Early in the AI revolution, I tested a site that could take a static image and animate it to appear to sing. While this software technically created what is commonly known as a deepfake, the resulting video was not likely to fool anyone into thinking it was an actual video of the person (or animal!) singing the song the image was set to.
With that said, this could be a fun tool to amuse your family and friends. All you need is a mobile device and the Avatarify app. Head to your device’s app store ([Google] Play Store or [Apple] App Store) and install Avatarify.
Create a Video
The first time you open the app, you may be prompted to buy a subscription. Dismiss it by clicking the X in the upper left corner of the screen.
Step 1: Pick a Song from the Avatarify Library
All of the songs in the Avatarify library are free to use with this app. If you want to upload your own song, they have a form for that. It must be uploaded as a 10-second video with your “dancing face” singing the song. But the upload isn’t guaranteed. A staff member will review the song to confirm it isn’t copyrighted before adding it to the Avatarify library.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a search function for finding a song in the catalog. Categories are listed with a numbered link next to each. Tap the top one (297 next to Trending) to see the most songs.
Scroll through to find a song you want to use. Note that songs labeled “Pro” require a paid account. Tap to select a song.
Upload Your Image
Whether you want to add yourself, another person, or an animal, you will need to find an image that shows the face close up, in detail. Alternatively, you can use one of the images they provide.
For my first try, I uploaded an image of my cat, Cinnamon. In the next step, the app prompted me to line up a face shape over the top of the cat’s face. It correctly identified the face to animate, but the output was awful. It animated one side of her face, despite correctly identifying her eyes and mouth.
I wanted to try again with a human face, to see if that worked better. This is when I learned the free version limits the user to one video per day.
Create a Video: Take Two
Fast forward to the next day. For this video, I used one of the images provided in the app.
I chose the song “Happy Birthday” and used their image of Elon Musk. Here is the result:
This time, the face was animated properly. By that, I mean his mouth and eyes moved and blinked. It wasn’t a very realistic fake, though. The most obvious clue is that the song is sung by a woman.
Summary
Avatarify is a simple tool for sharing silly videos with friends, but if you’re looking for an AI tool to help you create a convincing deepfake video, this probably isn’t the platform for you. To learn more about creating memes and videos, check out these posts.
