I Put Myself in an AI Street Basketball Video (My Kids Howled)

Step-by-step process

The trick is to build it in pieces. Make each character and the background as separate still images first, get them looking right, then hand them to the video tool as references. Four steps.

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Step 1: Generate your two characters

In Magnific, set the model to Nano Banana 2 and upload your photo so the character looks like you. Generate the star first, then the opponent.

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The star (prompt):

A vertical, full-body studio photo of the person in my reference image as a 1970s street basketball player with a slightly plumper build, plain white background. A red, white and blue headband, a well-groomed beard, a red retro mesh jersey reading STREETS with the number 74, royal blue satin shorts with red and white side stripes, white tube socks and red high-top Converse. Leaning on one leg, hands in pockets, a slight knowing smile. Soft film grain, warm vintage colour, even studio lighting.

The opponent (prompt):

A hyper-realistic full-body studio portrait of a 7-foot, super-athletic basketball player in his early 20s, long lean limbs, plain white background. A minimalist black vest and shorts, no logos. Straight-on eye-level shot, high-key studio lighting, photorealistic, ultra sharp.

Result: two clean studio images on white, one of you, one of the giant.

💡 Parent Insight: Upload an actual photo for the star. The likeness is far stronger than describing a face in words, and the kids get a bigger laugh seeing the real you in the jersey.

Step 2: Combine them into one image with the height gap

Bring both characters into a single image so the size difference is locked in. This one shot is the whole joke.

Prompt:

Place both characters in one photo on a plain white background. The bearded STREETS number 74 player is short and stands on the left. The other player is a 7-foot athlete on the right. Keep a dramatic height difference between them.

Result: both players side by side, with the giant towering over the short one. Save this image, you will feed it into the video as the height reference.

Step 3: Generate the court

Make the location as its own image so the video tool has a clear setting to drop the players into.

Prompt:

A real photograph of a gritty, empty outdoor street basketball court. A weathered hoop with a scuffed backboard and a torn chain-link net, cracked asphalt with faded painted lines, a rusted chain-link fence, surrounded by old brick apartment buildings. Wide-angle, eye-level, harsh mid-afternoon sunlight, natural colour, authentic film grain.

Result: the street court that ties the scene together.

Step 4: Animate it in Higgsfield

In Higgsfield, upload your four reference images: the court, the tall player, the short player, and the combined height shot. Then give it the action, beat by beat.

Prompt (shortened):

Raw handheld phone video, vertical, gritty realism, a crowd around a street court. The short bearded number 74 player drives past the towering defender, leaps, and goes up for a dunk over him as the crowd reacts. Keep the dramatic height difference between the two players at all times. Shaky handheld camera, natural afternoon light, real crowd noise.

Result: a 15-second clip. It cost about 67.5 credits. I had the credits for one shot, so what I got is what I kept.

Watch the full clip here: the finished AI street basketball video.

💡 Parent Insight: Feed the combined height image (step 2) into the video, not just the two separate players. It is what keeps the giant looking like a giant once everything starts moving.