AI video can look shockingly real… right up until it doesn't. Most AI-looking clips aren't failing because the model is bad. They fail because the prompt (and the shot plan behind it) accidentally forces the model to guess: inconsistent motion, impossible physics, lighting that changes for no reason, or a camera that behaves like a ghost.
This post is a realism-first checklist: 25 common prompt mistakes that cause jitter, warping, weird physics, and that unmistakable synthetic feel, plus the simplest fix for each. Use it whether you're generating in Sora 2 / Sora 2 Pro, Veo 3.1, Kling, or Runway—and if you're using QuestStudio, it pairs perfectly with the main Image→Video hub at image to video ai.
The Realism Rule That Fixes More Than Half of Issues
Realistic clips usually have one clear camera move and one clear subject action, described with timing (beats/counts). When you stack multiple moves and multiple actions, the model re-solves the scene every frame and realism collapses.
The 25 Prompt Mistakes That Ruin Realism
1) You Ask for Too Much Movement in One Shot
What happens: jitter, wobble, random zooms, floaty motion.
Fix: one camera move + one action. Build complexity across multiple short shots, not one mega-shot.
2) You Describe Action Without Timing
What happens: motion feels ungrounded or rushed.
Fix: add beats/counts (two steps, pause, then turn in the final second).
3) You Mix Camera Styles That Don't Belong Together
Tripod + handheld + drone + gimbal in the same shot is a realism killer.
Fix: pick one camera identity per shot.
4) You Use Vague Camera Words Instead of a Physical Move
Cinematic camera is not a move.
Fix: specify a real move: slow push-in, gentle pan, subtle handheld micro-drift, dolly-out reveal.
5) You Request an Orbit Shot Around a Face (Especially Close-Up)
What happens: face warping and identity drift.
Fix: use push-in or parallax drift for cinematic without breaking geometry.
6) You Include Readable Text as a Core Part of the Scene
What happens: text flickers, morphs, becomes gibberish.
Fix: keep text off-screen. Add text overlays later in editing. (This is a consistent limitation across current video generators.)
7) You Ask for Perfectly Smooth Motion
What happens: it looks like a render, not a camera.
Fix: allow subtle natural motion blur and micro-imperfection (steady, but not robotic).
8) You Forget to Lock the Lighting Direction
What happens: exposure pulses, shadows jump, the scene breathes.
Fix: name the motivated light source and direction (window left, neon right, overhead practical) and keep it consistent shot-to-shot.
9) You Change the Lighting Mood Mid-Shot
Golden hour turning into neon night in one clip often creates flicker and impossible shadows.
Fix: do it as a cut (two shots), not a single shot.
10) You Over-Style the Scene with Conflicting Aesthetics
Hyperreal IMAX, anime, claymation, HDR, vintage VHS creates style drift.
Fix: one primary look per shot. If you want a hybrid, pick one base look and add one accent (film grain, mild bloom).
11) You Add Too Many Quality Buzzwords
Ultra, hyper, 8K, UHD, masterpiece—stacked adjectives don't add control.
Fix: replace buzzwords with specifics: lens look, depth of field, lighting, camera move, action timing.
12) You Don't Define Framing
What happens: the model picks random shot sizes.
Fix: say wide / medium / close-up and keep it stable.
13) You Keep Rewriting the Character Description
What happens: identity drift.
Fix: choose one character description and reuse it verbatim across iterations and shots.
14) You Rely on Negative Phrasing That the Model May Interpret Oddly
Some tools explicitly warn that prompts like camera doesn't move can backfire.
Fix: state what you want positively (static tripod shot, locked-off camera).
15) You Describe the Input Image Instead of the Transformation
With image-to-video, the image already contains the scene. Some platforms recommend focusing the prompt on movement rather than re-describing the image.
Fix: spend words on motion, camera, lighting continuity, and constraints.
16) You Ask for Impossible Physics
Floating hair with no wind, cloth moving with no force, liquids behaving like jelly.
Fix: ground physics with a cause: a gentle breeze, a handheld shake, footsteps on a wooden floor, gravity-driven pour.
17) You Request Complex Interactions with Hands
Hands are still a weak spot.
Fix: simplify hand actions (one gesture), keep hands partially out of frame when not essential, or use a medium shot instead of extreme close-up.
18) You Overcomplicate Facial Performance
Full dialogue + intense emotion + head turns + camera movement tends to break faces.
Fix: get a stable silent master first (micro-expression, blink), then attempt dialogue/performance.
19) You Demand Fast Cuts or Multiple Scenes Inside One Generation
What happens: the model blends scenes into mush.
Fix: generate separate clips and cut them yourself.
20) You Don't Specify What Must Stay Fixed
If you don't say it, the model may improve it.
Fix: add constraints like preserve identity, preserve layout, preserve typography, keep background stable, constant exposure.
21) You Try to Brute-Force Control with an Essay Prompt
Long prompts can introduce contradictions and increase guessing.
Fix: write like a shot card: subject + setting, one action with timing, camera move, lighting, look, constraints. Sora-style shot list prompting is popular for a reason: it reduces ambiguity.
22) You Ignore Reference Tools That Exist for Consistency
Modern workflows increasingly rely on reference images (ingredients) to keep characters, objects, and style consistent across shots.
Fix: when you need continuity, use references instead of rewriting descriptions from scratch.
23) You Request a Dramatic Camera Move Without Matching the Shot Scale
Big movement on a close-up feels like the camera is clipping through reality.
Fix: close-ups get tiny movement; wides can handle bigger movement.
24) You Don't Plan the Loop
For motion posters, product loops, hero banners: if the last frame doesn't resemble the first, the loop pops.
Fix: design motion that returns near the start position (or use first/last-frame style workflows where supported).
25) You Judge Realism from a Single Generation
One run is noise.
Fix: do three controlled variations: same prompt, lower motion intensity; same prompt, medium motion; same prompt, slightly different framing. Pick the most stable and iterate from there—without rewriting the whole prompt.
A Realism-First Prompt Structure (That Works Across Models)
When your output looks AI, it's usually missing one of these anchors:
That's the core of realistic prompting—less magic, more direction.
Final Takeaway
The fastest path to realism isn't hunting for secret keywords. It's removing ambiguity and contradictions so the model doesn't have to guess. If you want a complete workflow (including model comparisons and prompt packs), start at image to video ai.