We’ve just added a new entry to the misinformation “dossier”. It demanded a new category of its own: “The Cult of Personality”. The gaslighting, the mangling of tech specs, the refusal to consult the standards documents, and the scapegoating of manufacturers were all bad enough; but the monetization just might be the worst! Category 8:... Continue Reading →
Steve Yedlin’s 8-Bit PQ Deception
“So, everything right now is 10-bit or higher going to the monitors. And both of these look totally smooth. But what I’m gonna do now is, I’m gonna chunk it to 8-bit. And you see how bad that is? That’s the HDR… I mean, it’s actually terrible. We’ve lost the illusion of a smooth gradient... Continue Reading →
🚨 COLOR SCIENCE FACT CHECK: YEDLIN vs REALITY 🚨
When a famous DP spreads technical myths, we fact-check the claims! Here's the verdict on 7 key arguments from Steve Yedlin's controversial color science presentation: ❌ YEDLIN'S CLAIM:"Colors outside Rec.709 = GARISH"✅ REALITY CHECK:Digital cinema = P3 🎬Subjective bias ≠ technical truth YEDLIN'S CLAIM:"Rec.2020 = SDR color space"✅ TECHNICALLY TRUE ⚠️ BT.2020 is an SDR/WCG... Continue Reading →
Debunking the Debunker: Steve Yedlin’s Color Science Contradictions Exposed
Exposing Steve Yedlin's Contradictions on Color: P3 Workflows vs. Rec.2020 Misrepresentations Steve Yedlin’s "Debunking HDR" presentation misrepresents color science through factual inaccuracies, contradictory statements, and deceptive framing—particularly by attacking Rec.2020 while ignoring industry standard P3-D65. This analysis corrects his errors while emphasizing that creative flexibility—not dogma—should guide color workflows. I. Misrepresenting Color Gamuts &... Continue Reading →
A Diagram Even A 5th Grader Can Understand
In his long-winded, error-filled rant “Debunking HDR,” disgraced cinematographer Steve Yedlin claims that ITU-R BT.2100 = SMPTE ST2084. That is categorically false: SMPTE ST2084 (PQ) is an EOTF. BT.2100 is the ITU-R standard for UHDTV (HDR/WCG) defining--among other things--Rec.2020 primaries, white point and HDR transfer functions (PQ/HLG). In spite of its dangerous inaccuracies, Yedlin’s presentation... Continue Reading →
Color Science Gaslighting Bingo
Teaching color science? Arm students with these gaslighting bingo cards. When someone:❌ Conflates EOTFs & color spaces❌ Claims "Rec.2100 = ST 2084"❌ Says "HDR is just brightness!"→ MARK YOUR CARD → OPEN THE SPECS → DEFEND THE CRAFT. 🎯 TOOL TIP: Use the generator to CUSTOMIZE cards for your class!→ Add local jargon (e.g., "¡El... Continue Reading →
Steve Yedlin’s PQ ST2084 Fallacies – Shareable Table
Yedlin’s PQ Myths vs. BT.2390 Reality 💥 Next time someone asserts PQ is logarithmic🧨 Says BT.1886 is more efficient🤯 Claims ST2084 = BT.2100 Show them ITU-R BT.2390 🧐 Full analysis + ITU receipts 📲 Shareable phone-sized table 🎤 PQ discussion begins at ~1:07:00 in Yedlin’s “Debunking HDR” presentation
Claim-Reality Analysis of Steve Yedlin’s Arguments Against PQ (ST2084) Using ITU-R BT.2390
Steve Yedlin’s critique of PQ ST.2084 misrepresents its design, testing it in ways it was never meant to be used. Using the ITU’s own playbook (BT.2390), we fact-check his claims. Yedlin's Claim on PQ Efficiency Yedlin asserts: "HDR needs 10 bits to look as good as SDR’s 8 bits" and frames PQ as inefficient. Reality... Continue Reading →
Debunking the Myth: HDR Not Responsible for Flat Picture
YouTuber Claim: “The modern obsession with high dynamic range is why we rarely get shots that look this cool anymore.” ❌ (Source: X) Quote: “There is an element to digital cameras that I think is contributing to the grey, sludgy aesthetic and it’s these three little words: High Dynamic Range.” - Patrick Tomasso Reality Check:... Continue Reading →
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 →
Lens & Scene: The True Engines of Dynamic Range
The Limits of Dynamic Range: Why Real Scenes Beat Test Charts High dynamic range (HDR) capture is often reduced to a sensor spec. Standard test charts claim to measure DR but fail to assess real-world performance. True dynamic range hinges on two factors charts ignore: how light is arranged in the scene and the lens... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
Steve Yedlin Fundamentally Misunderstands Color Science
“My HDR demo that's nominally about HDR kind of almost secretly is a color space demo more than an HDR demo in a way.” Steve Yedlin, Team Deakins Podcast https://youtu.be/uqkei9jdkjc Clip from Steve Yedlin’s “Debunking HDR” (ITU-R BT.2100 ≠ SMPTE ST 2084 added) In the above clip, from his presentation “Debunking HDR,” cinematographer Steve Yedlin... Continue Reading →
The HDR Contradiction: A Colorist’s Confession
The Cover-Up “Steve Yedlin's masterclass 'Debunking HDR' reshaped my mental model [...] It showed me [...] the struggles we've faced weren't personal failures. They were expected outcomes of a system oversold as a revolution. We've been told HDR is the future [...] But what if much of that is just marketing dressed as innovation? According... Continue Reading →
How Conflict-Avoidance Shortchanges Students
“I totally agree Daniel! Thank you very much for saying what I'm sure many of you have been thinking for a long time, and especially since Steve Yedlin's “Debunking HDR” talk! What empty debates have formed on social media, about this! I recently gave a talk on color management, and I made sure to do... Continue Reading →
Industry Call to Reconsider Rec.2020 as a Mastering Standard
The Case Against Gamut Chasing Flanders Scientific CEO Bram Desmet has called on standards bodies to curb the pursuit of Rec.2020 as a mastering gamut. While acknowledging its role as a container for content delivery, Desmet argued that implementing Rec.2020 for mastering poses significant challenges. "Let's stop chasing Rec.2020," he stated, emphasizing that most major... Continue Reading →
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 Cuéllar. I’m offering 2 hours of 1:1 consultation (HDR workflows, color science, or post strategy)... Continue Reading →
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 →
