What causes ""gamma" must be >= ${MIN_GAMMA}, but got ${JSON.stringify(gamma)}" in remotion-dev/remotion?

Raise `gamma` to at least 0.01 (values near 0.01 are extremely contrasty; 1 is neutral).

remotion-dev/remotion · error · TypeError

"gamma" must be >= ${MIN_GAMMA}, but got ${JSON.stringify(ga

Error message

"gamma" must be >= ${MIN_GAMMA}, but got ${JSON.stringify(gamma)}

What it means

Thrown by `levels()` when the resolved `gamma` falls below MIN_GAMMA (0.01). Gamma controls midtone brightness via a power curve; values at or near zero produce infinite/NaN output and effectively destroy the image, so the validator enforces a small positive floor.

Source

Thrown at packages/effects/src/levels.ts:99

const validateLevelsParams = (params: LevelsParams): void => {
	assertEffectParamsObject(params, 'Levels');
	assertOptionalFiniteNumber(params.blackPoint, 'blackPoint');
	assertOptionalFiniteNumber(params.whitePoint, 'whitePoint');
	assertOptionalFiniteNumber(params.gamma, 'gamma');

	const {blackPoint, whitePoint, gamma} = resolve(params);
	validateUnitInterval(blackPoint, 'blackPoint');
	validateUnitInterval(whitePoint, 'whitePoint');

	if (blackPoint >= whitePoint) {
		throw new TypeError(
			`"blackPoint" must be less than "whitePoint", but got ${JSON.stringify(blackPoint)} and ${JSON.stringify(whitePoint)}`,
		);
	}

	if (gamma < MIN_GAMMA) {
		throw new TypeError(
			`"gamma" must be >= ${MIN_GAMMA}, but got ${JSON.stringify(gamma)}`,
		);
	}

	if (gamma > MAX_GAMMA) {
		throw new TypeError(
			`"gamma" must be <= ${MAX_GAMMA}, but got ${JSON.stringify(gamma)}`,
		);
	}
};

const VERTEX_SHADER = /* glsl */ `#version 300 es
in vec2 aPos;
in vec2 aUv;
out vec2 vUv;

void main() {
	vUv = aUv;

View on GitHub (pinned to 78fe4bb3fd)

Solutions

Raise `gamma` to at least 0.01 (values near 0.01 are extremely contrasty; 1 is neutral).
If animating, set `extrapolateLeft: 'clamp'` and an output range whose minimum is >= 0.01.
Use the documented range 0.01–10 as a hard bound when deriving gamma from user input.

Example fix

// before
levels({gamma: 0})

// after
levels({gamma: 0.5})

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const MIN_GAMMA = 0.01;
if (typeof params.gamma === 'number' && params.gamma < MIN_GAMMA) {
  params = {...params, gamma: MIN_GAMMA};
}

Type guard

const isGammaInBounds = (g: number | undefined): boolean =>
  g === undefined || (g >= 0.01 && g <= 10);

Prevention

Treat 0.01–10 as a hard domain when building UI or animating gamma.
Use `extrapolateLeft: 'clamp'` on any interpolate() that drives gamma.
Floor user input at 0.01 before passing to levels().

When it happens

Trigger: Passing `levels({gamma: 0})`, `levels({gamma: 0.001})`, a negative gamma (also caught by `assertOptionalFiniteNumber` if non-finite), or animating gamma toward 0 with `interpolate()` whose output range dips below 0.01.

Common situations: Slider set to its visual minimum in Studio; keyframe animation extrapolating below the clamp; misreading the docs and assuming gamma can be 0 to 'crush' midtones.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of remotion-dev/remotion@78fe4bb3fd (2026-08-12). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c45823cde2a08af3. Report an issue: GitHub.