A hallucination adds something new. An artifact usually distorts something that was already in the photo.
If you've ever watched an AI listing clip and thought "something looks off," you were probably seeing an artifact.
Common ones in real estate video include
- Straight lines (cabinets, window frames, tile grout) that wobble or curve.
- Reflections in mirrors and glass that move the wrong way.
- Ceiling fans, plants and chandeliers that smear or duplicate.
- Shimmering patterns on carpet, blinds and brick.
- Room edges that stretch during a wide camera move.
They happen because the model has to predict the frames between what it can see. Busy patterns, reflective surfaces and big camera moves give it more to guess. You can prevent a lot of artifacts before generating anything.
Start with sharp, well-exposed photos with straight verticals. Skip shots dominated by mirrors or glass walls. Use gentle motion in small or cluttered rooms, and save orbits for open spaces with a clear center point.
After generating, review each clip on a large screen, not just your phone. A small wobble is easy to miss at thumbnail size and obvious on a TV. If one clip is bad, fix that clip rather than redoing the whole video.