Change List

Version 2.0: 2026

Version 2.0 converts the 2017 handbook into a maintained wiki and updates its technical guidance through July 2026. It adds current mastering, color-management, distribution, and archival workflows while preserving the handbook's focus on practical decisions for independent productions.

New chapters

• The Academy Color Encoding System (ACES)
• Color Management and OpenColorIO
• Application-Native Color Management
• Choosing a Color Management Approach
• HDR Mastering
• IMF: The Interoperable Master Format
• DCP: The Digital Cinema Package
• Distribution Deliverables for Independent Film
• Where to Start
• Production Checklists
• Technical Specifications
• Reusable Production Templates

New and expanded sections

• Scene-referred and display-referred image states, camera log, and bit-depth requirements
• ACES 2.0, ACEScg/ACEScct, Output Transforms, gamut compression, and ACES containers
• Resolve Color Management, DaVinci Wide Gamut/Intermediate, FilmLight TCS, and T-CAM
• OCIO configuration, version control, vendor distribution, and round-trip testing
• HDR10, Dolby Vision metadata and trims, HDR/SDR mastering strategy, and HDR VFX review
• IMF applications, supplemental packages, Photon validation, and component-based versioning
• SMPTE DCP, Bv2.1, accessibility tracks, KDM delivery, cinema-server QC, and festival requirements
• Independent distribution masters, audio stems and M&E, loudness targets, captioning, legal deliverables, and trailer requirements
• VFX bidding, count sheets, review and approval, versioning, trailer work, and turnover lifecycle
• Confidence packages, frame-rate planning, pDCDM interchange, and modern mastering paths
• Archival masters, LTO, checksums, cloud storage, media migration, and project reconstruction

General updates

• Replaced 2017 camera examples with current ARRI, Sony, RED, and Blackmagic systems.
• Updated Apple ProRes, Avid DNx, OpenEXR, DPX, H.264/H.265, AV1, and JPEG 2000 guidance.
• Updated HD, UHD, 2K, 4K, Flat, Scope, aspect-ratio, and frame-rate guidance.
• Updated Rec.709, BT.2020, DCI X′Y′Z′, camera gamut, transfer-function, and white-point material.
• Added current SMPTE, ITU, Academy, DCI, ISDCF, AMWA, and VFX Reference Platform references.
• Rebuilt figures from the original source artwork and added current workflow diagrams.
• Corrected terminology, obsolete product references, dead links, and technical inaccuracies.
• Reorganized the handbook into shorter, searchable chapters with consolidated cross-references.
• Tightened the prose throughout for faster scanning and more actionable guidance.
• Reorganized navigation around the production lifecycle and role-based entry points.
• Added page metadata, canonical URLs, structured data, llms.txt, and a complete Markdown corpus.
• Added automatically rebuilt EPUB and PDF editions for offline use.
• Made handbook figures expandable in a full-screen, keyboard-accessible lightbox.

Earlier releases

Version	Notes
1.0.1	Corrected typos and removed an erroneous blank page.
1.0.0	First public release.
0.9.4	Added image-processing workflows and imaging-science refinements.
0.9.3	Revised graphics.
0.9.2	Revised figures, added the Cineon transfer function, and corrected layout.
0.9.1	Added display and camera color-space figures.
0.9.0	Initial limited release.
0.1.0	Initial draft.