HomeFeaturesDetect Exposure Issues
Detect Exposure Issues

No More Blown Highlights
in the Deliverable.

Per-section luma analysis detects underexposure, overexposure, blown highlights and crushed shadows. Each section gets a severity marker and a suggested fix so you can grade with confidence.

Premiere Pro Final Cut Pro DaVinci Resolve 4 exposure types
Four Issue Types

Every exposure problem. Detected and named.

Underexposure

The average luma of the frame falls significantly below the midtone target range. Underexposed footage appears dark and muddy on consumer displays, particularly problematic because viewers rarely adjust their brightness settings. Reported as average IRE value and percentage of frames affected.

Overexposure

The average luma exceeds the broadcast-safe ceiling for sustained periods. Overexposure washes out skin tones and backgrounds in a way that typically can't be recovered in post unless the original material was shot in a log profile. Reported with average IRE and recommended correction direction.

Blown Highlights

A significant percentage of pixels in the frame are clipped to pure white (luma value 255 / IRE 109+). Blown highlights are permanently unrecoverable — the detail is gone. The detector reports what percentage of the frame is clipped and the duration, letting you prioritise the worst sections.

Crushed Shadows

A significant percentage of pixels are clipped to pure black (luma value 0 / IRE below 0). Like blown highlights, crushed shadows lose shadow detail permanently in non-log material. Detected with the same percentage-of-frame and duration reporting as blown highlights.

What Clients See vs. What Editors Miss

On your graded monitor. Terrible on everything else.

Professional colour-calibrated monitors are rarely set to standard consumer brightness. What looks acceptable on a DCI-P3 reference monitor can appear washed out, dark or flat on the laptop, phone or TV your client and audience is actually watching on.

EditLint AI's exposure detector analyses luma values against broadcast-safe limits (0–100 IRE) that are consistent across all display types. Problems it flags will actually be visible to viewers even if they look acceptable on your studio monitor.

  • Analysis targets broadcast-safe luma range (0–100 IRE)
  • Separate threshold for highlights vs. shadows
  • Percentage of pixels affected shown per section
  • Suggested correction: lift shadows, lower highlights, grade in DaVinci
Suggested Fixes
Blown Highlights
Reduce exposure or use Highlights slider. If shot in log, recover in primary correction. If baked, cover with B-roll or trim before the clip blows.
Crushed Shadows
Lift the blacks using Lift/Offset in Lumetri or the Lift wheel in DaVinci. If log footage, apply the correct LUT first.
Underexposure
Raise Exposure or Brightness in primary correction. Check that gain increase doesn't introduce unacceptable noise.
How It Works

Luma analysed. Sections scored. Markers placed.

1

Frame Sampling and Luma Extraction

Frames are sampled from your source media and converted to luma (Y channel) for analysis. This is the same sampling pipeline used by the blur and shake detectors, so when running a full Quality Control pass the same decoded frames are reused across all detectors for maximum efficiency.

2

Histogram Analysis Per Section

For each sampled frame, a luma histogram is computed. The percentage of pixels in the dark zone (crushed shadows), midtone zone and highlight zone (blown highlights) is recorded. Average IRE for the frame is also computed. Consecutive frames with similar exposure characteristics are grouped into sections.

3

Severity Rating and Marker Placement

Each detected section is classified by issue type and severity based on how far outside the broadcast-safe range it falls and for how long. A marker is placed at the start of the section with the issue type, average IRE, percentage of pixels clipped and a suggested correction in the comment field.

Grade with confidence. Deliver without surprises.

Know every exposure problem before the client sees it. EditLint AI flags every blown highlight and crushed shadow in under 60 seconds.

No credit card required · Works inside your NLE · Cancel any time