.
- 11–15 s
The argument
Close-up: a finger, or a paw, points straight down the lens and wags, eyebrows up, mouth moving on the beat as if arguing with the viewer.
Tips for a better result
Show the whole body
The first ten seconds are a wide shot. A knee-up or full-body photo of you, or a full-body photo of your pet, gives the model your legs, paws and outfit instead of inventing them.
Face the camera
The clip ends in a close-up that fills the frame. A front-facing photo with the eyes clearly visible keeps the likeness in that last shot.
One subject only
Use a photo with one person or one animal. A second person or pet in the background can end up performing too.
Plain light, no sunglasses
Even daylight works best. Sunglasses, hats and heavy shadows make the face drift during the walk-in.
Good to know before you make a Bad Times AI video
- The video is silent and nobody really sings: the mouth moves on the beat, but there is no voice. Add the Bad Times song yourself on TikTok, Reels or CapCut.
- Pets stand upright for the whole clip, which is the joke of the trend. Now and then a paw looks odd for a few frames, especially in the close-up.
- The kitchen is a generic one, not the original creator's, and the moves follow the original take, not the many remixes.
- Likeness is not guaranteed. A failed, timed-out or blocked render returns its credits automatically. videosi is not affiliated with Imael Angel, TikTok or CapCut.
Bad Times AI ideas and prompts
| Idea | Prompt | |
|---|---|---|
| You argue with the camera | You do the original kitchen take: head in hands, stop palm, walk-in and the finger in the lens. | |
| Your dog or cat argues with the camera | Your pet stands on its hind legs and does every move with its paws, ending nose-to-lens. |
Bad Times AI: questions
What is the Bad Times AI trend?
The Bad Times AI trend is a 15-second TikTok format, spreading since September 2026, in which a person or a dog or cat standing upright performs a theatrical argument with the camera to Imael Angel's "Bad Times": head in hands, a stop palm, then a walk-in and a finger in the lens. videosi makes it from one photo.
How do I make the Bad Times AI video with my dog or cat?
Upload one full-body photo of your pet to videosi's Bad Times AI, choose Your pet, pick 9:16 or 16:9 and press Generate. You get a 15-second silent MP4 in which your dog or cat stands upright and does every move with its paws. There is no prompt to write; add the Bad Times sound where you post.
Can I make the Bad Times video with my own photo?
Yes. Choose You on videosi's Bad Times AI and upload one knee-up or full-body photo of yourself. The 15-second clip keeps your face, hair and outfit and follows the original kitchen take beat for beat, from head in hands to the finger-pointing close-up. Photos of celebrities and minors are not accepted.
Is there a Bad Times AI video generator?
Yes. videosi (videosi.io) is a web tool that makes the Bad Times video from one photo of you or your pet, with the moves, camera and prompt already built in. A standard 15-second video (Standard model, 720p) is 13 credits, and the MP4 downloads without a watermark. Our dedicated site badtimesdanceai.com also adds the sound.
Is there a Bad Times CapCut template or TikTok filter?
CapCut has user templates for the Bad Times dance, and they change often, so search inside the app. They animate a photo with a preset effect. videosi's Bad Times AI is a web tool instead: it renders a new 15-second performance from your photo, which you can then open in CapCut or TikTok to add the song.
Does the Bad Times AI video sing or lip-sync the song?
No. videosi's Bad Times AI video is silent: the performer's mouth moves on the beat in the close-up, but there is no voice and no music in the 15-second MP4. Add Imael Angel's "Bad Times" from the TikTok, Reels or CapCut sound library and line the close-up up with the "da da dadada" hook.
What AI model and prompt make the Bad Times AI video?
videosi makes Bad Times AI with ByteDance's Seedance video model (Seedance 2.0 Mini by default; Fast, Pro and Ultra, which is Seedance 2.5, are one click away), using a five-part prompt and a 15-second motion reference of the kitchen take. The full prompt is not published; the page shows its structure and an excerpt.
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Go deeper on Bad Times AI
Bad Times AI for dogs and cats ↗
Our dedicated Bad Times site has dog, cat, solo and duo templates, and adds the original sound to the finished clip for you.
How the Bad Times prompt works ↗
What each part of the prompt controls, and why a prompt copied from a tutorial gives pets human fingers.
Dancing Dog AI ↗
More ways to make your dog dance from one photo.
Make your Bad Times AI video
Upload a photo and press Generate. 13 credits, refunded if it fails.
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