His Life Story in 80 Seconds for His 50th Birthday: Claude Code Turned His Photos Into an Animated Film for $105.91
- Level Intermediate
- Setup1–3 hrs (estimated)
- Evidence Some evidence
- CostNot stated in source
- No-codeYes
What they did
On his 50th birthday he asked his AI to find files on his Mac and his likeness on the web and social pages. It found his old band, race photos and family, and he added a few more photos. Then he asked for a wordless animated short about his love for life, family and friends. After 5 rounds of notes, about 15 hours and $105.91, he had an 80-second film. He fixed what it got wrong: it gave him a goatee and a Strat when he plays a Les Paul, and he took out the tears.
How it went
X post by @Ultra_DaveO (Oct 28, 2026 UTC): 80-second animated birthday film, 5 rounds of notes, about 15 hours, $105.91, built in Claude Code with video tools. Check details closely: it got his guitar wrong and added a goatee. Only use other people's photos with their OK
Worth knowing
- X post by @Ultra_DaveO (Oct 28, 2026 UTC): 80-second animated birthday film, 5 rounds of notes, about 15 hours, $105.91, built in Claude Code with video tools.
- Check details closely: it got his guitar wrong and added a goatee. Only use other people's photos with their OK.
Prompt
Cleaned version rewritten from the source — not a direct quote.
Make a wordless animated short (about [length]) for [person/occasion] that tells the story of [their life/our family], using the photos in [folder] and these details: [key moments, hobbies, people]. Use their likeness but it doesn't have to be photo-real. Show me a storyboard first, then a draft, and I'll give notes. Tell me the running cost before each round.
Recommended
Try it in Grok Bot
Grok Bot can do this too: Grok Bot can generate video from text or images, so give it your photos and a storyline and review each draft.
- Copy the prompt (button below).
- Open Grok Bot chat and paste it. Replace any [bracketed] placeholders.
- Connect the listed tools (as needed) as connectors when Grok Bot asks.
- If the task repeats, ask: "Make this a daily routine."
Alternatives: the same prompt works in Claude Code, Claude, ChatGPT Agent, OpenClaw.
Set it up
Stack: Claude Code
- Read the original source for full context.
- Connect the tools your agent needs.
- Paste the prompt and replace [bracketed] placeholders.
- Run once manually and check the output before scheduling it.
Generic suggested steps, not from the source.
Evidence
X post by @Ultra_DaveO (Oct 28, 2026 UTC): 80-second animated birthday film, 5 rounds of notes, about 15 hours, $105.91, built in Claude Code with video tools. Check details closely: it got his guitar wrong and added a goatee. Only use other people's photos with their OK
Source: X · 2026-10-28 · Verified by us: not yet · Report broken or outdated