Guide

How to keep one character the same across a whole video

Updated November 1, 2026 · 4 min read

If you have ever asked an AI image tool for "the same person, but in a cafe", you know what happens next. The hair changes. The jacket turns into a different jacket. By the fifth picture, nobody would say it is the same character. For a video, that is a problem, because viewers notice drift within a second.

Why characters drift

Most image tools read your text prompt fresh every time. They do not remember what they drew last time, so each picture is a new guess at "a woman with brown hair". Even a long description cannot pin down a face.

Start from one reference picture

The reliable fix is to give the tool a picture, not just words. A single clear reference tells it the face, the hair and the style to carry into every new scene. That is how Scene Cards works: you upload one character, and every scene in the set is made from that same reference.

Pick a good reference

• One person or character, facing roughly forward, with the whole face visible.
• Even light and a plain background, so the tool is not copying a busy room.
• A picture you own or have permission to use. Do not use photos of children or of someone who has not agreed.

Keep the scenes related

Choose scenes that make sense as a story, such as a morning walk, a coffee stop and an evening street. A set that follows one day feels like one video even before you add music.

Fix the odd one out

AI images are not perfect. Out of twelve scenes, one or two may come out wrong. Re-roll those instead of living with them. Because every scene starts from the same reference, a re-roll usually lands closer than the first try.

Then turn the scenes into a video

Once the set looks right, put the scenes in order, add a caption to each, pick a slow zoom, and export. The next guide walks through that step by step.