What is a trend remake, and how is it different from a template?

Updated October 21, 2026 · Reviewed by The Rift team

Short answer

A trend remake recreates a specific video you saw, a dance, a reveal, a meme, with new people or a new setting, while keeping its moves, camera and timing. A template is a fixed edit you drop your photos into. Remakes follow any video you find; templates only cover what someone has already built. Rift remakes any video you share into it, with Spark.

Trends are formats: a move, a camera path, a beat, a joke. A remake takes the format and changes who’s in it. To make one yourself, see put yourself in a TikTok trend.

Remake

Starts from the actual video you saw.
Keeps the moves, camera and timing.
Changes the people, the place or one detail.
Works the day a trend appears, before anyone builds a template.

Template

A fixed edit with slots for your photos or clips.
Fast when one exists for the trend.
Only as current as whoever made it.

Formats in Rift

Rift sits between the two. Share any video and Spark remakes it. When you like the result, save it as a format and it works like a template you made: run it with a new photo next time.

A remake in four steps

Tap Share on the trend and pick Rift.
Add who stars.
Check the Draft.
Make.

Questions people ask

Do I need a template to remake a trend?

No. Share the trend video itself into Rift and Spark works from it.

Can I turn a remake into a template?

Yes. Save the Draft as a format and run it again with a new photo.

Is a remake a copy?

It reuses the format, like every trend. Add the official sound where you post, and keep real people's faces out without their OK.

Can I remake a clip with my pet in it?

Yes. Add your pet's photo and tell Spark who replaces whom.