Correction, 2026-10-02: this page stated things as fact that we never measured: that Seedance 2.5 "holds object identity better than cheaper tiers", that flicker and ghosting are worse on cheaper models and go away when you move up a tier, that morphing "scales with duration", that straight lines "hold fine" with a static camera, that asking for film grain is "the single most effective prompt addition for realism", and that most artifacts are shot-selection problems. Those are now written as likely causes, things to check and things to try on your own shot. It suggested a grade and a grain overlay in the edit without saying what 8frame's own editor can do: the Video Editor mode has filter presets and a brightness slider per clip, and no curves, colour wheels or LUTs. It recommended Kling v3 Standard as the next step without saying it needs a start image. We also added a section on soft video (resolution per model; there is no video upscaler on 8frame), a check for ghosting that comes from frame-rate conversion in the edit, links to our troubleshooting page for each artifact, and the Sources section the page was missing.
Generated video fails in recognisable ways. Naming the artifact you are looking at helps you decide what to change next: the prompt, the model, or the shot. This page does not rank models, because we have not measured which one shows fewer artifacts. For each artifact it gives what it looks like, its likely cause, what to check and what to try on your own shot.
TL;DR
- Morphing: objects turn into other objects. Try a shorter clip, less motion and fewer objects
- Flicker: brightness or texture pulsing between frames. Look at where it sits, then recompose or compare models
- Warping: straight lines bending as the camera moves. Test the shot with a static camera
- Ghosting: faint duplicates trailing motion. Check the downloaded file before blaming the model
- The plastic look: too smooth, too even. Describe the imperfection you want in the prompt
- Softness: no video model on 8frame outputs 4K and there is no video upscaler, so set the resolution before you generate
- Text and hands: add text in the edit, compose around hands
- Before you retry, decide whether to change the prompt, the model or the shot
Morphing
What it looks like: an object gradually becomes a different object. A hand becomes part of a cup, a chair leg merges into a table, a face shifts identity mid-shot.
Likely cause: the model generates frames that follow plausibly from one another, but it does not appear to keep a persistent record of what each object is, so across enough frames its idea of the object can drift. We cannot see inside the models: treat this as the explanation that fits the failure, not a documented mechanism.
What to try: a shorter clip, so the drift has fewer frames to build over; less motion; fewer objects in frame; and an approved start image, so the shot begins from your design rather than the model's guess. Expect morphing on any model; we have not measured which one morphs least.
What to check: step through the clip and note the second where the object first changes. If a 5-second version is clean and a 10-second one is not, generate short and cut. To compare models, keep the start image and prompt fixed and change only the model: Wan 3.0 at 480p is 24 credits for 5 seconds, Seedance 2.5 at 480p is 70. The full test is in why does my AI video morph. If a face changes between clips rather than within one, see why a character's face changes between clips.
If it keeps happening: many interacting objects, or a subject that has to stay identical through a long take, may be a shot to simplify rather than retry.
Flicker
What it looks like: brightness, colour or texture pulsing from frame to frame. It is often easiest to see on flat surfaces and in shadows.
Likely cause: temporal instability. Small frame-to-frame differences in how a surface is rendered read as pulsing when the clip plays.
What to try: recompose so less of the frame is one flat colour, add texture or directional light to the scene, and run the same prompt on a second model to see whether the pulse changes on your shot.
What to check: whether the pulse is in the file you downloaded or appears only after upload or export. Compare the two before you regenerate anything.
In the edit: 8frame's Video Editor mode has filter presets (Cinematic, Film Noir, Kodak and Super 8 among them) and a brightness slider per clip; it has no curves, colour wheels or LUTs, so a full grade belongs in your own editor. A preset, a grade or a grain layer may make a mild pulse less noticeable. We have not measured how much, so judge it on your clip. More in how to fix flicker in AI video.
Warping
What it looks like: straight lines bending, architecture flexing, floors undulating as the camera moves.
Likely cause: the model predicts plausible next frames rather than moving a camera through a built 3D scene, so parallax is approximated rather than computed. Like the morphing explanation, this is our reading of the failure, not a vendor statement.
What to try: less camera movement or a locked-off camera, and a simple camera instruction ("slow push in") rather than a move through rooms.
What to check: run the shot once with a static camera. If the lines stay straight there and bend only when the camera moves, the move is the problem: keep the camera still, or cut between two static angles instead of moving through the architecture.
Ghosting and trailing
What it looks like: faint duplicates behind a moving subject, or a smear that does not look like motion blur.
Likely cause: motion fast enough that the model does not keep the subject clean from frame to frame. Sometimes, though, the doubling comes from your edit.
What to check first: the downloaded file, before your editor touches it. Every video model we measured on 8frame returned files at 24 fps. If your timeline or export runs at 25 or 30 fps, the editor has to repeat, blend or interpolate frames to fill the gap, and a blended frame shows two positions of a moving edge at once, which looks like ghosting. If the original file is clean, the problem is the conversion, not the model.
What to try: slow the motion in the prompt ("slow, deliberate movement"), or run the same prompt on another model and compare. If what you are seeing is ordinary motion blur, see what motion blur is.
The plastic look
What it looks like: skin without pores, surfaces without texture, lighting that is perfectly even, everything slightly too clean.
Likely cause: partly the model's default look, partly the absence of the imperfections real footage carries.
What to try: describe the imperfection you want: "slight handheld movement, minor focus breathing, visible film grain, uneven practical lighting." Run it against your plain prompt on the same model and keep whichever reads better on your shot.
In the edit: a filter preset in the Video Editor, or a grade and grain in your own editor, can take the clean edge off. Judge it on the clip. See why AI video looks fake.
Softness
What it looks like: a clip that looks soft at full screen.
What to check first: the resolution the model outputs. On 8frame, Seedance 2.5 and 2.0 offer 480p or 720p; Kling v3 Standard returns 720p; Veo 3.1 and Veo 3.1 Fast are 1080p and Veo 3.1 Lite is 720p; Wan 3.0 offers 480p, 720p or 1080p; Hailuo H3 outputs 2K. No video model on 8frame outputs 4K.
What will not fix it afterwards: there is no video upscaler on 8frame. The upscale tool works on images only (it opens on Topaz), so it can sharpen a soft start image before you animate it, not a finished clip. Generate the final at the resolution you deliver. More in why is my AI video blurry.
Text garbling
What it looks like: signs, labels and titles rendering as plausible-looking nonsense, changing between frames.
Likely cause: a common explanation is that models learn what writing looks like rather than which exact letters belong in which order.
What to try: keep text out of the generated shot and add it afterwards, as a text or caption layer in the Video Editor mode or in your own editor.
Hands
What it looks like: extra fingers, merged fingers, impossible joints, and hands that change finger count between frames.
Likely cause: hands have many joints and constantly hide parts of themselves, and in video the hand has to be right in every frame, not just one.
What to try: composition. Frame hands out, give them a simple object to hold, keep them still, or keep them small in the frame. In image-to-video, fix the hand in the start image before you animate it. See which AI model handles hands best.
The triage that saves credits
A clip that completes is billed even if it has artifacts; only failed generations are refunded automatically (see do failed AI generations cost credits). So before you retry, decide which kind of problem you have.
Prompt: the plastic look, motion that is too fast, a camera move you did not need, or a model leaving out part of what you asked for (see why AI video ignores your prompt). Change the prompt and test it cheaply: Wan 3.0 at 480p is 24 credits for 5 seconds.
Model: if the same artifact survives a prompt change, run the same prompt or start image on another model and compare frame by frame. Kling v3 Standard is 57 credits for 5 seconds without sound and needs a start image; Seedance 2.5 is 157 for 5 seconds at 720p. A higher price is not a measured guarantee of fewer artifacts, so judge on your shot.
Shot: a camera moving through architecture, hands doing something specific, text in frame, two people interacting, crowds. If one of these keeps failing after a prompt change and a second model, change the shot: cut between static angles, keep hands out of frame, add text in the edit.
After generation: there is no video upscaler on 8frame, and the Video Editor's filter presets and brightness slider change the look of a clip, not its geometry. They will not undo morphing, warping or garbled text, so those decisions happen before you submit.
FAQ
Why does my AI video morph halfway through? The likely cause is that the model keeps no persistent record of what an object is, so its idea of the object drifts over the frames. Try a shorter clip, less motion and fewer objects, and step through the clip to find where it starts.
Can I fix flicker in post? Sometimes you can make it less noticeable. 8frame's Video Editor has filter presets and a brightness slider per clip, but no curves, colour wheels or LUTs; a grade and grain in your own editor are the other option. We have not measured how much either hides, so check on the clip.
Why do straight lines bend when the camera moves? The model approximates parallax instead of moving through a 3D scene. Test the shot with a static camera; if the lines stay straight there, keep the camera still or cut between angles.
Can I upscale a soft AI video on 8frame? No. There is no video upscaler; the upscale tool is for images only and opens on Topaz. Upscale the start image before you animate it, or generate at the resolution you deliver.
Which artifacts mean I should change the shot? The ones that come back after a prompt change and a second model. Check these first: camera moves through architecture, specific hand actions, text in frame, crowds and two people interacting.
Sources
- 8frame prices: 8frame tool registry credit functions calculateWan3Cost (Wan 3.0 at 480p, 24 credits for 5 s), calculateSeedance2Cost (Seedance 2.5, 70 at 480p and 157 at 720p for 5 s) and calculateKlingV3Cost (Kling v3 Standard, 57 for 5 s without sound), read 2026-10-02
- Kling v3 needs a start image; output resolutions per model; no video model on 8frame outputs 4K: 8frame video generation code and front tool registry, via the 8frame content fact sheet, read 2026-10-02
- No video upscaler; the upscale tool is image-only and opens on Topaz: 8frame tool registry, via the 8frame content fact sheet, read 2026-10-02
- Video Editor mode (filter presets, brightness slider per clip, text and caption layers; no curves, colour wheels or LUTs): 8frame front end, via the 8frame content fact sheet, read 2026-10-02
- 24 fps: generated video files on 8frame over the 120 days to 2026-09-30, measured per model (every measured model returned 24 fps)
- Failed generations refunded automatically: 8frame billing, see do failed AI generations cost credits
- Causes of each artifact: our reading of the failures, not a measurement or a vendor statement
Diagnose the artifact, then decide: prompt, model, or shot.
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