v1.0.0 to v1.0.0

---

name: varg-birthday-video

description: >-

Turns a name, an age and a few photos into a personalized AI birthday video on varg: a song that sings their

name, their photo coming to life as they blow out the candles, a "then and now" montage, an epic trailer

starring them, a pet's birthday, an animated e-card or invitation. Asks the 5 questions that make it theirs,

license: MIT

metadata:

author: vargHQ

version: "1.0.0"

openclaw:

requires:

anyBins:

- curl

homepage: https://varg.ai/how-to/make-a-birthday-video

compatibility: >-

Needs a VARG_API_KEY with curl (see the varg-ai skill) or the varg MCP connection (https://mcp.varg.ai/mcp).

ffmpeg for scripts/assemble.sh (joining clips and laying the song).

allowed-tools: Bash(curl:*) Bash(jq:*) Bash(ffmpeg:*) Bash(ffprobe:*) Bash(bash:*) Read Write Edit

---

# Personalized AI birthday video

A name, an age and one to twenty photos in; a 15–60 s video that is unmistakably theirs out: their name sung on

the hook, their face (or their dog's), the details only their people know. Generic "Happy Birthday" templates

are what everyone already gets; the reason to make one with an agent is that it can be about one person.

Generation runs on varg: REST `https://api.varg.ai/v2` (the `varg-ai` skill) or the MCP server

`https://mcp.varg.ai/mcp` (`generate_image`, `generate_video`, `generate_music`, `call_tool`, `get_job`,

`estimate_cost`). Quote the price of every clip before it runs.

## 1. Ask five things, then go

1. **Who and how to say it:** the name as they spell it and how it sounds, the age (or "don't say it"), and who

is sending it (partner, best friend, kids to a parent, a team).

2. **Three true details:** a habit, a place, a joke, a pet, a dream. They go into the song and the scenes.

3. **Photos:** one clear, front-facing photo of the birthday person for a face that must match (more angles

help), or 6–20 photos across the years for a montage. Ask whether they agree to their face being animated; for

a surprise, the sender vouches for it. Never animate a stranger's or a celebrity's face.

4. **The format** (section 2) and the tone: funny, heartfelt, epic or cute.

5. **Where it plays:** WhatsApp or iMessage (9:16, under 60 s, under 16 MB), an Instagram story (9:16, 15 s

parts), or the TV at the party (16:9, 60–120 s). Ask the date: if it is today, pick a format that is done in

one pass (A or B).

## 2. Pick the format

| | Format | What it is | Made with | Credits (tested) |

|---|---|---|---|---|

| A | **The song with their name** | An original song with the name on the chorus, over their photos or one clip | `eleven_music_v2_5` + photos | ~8–10 per song |

| B | **Their photo comes to life** | Their photo, a cake with the name piped on it, they blow out the candles, confetti | `gpt_image_2_5` still → `wan_3` or `seedance_2_5` | ~22 + 100 (Wan, 10 s) or 339 (Seedance, 8 s, audio) |

| C | **Then and now** | Baby photo to today: each photo becomes the next, the age counting up | photos → `kling_v4` or `seedance_2_5` first/last frames | ~80–200 per transition |

| D | **The trailer of their life** | An epic movie trailer starring them, title card "{NAME}: {AGE}" | face sheet → `seedance_2_5` multi-shot | ~340 per 8 s shot |

| E | **The pet's birthday** | The dog or cat in a party hat, the cake made for dogs, a tiny party | pet photo → `gpt_image_2_5` → `wan_3` | ~120 |

| F | **Animated card or invitation** | A 3D, clay, paper pop-up or watercolor card that opens to the message | `gpt_image_2_5` → `wan_3`, or HyperFrames for the text | ~25–120 |

Formats, the prompts that made the viral examples and their styles: `references/formats.md`,

`references/styles.md`. The song: `references/song.md`.

## 3. Stills first, then motion

1. **Make the key still** with `gpt_image_2_5` (it spells short words right: put the exact text in quotes and

spell it out, "the words "MAYA 30", spelled M-A-Y-A then 3-0"). With a face, pass the photo as the reference:

`generate_image { prompt, reference_image }` or `POST /v2/image` with `files`. Look at it at full size before

spending on video: the face, the hands, the text, no logos.

2. **Animate it** with the still as the first frame (`POST /v2/video` with `files: [{url}]`):

`wan_3` (best value, 2–30 s) or `seedance_2_5` (native sound: the breath, the cheers, the crackle). Write the

action in timed beats and say what must not change ("the letters MAYA 30 stay exactly the same").

3. **Make the song** (`references/song.md`) and transcribe it to find where the name is sung.

4. **Join and export** with `scripts/assemble.sh` (below).

```bash

# key still

curl -s -X POST https://api.varg.ai/v2/image -H "Authorization: Bearer $VARG_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \

-d '{"model":"gpt_image_2_5","aspect_ratio":"9:16","prompt":"<still prompt>","files":[{"url":"FACE_PHOTO_URL"}]}'

# animate it

curl -s -X POST https://api.varg.ai/v2/video -H "Authorization: Bearer $VARG_API_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \

-d '{"model":"wan_3","duration":10,"aspect_ratio":"9:16","files":[{"url":"STILL_URL"}],"prompt":"<timed action>"}'

# poll: GET https://api.varg.ai/v2/jobs/<id> until status is completed, then output.outputs[0].url

```

## 4. Join, lay the song, export

```bash

bash scripts/assemble.sh -s 9.5 -k birthday.mp4 song.mp3 clip1.mp4 clip2.mp4

```

It scales every clip to 1080×1920 (`-W 1920 -H 1080` for a TV), joins them, starts the song at the given second

(the line before the first sung name), keeps the clips' own cheers under it (`-k`), fades out, normalizes to

-14 LUFS and writes H.264 + AAC with faststart: the file WhatsApp, iMessage and Instagram play without

re-encoding. Cut a clip before it goes wrong with `ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -t 4.6 -c:v libx264 -c:a aac cut.mp4`.

## 5. Check before you send

- The face is theirs in every shot (eyes, hairline, skin, glasses). If it drifts, use fewer seconds per shot or

`varg-consistent-characters`.

- The name is spelled right on every surface it appears (cake, banner, title) and in the song's transcript.

- Candles: once blown out they stay out. In our Wan 3 test they lit again at 4.8 s; cut before that or ask for

"the candles stay out, only smoke rises".

- Five fingers, no melted cake, no extra guests appearing from nowhere, no brand logos on the cake or balloons.

- It plays with the sound off: the name and the age are on screen, not only in the song.

## Tested

2026-10-30, a fictional 30-year-old "Maya" (no real person): the key still on `gpt_image_2_5`, 9:16 (22 credits,

"MAYA 30" spelled right on the first try); `seedance_2_5`, 8 s, 720p, with sound, from the still (308 credits: one

breath, the candles stay out, smoke, confetti, hands to the mouth, the face steady, the cheers in the native

audio); `wan_3`, 10 s from the same still (100 credits: the same action, but the candles lit again at 4.8 s, so

that cut ends at 4.6 s); the song on `eleven_music_v2_5`, 32 s (8 credits, every line and the name sung, vocal

from 9.9 s); `lyria_3_5` refused the name "Maya" and the traditional lyric but sang "Lena". Whisper transcription

5 credits. `assemble.sh -s 17.8 -k` put "make a wish, Maya, blow the candles out" on the blow-out (-14.3 LUFS):

https://s3.varg.ai/files/72c55813-c0fa-4cf2-9f64-ec4f7ed0e7ae/file_7e6d05077855.mp4

## Rules

- Consent: animate a real person's face or clone their voice only with their agreement (for a surprise, the

sender's word that the person would want it). Never a celebrity, a public figure or a stranger.

- Children: make a child's birthday from drawings, toys, a pet or a cartoon character you invent, not by

animating the child's real photo. Keep the files private.

- Music: write original lyrics; do not use commercial songs, and do not quote the traditional verse in Lyria.

- If it goes on public social media, say it was made with AI where the platform asks (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube

label realistic AI content).

## Related skills

`varg-occasion-video` (weddings, anniversaries, holidays, invitations), `varg-music-video` (a full music video

from the song), `varg-consistent-characters` (the same face in every shot), `hyperframes` (lyric captions,

title cards, photo montages rendered from HTML), `varg-ai` (models and prices).