I am outputting my short project to DVD for film festival submission. How important is it for every frame to stay at or below the 100% luminance level? There are a few peaks (sunburst on dark helmet, flashing headlights during day) that look fine on a monitor. Certainly better than tapping down the whites level in the Color Corrector 3-way until the Excess Luma checkmark appears, which dims down the shot so it won't match the others.

I certainly don't expect that this will ever be broadcast under the FCC's purview.

Are there any other tricks? Thanks!

Carl Russo

If the film is being projected (i.e. digital projector), then it should be ok to exceed the luminance limit.

For broadcast, you should have the picture at the brightness you want and then apply the broadcast colors filter at the extremely conservative setting.