How AI Effects Are Generated

Ever wonder what happens between the moment your guest takes a photo and the moment the transformed result appears? Here's a peek behind the curtain.

The AI Pipeline

When a guest applies an AI effect, their photo goes through a cloud-based processing pipeline:

1. Your guest takes a photo at the booth
2. The photo is uploaded to ALIVE's cloud processing service
3. The AI analyzes the image — it identifies the people, the background, and the composition
4. The selected style is applied — the AI generates a completely new version of the image in the chosen artistic style
5. The result is sent back to the booth and displayed on the share screen

For photo effects, this entire process takes just a few seconds.

Photo Effects vs Video Effects

Photo effects use a single AI step — the photo goes in, a styled image comes out.

Video effects (coming soon) use a two-step process:

1. Step 1: Image transformation — The photo is first transformed into the selected artistic style, just like a regular photo effect
2. Step 2: Video generation — A second AI model takes the styled image and generates an animated video, adding motion, expressions, and movement

This two-step process is why video effects take slightly longer and cost more credits than photo effects.

Why It's Cloud-Based

AI effect processing happens in the cloud, not on the iPad. There are good reasons for this:

• Processing power — The AI models that generate these effects need powerful hardware that wouldn't fit in an iPad
• Always improving — We can upgrade the AI models on our end without requiring an app update
• New effects instantly — When we add new effects to the library, they're available immediately — no download needed
• Consistent quality — Every booth gets the same high-quality results regardless of the iPad model

The trade-off is that you need an internet connection for AI effects to work. No internet = no AI effects (but photo capture and printing still work fine).

What About Speed?

Most photo effects process in 2–5 seconds. The actual time depends on:

• Internet speed — Faster upload = faster results
• Effect complexity — Some styles take slightly longer than others
• Server load — During peak hours, processing may take a few seconds longer

The app handles all of this gracefully — guests see a brief loading animation while the AI works its magic.

What's Next?

• AI Credits — Pay-As-You-Go Pricing — How effects are priced
• AI Video Effects — The next generation of AI effects (coming soon)

Updated on: 22/03/2026