Dismantling Yedlin’s “No HLG Path” Claim

Fact Check: Yedlin’s HLG Claims vs. Industry Reality While we aren’t taking a position on HLG’s suitability for narrative streaming, we cannot remain silent in the face of persistent industry-wide inaccuracies. We clarify some of these points below.  REAL-WORLD ADOPTION CLAIM   “There’s no real-world in-use path for images to be encoded in HLG at... Continue Reading →

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HDR, Film & Workflow Consistency Myths

During a Team Deakins podcast discussion about HDR, Steve Yedlin characterized established, mainstream HDR color spaces like P3-D65 as undocumented, unstable "hybrid" systems that entail substantial risk, citing an unverified anecdote about oversaturated deliverables. “A lot of times the deliverables are done in sort of hybrid color spaces where they're not using one of the... Continue Reading →

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MaxCLL ≠ HDR Quality: Spatial Contrast FTW

There's a perception going around that higher MaxCLL statistics indicate 'better' HDR.  Many confuse the purpose [1] of MaxCLL and MaxFALL metadata—which is to inform display tone mapping—with actual HDR quality.  HDR's superiority lies in preserving spatial contrast relationships, not in chasing extreme luminance levels.  This conflation of display capability (e.g., the 10,000-nit reference) with... Continue Reading →

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CineD Asks Question Answered A Decade Ago

CineD's piece, "Has RAW Video Finally Gone Mainstream?,” is baffling: did they just wake up from a coma? RED introduced the RED ONE, which recorded their proprietary REDCODE RAW format, back in 2007. Canon's been offering raw in their cinema camera lineup for nearly a decade. Blackmagic defined affordable raw cinema cameras starting in... 2012!... Continue Reading →

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Open Challenge: Clarifying Color Spec Terminology

🏆 OPEN CHALLENGE: Clarifying Color Spec Terminology (A good-faith effort to align our industry with standards) From “Don't repeat these mistakes about color spaces and HDR: insights from the demo "Debunking HDR" by Steve Yedlin (Part 2),” by Daniel Bañuelos CuĂ©llar. I’m offering 2 hours of 1:1 consultation (HDR workflows, color science, or post strategy)... Continue Reading →

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Supplement To “HDR Myths” Post

Spatial Contrast: Spatial contrast refers to the difference in brightness between adjacent areas in an image.  Why it matters: HDR’s superpower isn’t extreme nits—it’s faithfully reproducing spatial contrast relationships that SDR compresses.  Supplement to: HDR Myths, Terminology-Driven Workflow Errors + Practices, Etc. The Path Forward   Expose for highlight retention (ETTR)   Grade for local,... Continue Reading →

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HDR Myths, Terminology-Driven Workflow Errors + Practices

HDR in Practice: Separating Technical Reality from Cinematic Mythology Persistent misconceptions about High Dynamic Range imaging—from exposure dogma to creative workflows—continue to undermine its potential. This critique dismantles a dozen pervasive fallacies using empirical research and industry evidence. Practically each myth violates fundamental vision science, a theme that will be developed further in our upcoming... Continue Reading →

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Why We Can’t Stay Silent

Estamos cansados—tired of the gaslighting. But silence lets misinformation win. This breakdown helps you recognize manipulation tactics corrupting our industry. Naming them is professional accountability, not personal attack. Tactic: Scapegoating Tools “Ideally, standard naming should make communication simpler. But I get how challenging it is to maintain clarity while evolving the standards themselves. What I... Continue Reading →

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Secretly A Demo

Listening to a celebrated DP explain HDR to revered colleagues on a popular podcast the other day was like overhearing a 17th-century explorer describing fantastical beasts to their monarch:  “And you won’t believe this, but this “so-called HDR” actually has TWO color spaces! But sometimes they use the smaller one - a “hybrid”, so to... Continue Reading →

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Gaslighting: How ‘Anti-Gatekeeping’ Rhetoric Shields Misinformation

“Those of us in post-production live at the crossroads between artistic and technical. I've noticed a troubling trend: using technical knowledge as gatekeeping - ridiculing those who don't use 'right' terms instead of fostering collaboration." - Daniel Bañuelos CuĂ©llar| LinkedIn (July 2025) Spread  Inaccuracies —> Play The Victim  Bañuelos’ “anti-gatekeeping” plea is damage control for... Continue Reading →

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Revisiting the HDR vs. SDR Debate: Preserving Creative Intent in Display Tech

Steve Yedlin’s presentation “Debunking HDR" makes a bold claim: “Only SDR can faithfully reproduce relative contrast as authored by filmmakers." This argument underpins his entire critique of HDR workflows. During a Technical Webinar, Dolby’s Samuel Bilodeau directly challenged Yedlin’s core premise. https://youtu.be/gT8Arb7xp3I?si=AYH0Y6IWXLK2B56d&t=1745 Bilodeau argues (29:00): We don't broadcast BT.1886; we broadcast Rec.709. When combined, Rec.709... Continue Reading →

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Defending the Indefensible: How Industry Credentials Shield HDR Misinformation

In “Debunking HDR”, Steve Yedlin commits two serious technical sins - he mislabels BT.1886 (an EOTF) as a “color space” and falsely claims BT.2100 = SMPTE ST2084. This isn’t semantics - it’s professional negligence. This misrepresentation has fueled an epidemic of color-spec illiteracy. Enter Stephen R. George Jr., a veteran of Sony, Technicolor, ARRI and... Continue Reading →

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Weaponizing History To Defend LDR

A prominent display calibration company portrays color scientist Josh Pines as a rebel challenging industry norms. But Pines’ rhetoric reveals a deeply reactionary mindset. Worse, companies like Portrait Displays platform his anti-HDR views while selling HDR tools - a paradox exposing industry-wide dissonance. "For eons, as a species, we've been obsessed with taking real world... Continue Reading →

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