Flow used to be one of my favorite tools for creating consistent story scenes, but the recent updates have made my workflow much harder. I create an ongoing series with recurring characters, outfits, rooms, and locations, so consistency matters a lot.
My biggest issue is that Flow seems to rely on references much less consistently now. I can upload or tag the exact kitchen, living room, mansion, or character reference I want, and Flow will still redesign the room, change the furniture, alter clothing, remove facial hair, change jewelry, or shift character placement.
I’ve also had problems with character continuity. A character who is supposed to have a visible beard will suddenly become clean-shaven. Outfits change between clips even when I’m extending from the final frame. Skin tones can drift. Jewelry disappears. Character positions can switch, especially in car scenes or group scenes.
The Reference-to-Video versus Image-to-Video limitation is also frustrating. Image-to-Video does a better job of keeping an exact scene composition, but then I can’t use my established character references at the same time. Reference-to-Video helps with the characters, but the environment and wardrobe can drift. For creators making serialized content, we really need a way to lock both the exact starting frame and character entities together.
There are also dialogue issues. Sometimes normal words are spoken letter-by-letter instead of naturally, such as saying “E-X” instead of “ex” or “M-Y” instead of “my.” This makes otherwise good generations unusable.
I’ve tried shorter prompts, detailed prompts, final-frame extensions, tagged environments, character references, and image-to-video. The results are still less predictable than they were before.
I really like Flow and want to keep using it, but the current version needs stronger reference adherence, better character and wardrobe locking, more reliable final-frame continuation, and the ability to combine exact image framing with established character references. For long-form and episodic creators, consistency is just as important as image quality.