The Character Consistency Problem: Why Every AI Video Tool Still Fails at the One Thing That Matters Most

AI video generation tools like Runway, Kling, Seedance, and Pika still cannot maintain consistent character appearance across multiple shots, which prevents them from being used in real production workflows. Despite workarounds such as reference image pinning, characters drift in facial features, clothing, and skin tone between scenes, requiring 15-20 regenerations per scene with no guarantee of true consistency. This single limitation keeps AI video in the 'impressive demo' stage rather than replacing traditional video production.