Katarzyna Petru
The UHD Alliance introduces Filmmaker Mode 1.1, which finally addresses the problem of overly dark films watched in bright rooms. The new version of the mode uses the light sensor in the television to automatically adjust brightness and gamma to the room's lighting – without boosting blacks or colors.
New Intelligence in Classic Film Mode
Originally, Filmmaker Mode was created in 2019 at the initiative of creators such as Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, and Paul Thomas Anderson. Their goal was for films to look the way they do in theaters – without artificial contrast, motion smoothing, and saturation. The problem is that this cinematic look didn’t work in living rooms full of daylight.
Now the UHD Alliance admits: “Films often appear too dark in bright environments, 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 dark room (about 5 cd/m²), Filmmaker Mode operates as before – without any interference with the image.
In brighter conditions, the television measures the level of light and modifies the gamma value to preserve details in the shadows and enhance the perception of contrast.
The UHD Alliance emphasizes that blacks will not be brightened – the adaptation occurs solely in the midtones and lighter areas of the image.
For example: how gamma changes with ambient brightness
Ambient lighting (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 legible and realistic in daylight conditions.
Filmmaker Mode with ALC coming to 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 and HDR10+ Adaptive, the new Filmmaker Mode analyzes light in real-time – with the difference that it does not change color, but only brightness and gamma.
Quote from Hollywood
“That I can finally see colors on the television as intended – that’s a feeling of relief” – said Steven Fierberg, a cinematographer known for, among other works, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4.
Filmmaker Mode 1.1 is the largest update to this mode since its inception. Thanks to the intelligent ALC algorithm, viewers can finally watch movies as intended by the creators – whether it's late at night or a sunny afternoon.
