Katarzyna Petru
The UHD Alliance is launching Filmmaker Mode 1.1, which finally addresses the issue of overly dark films being viewed in bright rooms. The new version of the mode uses the TV's light sensor to automatically adjust brightness and gamma to the room's lighting – without boosting blacks or colours.
New intelligence in classic movie mode
Originally, Filmmaker Mode was created in 2019 by creators like Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, and Paul Thomas Anderson. Their goal was to make films look as they do in the cinema – without artificial contrast, motion smoothing, and saturation. The problem is that this cinematic look doesn’t work in living rooms filled with daylight.
Now the UHD Alliance admits, “Movies often appear too dark in bright surroundings, which is why Filmmaker Mode 1.1 with Ambient Light Compensation (ALC) dynamically responds to lighting, preserving the artistic vision while adjusting luminance to real conditions.”
How Ambient Filmmaker Mode Works
In a dimly lit room (approx. 5 cd/m²), Filmmaker Mode operates as before – with no interference to the picture.
In brighter conditions, the television measures the light level and modifies the gamma value to preserve details in the shadows and enhance contrast perception.
The UHD Alliance emphasises that blacks will not be brightened – the adaptation occurs solely in the mid and bright parts of the image.
For example: how gamma changes with ambient brightness
Ambient light (cd/m²) | Gamma value |
|---|---|
5 | 1.000 |
10 | 0.980 |
20 | 0.954 |
40 | 0.913 |
80 | 0.859 |
160 | 0.794 |
320 | 0.715 |
500 | 0.668 |
The brighter the room, the lower the gamma – this makes the image more readable and realistic in daytime lighting conditions.
Filmmaker Mode with ALC now in 2025 TVs
The first models featuring Filmmaker Mode Ambient Light are LG OLED C5 and G5, where the function can be enabled in the picture settings. In 2026, it will be available from additional manufacturers.
Similar to Dolby Vision IQ or HDR10+ Adaptive, the new Filmmaker Mode analyses light in real-time – with the difference that it does not change the colour, only the brightness and gamma.
Quote from Hollywood
“That I can finally see the colours on the television as intended – that’s a feeling of relief” – said Steven Fierberg, the cinematographer known among other works for A Nightmare on Elm Street 4.
Filmmaker Mode 1.1 is the biggest update to this mode since its inception. Thanks to the smart ALC algorithm, viewers can finally watch films as intended by the creators – whether it's late at night or a sunny afternoon.
