Hailuo AI Face Distortion — Pre-Generation Risk Reference
Technical Classification
Identity Coherence Failure
Identity Coherence Failure on Hailuo occurs when the model fails to maintain a stable face across the clip. The subject's identity drifts — eye spacing changes, jaw morphs, the person at frame 60 looks meaningfully different from frame 1. The failure compounds with clip length, fast cuts, and any scene with shifting lighting. Hailuo's talking-head model is particularly susceptible because the camera frequently locks on a face for extended durations.
How to identify this failure
- ✕Eye spacing widening or narrowing across the clip
- ✕Jaw shape morphing between frames
- ✕One half of the face melting or stretching
- ✕Subject identity visibly changing mid-clip
- ✕Facial features asymmetric with no anatomical cause
Real generation examples
Prompt used
"Woman in red dress giving a TED-style talk to camera"
Failure observed @ 0:02
Eye spacing drifted from 0:02; jawline morphed at 0:04; identity visibly different by 0:05
Prompt used
"Man's portrait, slight head movement, neutral expression"
Failure observed @ 0:03
Left side of face melted at 0:03; nose geometry stretched asymmetrically
Documentation strength
If you need to escalate
HIGH — Hailuo support refunds identity coherence failures on documented portrait or commercial work. Submit Generation ID with paired screenshots.
AVA is a pre-purchase prevention tool, not a post-purchase recovery tool. Platforms generally do not guarantee credit refunds for output-quality failures; goodwill credits are at each platform's discretion. The strength rating reflects how well-formed your support ticket can be, not a promised outcome.
Prevention + documentation steps
- 01
Score your prompt before you generate
Run your prompt through AVA's pre-flight scoring against the Identity Coherence Failure pattern. Green light = generate. Yellow/red = rewrite using the suggested fix before you commit credits.
- 02
Capture Generation ID + timestamp if it failed anyway
Find the Generation ID in the URL or share link. Note the exact time when the Identity Coherence Failure first appears (e.g. "failure first visible at 1.2s"). Timestamped evidence is significantly stronger than a general complaint.
- 03
Use the correct technical term in your support ticket
Describe this failure as "Identity Coherence Failure". This term maps to a recognised internal workflow in the support system and routes the ticket to the right team.
- 04
Submit via the correct support channel
Runway has no direct email intake. Pro+ plan: open the in-app AI Assistant (help widget bottom-right of app.runwayml.com), describe the failure with the technical term, attach evidence. Free/Standard plan: human support isn't available — your channel is Discord #community-help with @On Call - Moderators.
Frequently asked questions
Does Hailuo refund credits for face distortion?
Yes. Submit the Generation ID with two screenshots — clip start and end — showing the same subject with visibly different facial structure. Hailuo support refunds identity drift on documented work.
Why does Hailuo fail at face coherence?
Hailuo's identity-conditioning signal is statistical rather than enforced. The temporal consistency loss does not strongly penalise slow drift, especially under shifting lighting or extended clip lengths.
How do I avoid face distortion on Hailuo?
Keep clips ≤4 seconds when faces are the primary subject. Avoid shifting lighting. Use simple framing. AVA flags face-coherence risk prompts before submission.
Score your prompt
Score your prompt against this failure mode in 30 seconds
Paste your prompt and the platform you intend to use. AVA returns a red/yellow/green score against this specific failure mode plus a concrete rewrite if the risk is high.
AVA Pro · founders' round
$50 for 6 months of unlimited scoring across all failure modes + personal failure-history dashboard. Locks in $13/mo grandfathered after.
Related failures across models
If you’re seeing this failure, you may also encounter these on other models:
Facial
Asymmetric eye placement, morphological drift across frames, non-Eucli…
Facial
Asymmetric eye placement, jaw drift between frames, non-Euclidean faci…
Facial
Sora output shows face morphing, identity inconsistency, or feature di…
Facial
Asymmetric eye placement, facial morphing across frames, expression dr…
Identity
Google Veo output shows facial feature distortion mid-clip or identity…
Identity
Face morphing, identity drift, asymmetric distortion, features melting…
Pick a different tool for Hailuo failures
Some prompt shapes will keep failing on Hailuo. Routing those shots to a different vendor is the cheapest fix.