Will there be a date or REC label?

No. The prompt specifically asks for no on-screen text or date stamp.

Does the output become 4:3?

The picture is shaped to look like a 4:3 tape frame with dark side bars, inside the video you generate.

Can I use a different model, or make it longer?

Yes. Five seconds on MiniMax H3 is the default; before you generate you can set up to 15 seconds or 2K on H3, or switch to another model listed for this effect in Studio, such as Wan 3.0 for up to 30 seconds. The Generate button shows the updated price first. Our samples were made on MiniMax H3, so other models may interpret the prompt a little differently.

Will it change what's in my photo?

No. The effect only adds motion, light and atmosphere; everyone in the photo stays exactly as they appear in it. The default model doesn't filter photos. Some models you can switch to in Studio apply their own content filters and may turn a photo down.

Is my result private?

Yes. Your upload and the finished clip stay private to your account and never appear on a public page.

Each effect defaults to a five-second clip priced in US dollars on the Generate button. Before you run it, you can switch to a different model, adjust the length, or change the resolution in Studio, and the price on the Generate button updates to match. An ordinary failed or expired run normally releases the reserved amount. For a content refusal, follow the selected model’s billing policy.

Will this effect change how the person in my photo looks?

Your photo anchors the subject; the effect adds the motion and look described in its prompt. Check the face, hands and clothing in the result. If a gesture distorts them, try a clearer crop or a simpler movement.

Can I upload a photo of someone else?

Only one you have the right to use, and never to make intimate content of a real person without their documented consent. The content policy has the full rule.

VHS Home Video AI Video Effect

Name: VHS Home Video — Sample 1
Uploaded: 2026-10-03
Duration: 5 s
Description: The footage turns into a worn VHS tape with 4:3 framing, scan lines, color fringes and tracking noise, with a waving, laughing subject.

Styles

After Dark

Laser Room

Color Smoke

Silk Drop

Petal Storm

Slow Shutter

Candlelight

Behind the Hair

Call Me

Champagne Toast

Darkroom Red

Doorway Lean

Eyes on You

Join Me

Late-Night Dance

Club Strobe

Romance

Kiss

Camera moves

Tiny Planet

Transform

Molten Gold

Fashion

Mirror Glance

Atmosphere

Lace Shadows

Motion

Groove

Fun

Meltdown

Product

Ingredients Burst

Film looks

Film Burn

VHS Home Video

Video templates

The Glance Back

Candles Come Alive

Silk Drift

Neon After Hours

Sway Under the Lamp

Mirror Moment

Morning Light

Passing Headlights

Whisper Session

Slow Push-In

Half Orbit

Drone Rise

This effect writes the prompt for you. Add one image.

We never filter your prompt.

Back to the studio

The footage turns into a worn VHS tape with 4:3 framing, scan lines, color fringes and tracking noise, with a waving, laughing subject.

MiniMax H3

Model: MiniMax H3
Length: 5 s
Resolution: 768p
Per run: $0.185
Type: Film looks
Also runs on: Seedance 2.0 Fast, Kling 3.0, Seedance 2.0, Wan 3.0, Vidu Q3 Turbo, MiniMax H3 Max, Kling 2.5 Turbo, Wan 2.6 Flash, Seedance 2.0 Mini

What this effect sends

This is the full prompt, word for word. Copy it, or open it in the generator and change anything you like.

Within the first second the footage turns into a worn VHS home-video tape: the picture drops to blurry low-resolution video squeezed into a 4:3 frame with dark side bars, thick horizontal scan lines, colors bleeding sideways in red and blue fringes, blown-out highlights and a constant tape warble. Bands of tracking noise roll up through the frame every second, and once the whole picture jumps and tears sideways before snapping back. The person laughs and waves at the camera while the handheld shot bobs and wobbles. No on-screen text or date stamp. The person stays exactly as they appear in the photo.

Customize in the generator

Pictures that work best

Pick a casual photo with natural light; it matches the home-video mood.
Leave space around the person so the wobble does not crop the face.
If you want a date stamp, add it yourself later; the effect keeps the frame clean.
Group shots work well because everyone can wave.

Models this effect runs on

The same prompt on different models. Pick by look and by price.

MiniMax H3$0.185 per run
5 s · 768p
Seedance 2.0 Fast$0.484 per run
5 s · 720p
Kling 3.0$0.336 per run
5 s · 720p
Seedance 2.0$0.76 per run
5 s · 720p
Wan 3.0$0.45 per run
5 s · 720p
Vidu Q3 Turbo$0.33 per run
5 s · 720p
MiniMax H3 Max$0.4 per run
5 s · 768p
Kling 2.5 Turbo$0.28 per run
5 s
Wan 2.6 Flash$0.113 per run
5 s · 720p
Seedance 2.0 Mini$0.265 per run
5 s · 720p

How it works

01
Add one photo
Choose the photo to match the example: include both people for a shared gesture, and keep the face and any hands involved clearly visible. Upload your own photo or start with a VHS Home Video sample.
02
Check the price
VHS Home Video defaults to a 5-second clip for $0.185. Swap the model or change the length and resolution before you run — the price on the button updates to match, and that's the whole cost of the clip.
03
Generate
Your VHS Home Video clip renders in the background, lands in History and is never published.

Do the move yourself

VHS Home Video keeps one version of this shot. To give VHS Home Video your own motion or ending, write it yourself in Image to Video, starting from the prompt above.

Open Image to Video

What it does to your photo

VHS Home Video makes your photo look like an old family tape. Within the first second the picture drops to blurry low-resolution video squeezed into a 4:3 frame with dark side bars, thick horizontal scan lines, colors bleeding sideways in red and blue fringes, blown-out highlights and a constant tape warble. Bands of tracking noise roll up through the frame every second, and once the whole picture jumps and tears sideways before snapping back. The person laughs and waves at the camera while the handheld shot bobs and wobbles. No on-screen text or date stamp appears.

In our test runs on MiniMax H3, a balding man in his forties with a thick moustache and a loud geometric-print short-sleeve shirt, waving and laughing with a paper plate at a backyard barbecue with balloons, saw the picture shrink between dark side bars and go soft within the first second as red-and-blue tracking bands rolled through, then got hit by a second band of tape noise and ghosting around second four, ending as worn home-video footage.

Casual, candid-looking photos, like a backyard party or a family gathering, suit the home-video feel. Highly retouched or very formal portraits can feel too polished next to the tape look. The person should be visible enough to wave and laugh. The effect leaves the person exactly as they are in your photo and only adds the film look.

It runs on MiniMax H3 for five seconds by default, and H3 itself goes up to 15 seconds and 2K if you want more. Studio also lets you move the same prompt to another model before you generate, such as Seedance 2.0 or Wan 3.0, and the price on the Generate button updates with every change. Our samples were all made on MiniMax H3, so other models will read the prompt in their own way.

Good for nostalgia clips, throwback posts and retro-themed edits.

The prompt says "worn VHS home-video tape" and "No on-screen text or date stamp". Try adding a request for fewer tracking bands, or ask for a slightly warmer tint.