Smalltown Boy CapCut Template vs AI: The Wide-Angle Scream Without the Wide-Angle Lens
What CapCut offers for the Smalltown Boy scream trend, checked in October 2026, why a template can't make the close-ups for you, and how an AI template makes the duo from two photos.
The Smalltown Boy trend is two people taking turns screaming into an ultra-wide lens while the other dances behind, then dancing side by side and rushing the camera, all over Bronski Beat's 1984 synth track. It's simple to understand and annoying to film. Here is what CapCut gives you, what it can't, and how the AI version gets around the lens.
1Upload one photo per friend
Photo 1 screams first, photo 2 joins in second.
JPG, PNG, WebP or HEIC · under 20 MB0/2 photos
Add 2 photos, one each, in the order of the slots.
Photos that work best
- Clear, waist up
- Screenshots, stickers
- Head only
- Too dark or blurry
2Pick a template
- 21 s video
- 3:4, like the original
- Original song available
- No watermark
3Version
By making a video, you confirm you own these photos or have permission from everyone in them, and they don't show celebrities or anyone under 18.
Renders in about 5–10 minutes. We email you the link. Automatic refund if the photo is rejected or the render fails.
The short answer
- You have a friend, a phone with a 0.5x camera and a backyard: film it, then cut it in CapCut.
- You can't film together, or you want it from two photos: the Smalltown Boy template.
What CapCut offers
- A trend guide. CapCut has a Smalltown Boy page that describes the format, one performer filling an ultra-wide close-up with a scream while the second dances behind, then swapping, and sends you to its AI video tool rather than to a ready-made template.
- User templates. Templates set to the song cut your own clips or photos to its timing. If you've already filmed the screams, they're a quick way to edit them; if you haven't, there's nothing for the template to cut.
The hard part of this trend isn't the edit, it's the shot: a face a hand's width from a 0.5x lens, both hands in the hair, while someone dances in the background. A template can't film that.
What the AI template makes
- The first scream: photo 1 leans into the wide-angle lens, hands in the hair, while photo 2 dances behind.
- The swap: photo 2 takes the lens and screams; photo 1 dances behind.
- The backyard dance: a wide shot of the two side by side, with one low-angle shot against the sky.
- The lunge: both rush the camera for one last scream.
It's about 21 seconds with the Bronski Beat track in the file, made from two ordinary photos: no 0.5x lens, no second take. The pet version does the same with two pets. Step by step: how to make the Smalltown Boy AI video.
Side by side
| Film it + CapCut | Smalltown Boy (AI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Your own footage | Two photos, one person or pet each |
| The wide-angle screams | Only if you film them up close on 0.5x | Yes |
| Both of you in one place | Required | No, photos are enough |
| Pets | Hard to direct | Yes, two pets |
| Length | Yours | About 21 s |
| Price | Free | 40 credits and up, or $19.99 without an account |
Using both
The two combine well: make the duo here, then open the MP4 in CapCut to add "Us when the group chat says the trip is cancelled" or put it next to your own clips.
Use photos of people who agreed to it; celebrities and other public figures won't pass review.
