Negative Prompts: What to Avoid and How to Say It

· 4 min read

A short avoid list removes the most common glitches. A long one confuses the model. Here is the list we use.

A negative prompt tells the model what to steer away from. Used well, it removes the glitches you see most often. Overused, it dilutes the prompt.

The core list

  • Jump cuts and scene changes
  • Morphing
  • Warped hands or faces, extra limbs
  • On-screen text and watermarks
  • Flicker

Add only what your video needs

  • Products: changing shape, color or label
  • Clean scenes: people in the background
  • Architecture: lens distortion
Tell the model what to avoid in ten words, not a hundred.

Where it goes depends on the tool

Some tools have a separate negative prompt field, others read an "Avoid:" line at the end, and Runway responds best to positive wording, so describe what you want instead. The studio's Format for menu handles this for you.

Tip: Keep the avoid list under about ten items. Past that, the important ones get lost.

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