Ice melting in whisky
The prompt “An ice cube melting in a glass of whisky, condensation forming on the outside of the glass”
Slow state change over time plus transparency. Tests temporal understanding, not just per-frame quality.
- Models tested
- 16
- Top score
- 4.78 Kling 3.0 Turbo
- Average
- 3.52
- Lowest
- 1.67 MiniMax Hailuo 02
Every model, same prompt
The clips on screen play together from the first frame, muted. Open one for sound, controls and our notes.
Kling 3.0 Turbo
Kuaishou
Google Gemini Omni
GoogleExterior condensation droplets appear to materialize unnaturally fast on the glass.
Grok Video
xAIGood refraction/condensation; the cube shrinks a touch faster than real melting would.
Runway Gen-4.5
RunwayMinor claims of ice/condensation warping during zoom; verified via frames -- ice cube reads as clean and detailed, not clearly morphing. Light discount only.
PixVerse v5.5
PixVerseClaimed puddle spontaneously appearing at the glass base with no visible drip path; not independently frame-verified, moderate discount only.
FLUX 3
Black Forest LabsPhotorealistic glass and whisky, but little real melting: comparing the first and last frames, the cube does not clearly shrink, only its top edge softens slightly while condensation thickens. Verified frame by frame.
Kling 3.0
KuaishouCorrect refraction/meniscus but still little real melting; condensation appears abruptly rather than accumulating (milder failure than Sora's fully static render).
Kling 4.0
KuaishouCondensation builds and a drop runs down the glass, but the cube keeps its size across four shots, the last from above. Verified frame by frame.
Vivix W1
VivixPhotorealistic cut glass and whisky, but no visible melting: the cube looks the same until the clip cuts to a macro of the base of the glass, where a single drop runs down. Condensation does not build. Verified frame by frame.
Wan 3.0
AlibabaCondensation builds on the glass, but the cube does not visibly shrink: at about 1.5 seconds it snaps from a tilted to an upright position and changes shape. Verified frame by frame.
Seedance 2.5
ByteDanceFAILURE MODE: essentially a static render, same as Seedance 2.0 on this prompt. No melting or new condensation over 8 seconds.
Seedance 2.0
ByteDanceFAILURE MODE: essentially a static render. No visible melting or shrinking of the ice, no new condensation forming over the 8 seconds.
OpenAI Sora 2
OpenAIFAILURE MODE: essentially a static render, no visible melting, no condensation dynamics, no convection over 7s.
MiniMax H3
MiniMaxFAILURE MODE: ice cube is pixel-identical between frames 2s apart, no melting or convection at all, verified directly.
Google Veo 3.1
GoogleFAILURE MODE: a detached liquid stream materializes out of thin air and pools outside the glass; condensation droplets stay static instead of forming.
MiniMax Hailuo 02
MiniMaxFAILURE MODE: whisky, ice cube and condensation droplets all stay completely static for the full clip, no melting or convection at all.
Ranked by our blind vision-model judge; models with the same score share a position. Read how we test.