Matte (filmmaking)

Mattes are used in photography and filmmaking to insert part of a foreground image onto a background image, which is often a matte painting, a background filmed by the second unit, or computer generated imagery. In modern use, the foreground element is often also computer generated.

Related Topics:
Photography - Filmmaking - Matte painting - Second unit - Computer generated imagery

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The original technique was to shoot an actor on a small set through a hole in a sheet of transparent glass or plastic plate bearing a painted background. The camera would be carefully positioned so that the background painted on the plate would appear to blend with the set as seen from the camera, giving the impression that the actor was in a large space without having to actually build that space. A similar effect, using models and a mirror, is called the Schüfftan process.

Related Topics:
Set - Camera - Schüfftan process

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A later development, called the travelling matte, allowed the shape and position of the matte to be altered from frame to frame, enabling greater freedom of composition and movement as the actors did not have to remain within a set portion of the image. If the matte were made exactly the same size and shape as the image of the actor, it was even possible to replace the entire background.

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Bluescreen techniques, originally invented by Petro Vlahos as a film optical process, are commonly used to extract travelling mattes without using either rotoscoping or multiple motion control passes. Bluescreens are now commonly generated entirely digitally, as part of a digital compositing process.

Related Topics:
Bluescreen - Petro Vlahos - Film optical - Rotoscoping - Motion control - Digital compositing

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