Creating Stuff in the New World.
I’ve been highly creative this week. Some people think I’ve lost the plot—“WTF” was one friend’s entire response. Using AI and other tools, I’ve made a song and music video… all while doing the day job.
Stick with me.
It all started Saturday evening when I decided to make my own version of the theme to the late ’80s TV show Midnight Caller. Still there?
As I mentioned last week, I’m preparing a new season of the house design videos I made last year. Alongside this, I had the idea to host a live weekly session solving home design problems—a sort of late-night call-in show, but with video. Naturally, I needed a theme tune. Enter: Midnight Caller. That’s what sent me down the rabbit hole of AI music.
I discovered a tool called Suno AI that lets you create songs with alarming ease. Anyway, I got distracted and I decided to see if I could write a song for Rhondda. You give it some lyrics, select a style, and out pops a song. That was just the beginning.
The video part took even more work. I used a tool called Kling AI, which turns still images into short videos. I created an image in Midjourney of a young couple sitting in a car, then asked Kling to animate it as if they were singing. It only generates 10-second clips, so I stitched multiple scenes together, cutting between moments, lip-syncing, and improvising. Eight hours later, I had a full 2-minute love song video. The result reveals I spent too much time watching MTV, Beverly Hills 90210 and Baywatch as a teenager! Link below.
Yes—WTF.
But if you’ve made it this far, here’s why this is useful beyond just having some fun creating something.
In the process, I discovered tools that don’t just make music videos—they can generate architecture too. I’m now working on a new YouTube video showing the journey from an AI-generated house image to a complete design: floor plans, 3d fly-through, and even a 3d-printed model. It flips the traditional process. Normally, you start with drawings and end with an image of what it might look like. Here, the image comes first, and everything else follows.
As I write this, I realise I may as well go the whole way and apply for Building Regulations approval too. It will add credibility.
AI is going to change everything. Today, I’m stitching together janky 10-second video clips; before long, we’ll be generating 2-hour feature films from a single typed prompt. Architecture will follow. Right now, turning a 1-minute house flyaround video into a real building still takes expertise and time. But soon, the entire process will be automated.
Type: Design me a 4-bed modern house by a lake.
Pick an image.
Click.
3d Print.
Move in.
It’s coming. If I were Tom Cruise, I’d be building and licensing an AI copy of myself already. Luckily, I’m a foot taller than Cruise, but the same opportunity is on the horizon. That’s one reason I’m diving in—figuring out how this technology can help me stay creative (and make some money) in the years ahead. Plus, it’s good to keep learning.
Have a great weekend.
You will always find me at carl@carlarchitect.co.uk.
All the best
This Week’s Links:
Oh Rhondda music video – subscribe and like if you can. It makes a difference to the channel, and not for my pop song content! (likely easier to subscribe here).
Kling AI in case you want to make a video, and Suno AI for your music needs!
Ever heard of ecru? Well it’s a paint colour.
I’d not seen this before I wrote the above, but it seems there is already a Tom Cruise AI clone – the future is here.
Exploring 3d-Printed Home Technology in Austin, Texas.
And my unfinished attempt at a Beatles song. 🙂
Main Image credit: My latest hit single – Oh Rhondda, my beautiful new girlfriend. (MidJourney)
