Smalltown Boy AI vs a CapCut Template: Which Should You Use?

A template you edit vs a video made from your photos

An editing template is a ready-made edit: the cuts, timing and effects are set, and you drop your own photos or clips into it. You then edit the result yourself. Nothing new is invented, so what moves on screen is what you filmed.

This generator works the other way round. You add one or two cat photos, or two photos of people, and AI makes a new video in which they perform the routine: A screams at the lens, B dances behind, they swap at 0:07, dance side by side and rush the camera. It does not place a finished cat clip over your photo; your photos are references for the performers.

What you need for each

A template needs footage worth cutting to the beat. If the template expects a cat screaming into the lens, you need a clip of your cat doing something close to that, which most cats will not do on cue.

The generator needs only photos: one cat per photo, or one person per photo, with a clear face and good light. There is no filming, no editing and no prompt to write. You pick Pets or People, pick a scene, and pay.

What you get

With a template you get your real footage, edited the way you like. What the app lets you export, which sounds you can use and what it costs depend on that app, so check CapCut's own pages for its current templates, plans and terms.

With Smalltown Boy Cat you get a silent 21-second MP4 in 1080p, vertical 9:16, with no watermark, usually ready in 10–15 minutes. The routine itself is fixed, so you cannot re-cut it, and because it is AI-generated, faces, markings or paws can change in fast moves. One video costs $7.99, in one-time packs of 1, 3 or 5 videos with no subscription and no account; see pricing.

Which one should you pick?

A quick way to decide:

• Pick a template if you already have good clips and want to edit every cut, add text or keep it real footage.
• Pick the generator if you want your cat, or you and a friend, to actually perform the screaming routine from photos alone.
• Pick the generator for two cats on stage together, even if only one of them is yours: with one cat photo, AI adds a made-up dancer as B.

Use both

The two are not exclusive. Your download is a plain MP4, so you can bring it into the editor you already use to add text, a caption card or the sound before posting, or add the sound in TikTok, Reels or Shorts as our song guide explains.

Either way, say that the generated version is AI: every video made here is labelled as AI-generated, and it should not be presented as real footage. Smalltown Boy Cat is an independent tool and is not affiliated with CapCut, Bronski Beat or the trend's original creators.