You wrote a prompt, waited for the render, and the clip came back almost right. The character has six fingers. The coffee cup turns into a bowl. The camera you asked to fly over the city sits perfectly still.
Most of these failures come from three causes: the prompt asks for too much, leaves too much open, or asks for something video models handle badly. Once you know the cause, the fix is usually one or two sentences.
Below are nine common problems, why each happens, and a before and after prompt you can copy.
A Quick Rule Before You Start
Change one thing at a time. Keep the prompt that almost worked, change one sentence, and generate again. If you change three things and the clip improves, you will not know which change did it.
Test fixes at the shortest duration the model offers: 4 seconds on Veo 4, 5 seconds on Kling. On both, the shortest clip costs the fewest credits. Move to the full length once the prompt works.
1. Warped Hands and Faces
Why it happens
Hands and faces are small, detailed, and move fast. Complex finger action in a wide shot gives the model few pixels and a lot of motion to resolve.
The fix
Make the hands or the face a clear subject of the shot, or keep them still. Simplify the action, move the camera closer, and describe the pose.
Before:
A woman in a busy office types quickly on a laptop while talking on the phone and drinking coffee.
After:
Medium close-up of a woman at a desk, both hands resting on a laptop keyboard, typing slowly. Her face is calm and in focus, soft window light from the left. Steady camera.
On the Kling page, Kling v2.5 Turbo Pro also takes a negative prompt. Keep the list short and concrete:
Negative prompt: extra fingers, distorted hands, deformed face, blurry face
2. Objects That Morph or Change Shape
Why it happens
If an object is vague (a "drink", a "device"), its identity can drift from frame to frame. Fast motion and a hand passing in front of it make drift worse.
The fix
Name the object precisely and give it two or three fixed attributes: material, color, shape. Repeat the key noun when it matters.
Before:
A man picks up his drink and walks to the window.
After:
A man picks up a tall clear glass of orange juice and walks slowly to the window. The glass stays in his right hand the whole time.
For product shots, start from an image. Veo 4, Kling, Hailuo 2, and Seedance all accept a starting image, and a real photo of the product holds its shape better than words alone.
3. Unwanted Text, Logos, and Gibberish Signs
Why it happens
Streets, shops, and offices are full of signs in real footage. The model copies that texture of text without real words.
The fix
Choose settings with less text, or say plainly that surfaces are blank. Do not ask for on-screen titles in the prompt. Add them later in an editor, where you control the font and the spelling.
Before:
A neon-lit street at night in Tokyo with shop signs, a title that says "Midnight Run".
After:
A quiet street at night, wet pavement reflecting soft purple and blue light. Shop fronts have plain, unlit signs with no readable text. No captions, no titles on screen.
On Kling v2.5 Turbo Pro, add the same idea to the negative prompt:
Negative prompt: text, letters, watermark, logo, subtitles, captions
4. Flicker and Shimmering Details
Why it happens
Fine repeating patterns, such as stripes, fences, and brick, are hard to hold steady across frames. Words like "flashing" or "strobing" also invite brightness jumps.
The fix
Simplify textures and describe the light as constant.
Before:
A man in a striped shirt walks past a brick wall under flickering city lights.
After:
A man in a plain navy shirt walks past a smooth concrete wall. Even, constant evening light, soft shadows, no flashing lights.
Higher resolution holds fine detail better. Veo 4, Hailuo 2, and Seedance all offer 1080p. On Hailuo 2 and Seedance, lower resolutions cost fewer credits, so test the prompt there and render the final version at 1080p. Hailuo 2 renders 1080p at 6 seconds only.
5. Motion That Is Too Fast or Too Slow
Why it happens
The model fits your action into the clip length. Five actions in 4 seconds rush; one small action in 10 seconds drags or fills the time with random movement.
The fix
Match the amount of action to the duration, and use speed words: slowly, gently, briskly, in slow motion, in real time. As a starting point, give a 4 to 6 second clip one main action, and an 8 to 10 second clip two connected actions.
Before (8 seconds):
A dancer spins, jumps, lands, bows, waves to the crowd, and walks off the stage.
After (8 seconds):
A dancer completes one slow, controlled spin, then lands softly and bows to the audience. Real-time speed, smooth movement.
6. The Model Ignores Part of Your Prompt
Why it happens
Models give the most weight to what comes first and to what is concrete. Instructions buried at the end, or written as abstract goals ("make it feel premium"), often get dropped.
The fix
Put the most important element first, and turn abstract wishes into visible details.
Before:
A cozy cabin scene with snow outside and a fireplace, and there should be a black cat sleeping on the rug, make it feel warm.
After:
A black cat sleeps curled up on a red wool rug in front of a glowing fireplace. Snow falls past the cabin window behind it. Warm orange firelight, soft shadows.
On the Hailuo 2 page, the Prompt Optimizer is on by default and rewrites your prompt before generation. If a precise instruction keeps getting lost, turn it off so the model reads your exact words.
7. Overcrowded Prompts
Why it happens
Four characters, three locations, and a plot twist make a short film, not a clip. The model tries to show everything at once.
The fix
One clip, one shot: one subject, one action, one setting, one camera move, one mood. Split a longer idea into several clips and join them in an editor.
Before:
A detective enters a bar, talks to the bartender, a fight breaks out, police arrive, and the detective escapes through the back door into the rain.
After (clip 1 of 3):
A detective in a grey trench coat pushes open the door of a dim bar and steps inside, scanning the room. Slow push-in, moody amber light, light rain behind him.
8. Bad Audio Sync or Unwanted Sound
Why it happens
Veo 4 generates sound with the picture, and so do Kling 3.0 and Seedance 2.0 when you turn on their native sound option. If you leave the sound undescribed, the model guesses: invented dialogue, unwanted music, effects that do not match the action.
The fix
Describe each sound and tie it to a visible action. Keep dialogue short, in quotes, with a named speaker. Say "no music" or "no dialogue" when you mean it.
Before:
A chef talks about her new dish in the kitchen with background music.
After:
A chef in a white apron looks at the camera and says, "Fresh basil, last thing in." She drops the leaves into the pan, and they sizzle loudly at that moment. Quiet kitchen ambience, no music.
Keep dialogue to one or two short sentences in an 8-second clip. A longer line makes the character rush, and the lips drift out of sync.
9. A Static Camera When You Wanted Motion
Why it happens
Without a named camera move, many models default to a locked shot. Words like "dynamic" or "cinematic" do not give a direction.
The fix
Name the move, the direction, and the speed. Use film terms: dolly in, tracking shot, crane up, orbit, handheld.
Before:
A cinematic shot of a lighthouse on a cliff at sunset.
After:
Slow aerial drone shot circling a white lighthouse on a cliff at sunset, the camera rising gently as waves break on the rocks below. Golden light, long shadows.
On the Seedance page, check that "Fix Camera Position" is off. When it is on, the camera stays still whatever the prompt says. For a full list of moves with examples, read our camera movement prompt guide.
A Troubleshooting Cheat Sheet
| Problem | Most likely cause | First fix to try |
|---|---|---|
| Warped hands or faces | Small details, fast action | Closer shot, simpler action |
| Morphing objects | Vague object description | Name material, color, shape |
| Gibberish text | Text-heavy setting | Plain surfaces, add titles later |
| Flicker | Fine patterns, unstable light | Plain textures, constant light |
| Wrong speed | Action does not fit duration | One action per short clip |
| Ignored instructions | Key detail buried at the end | Put the main subject first |
| Cluttered result | Too many ideas in one clip | One shot per clip |
| Bad audio | Sound left undescribed | Tie each sound to an action |
| Frozen camera | No camera move named, or a fixed-camera setting | Name move, direction, speed |
If the same character looks different from clip to clip, that is a separate problem with its own fixes. See our guide on keeping characters consistent across AI video clips.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I put things I do not want in the video?
On the Kling page, Kling v2.5 Turbo Pro takes a negative prompt. For every model, also write the most important exclusions as plain sentences in the main prompt, for example "no text on screen" or "no music". The main prompt is the one input every model reads.
Should I write a longer prompt to get more control?
Not always. A clear prompt of three to five sentences usually beats a long one. Add detail to the parts that went wrong, and remove details that do not change what you see.
Why does the same prompt give different results each time?
Each render is a new random attempt, so details the prompt leaves open come out differently each time. If a prompt works about half the time, it is close: find what changes between the good and bad results, and describe that part more precisely.
Does a starting image fix most problems?
It fixes many problems with identity and shape, because the model starts from your exact picture. It does not fix motion problems on its own, so you still need to describe the action and the camera.
Try the Fixes Yourself
Pick the clip that went wrong, find its problem in the cheat sheet, and change one sentence. Then generate again in the AI video generator, or open a model page directly: Veo 4 for native sound, Kling for its negative prompt, or Seedance for the fixed-camera switch. Making clips for social feeds? Our guides on vertical video for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts and AI product video ads put these fixes to work.