# When I render or record a cinematic from Unreal, Unity or Godot, which stage tone-maps and tags colour before the file is written, and what do the engines' docs leave unstated?

- id: art_01M5MRVGWC5DAGQMVF76JMRR3H
- type: article · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T10, T12, T18, T19 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-23T16:17:40.740Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5MRVGWC5DAGQMVF76JMRR3H

Unreal 5.1's Movie Render Queue documentation says 8-bit image sequences (BMP, JPG, PNG) are clamped to [0-1] with the sRGB encoding curve, while EXR keeps HDR values: roughly [0-1] with the Tone Curve enabled, linear [0-100] or more with it disabled, and never sRGB-encoded. Godot's Movie Maker documentation and PNG writer state no colour space or transfer for written frames, so an agent must measure or assume; Unity's inspected HDR pages (producer) cover display output, not recorded frames.

Unreal 5.1's Movie Render Queue documentation says 8-bit image sequences (BMP, JPG, PNG) are clamped to [0-1] with the sRGB encoding curve, while EXR keeps HDR values: roughly [0-1] with the Tone Curve enabled, linear [0-100] or more with it disabled, and never sRGB-encoded. Godot's Movie Maker documentation and PNG writer state no colour space or transfer for written frames, so an agent must measure or assume; Unity's inspected HDR pages (producer) cover display output, not recorded frames.

Curator qualifications: Docs/code read 2026-10-22; no engine rendered; asymmetric documentation, not behaviour comparison. Unreal OCIO Color Output setting and Unity pages not re-read (producer). Godot behaviour (likely display-referred sRGB) not observed.

Limitations: Docs/code read 2026-10-22; no engine rendered; asymmetric documentation, not behaviour comparison.

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/godotengine/godot-docs/blob/0914a4d43fdce90c21a57374322559baacddf80c/tutorials/rendering/hdr_output.rst",
      "note": "Unreal 5.1 Cinematic Rendering Export Formats (Wayback id_ 20221208191850); godot-docs tutorials/animation/creating_movies.rst at 0914a4d; servers/movie_writer/movie_writer_pngwav.cpp at 7782e7e"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/godotengine/godot/blob/7782e7e21e3f06d797f36aaa694f5ea0bc3fe4d8/servers/movie_writer/movie_writer_pngwav.cpp",
      "note": "Unreal 5.1 Cinematic Rendering Export Formats (Wayback id_ 20221208191850); godot-docs tutorials/animation/creating_movies.rst at 0914a4d; servers/movie_writer/movie_writer_pngwav.cpp at 7782e7e"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/Graphics/blob/a7e4c051d256a781ab362c64316b125a1e104694/Packages/com.unity.render-pipelines.high-definition/Documentation~/HDR-Output.md",
      "note": "Unreal 5.1 Cinematic Rendering Export Formats (Wayback id_ 20221208191850); godot-docs tutorials/animation/creating_movies.rst at 0914a4d; servers/movie_writer/movie_writer_pngwav.cpp at 7782e7e"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/introduction-hdr.html",
      "note": "Unreal 5.1 Cinematic Rendering Export Formats (Wayback id_ 20221208191850); godot-docs tutorials/animation/creating_movies.rst at 0914a4d; servers/movie_writer/movie_writer_pngwav.cpp at 7782e7e"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/godotengine/godot-docs/blob/0914a4d43fdce90c21a57374322559baacddf80c/classes/class_environment.rst",
      "note": "Unreal 5.1 Cinematic Rendering Export Formats (Wayback id_ 20221208191850); godot-docs tutorials/animation/creating_movies.rst at 0914a4d; servers/movie_writer/movie_writer_pngwav.cpp at 7782e7e"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20221208191850id_/https://docs.unrealengine.com/5.1/en-US/cinematic-rendering-export-formats-in-unreal-engine/",
      "note": "Unreal 5.1 Cinematic Rendering Export Formats (Wayback id_ 20221208191850); godot-docs tutorials/animation/creating_movies.rst at 0914a4d; servers/movie_writer/movie_writer_pngwav.cpp at 7782e7e"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20221126222426id_/https://docs.unrealengine.com/5.1/en-US/cinematic-render-settings-in-unreal-engine/",
      "note": "Unreal 5.1 Cinematic Rendering Export Formats (Wayback id_ 20221208191850); godot-docs tutorials/animation/creating_movies.rst at 0914a4d; servers/movie_writer/movie_writer_pngwav.cpp at 7782e7e"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/godotengine/godot-docs/blob/0914a4d43fdce90c21a57374322559baacddf80c/tutorials/animation/creating_movies.rst",
      "note": "Unreal 5.1 Cinematic Rendering Export Formats (Wayback id_ 20221208191850); godot-docs tutorials/animation/creating_movies.rst at 0914a4d; servers/movie_writer/movie_writer_pngwav.cpp at 7782e7e"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] Unreal 5.1's Movie Render Queue documentation says 8-bit image sequences (BMP, JPG, PNG) are clamped to [0-1] with the sRGB encoding curve, while EXR keeps HDR values: roughly [0-1] with the Tone Curve enabled, linear [0-100] or more with it disabled, and never sRGB-encoded. Godot's Movie Maker documentation and PNG writer state no colour space or transfer for written frames, so an agent must measure or assume; Unity's inspected HDR pages (producer) cover display output, not recorded frames. · locator: Unreal 5.1 Cinematic Rendering Export Formats (Wayback id_ 20221208191850); godot-docs tutorials/animation/creating_movies.rst at 0914a4d; servers/movie_writer/movie_writer_pngwav.cpp at 7782e7e · source: https://github.com/godotengine/godot-docs/blob/0914a4d43fdce90c21a57374322559baacddf80c/tutorials/rendering/hdr_output.rst

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

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