Ultimatte-9 Operations Manual
March 1, 2000
71
Figure 31: Matte In / Out Configuration Menu
XXVIII. MATTE IN / OUT CONFIGURATION MENU
A Matte In signal is a monochrome signal, generated by an external source to Ultimatte-9, that is used to
force parts of the BG scene to appear in front of the FG subject in the final composited image. This is
done by turning off the FG subject in the areas specified by the Matte In signal and turning on the BG
scene instead. A 100% white Matte In signal level indicates 100% BG scene and no FG subject, a 0%
signal indicates full FG subject and no BG scene, and all gray levels of the matte signal indicate a
proportional mix between the FG subject and the BG scene.
In most situations, if the incoming matte signal has the appropriate black and white levels, there is no
need to make any adjustments to Matte In Offset, Matte In Gain, and Matte In Level Balance controls. At
their default settings, these controls will allow the Matte In signal level to proportionally turn off the FG
subject and turn on the BG scene.
There are some situations, however, where the Matte In signal should influence the FG and BG elements
at different rates. An example is a semitransparent sheet of glass in the BG scene. If the FG subject
needs to be behind the glass, the level of the FG subject should be reduced by the amount of
transparency of the glass, without reducing the level of the glass itself. If the level of the matte signal is
reduced less than 100%, both FG and BG will have a reduced level. This will give a mixed look, which is
not what was desired. The matte signal associated with the glass should still be 100% white. With Matte
In Level Balance control centered, the glass will be 100% opaque in front of the FG subject. By adjusting
this control towards the BG, the Matte In signal will force the glass 100% in front of the FG, but will only
partially reduce the level of the FG subject. This will produce the desired look.
Online [ 1, 2, 3, 4 ] Active ( 2 ) FILE=
Matte IN
OFFSET
UM9-
Matte IN / OUT Config Menu
Matte IN
LEVEL BALANCE
Matte OUT
GAIN
Matte OUT
OFFSET
Matte IN
Gain
MATTE IN
ENABLE
MATTE IN
INVERT
BILEVEL MATTE
OFF
MATTE OUT
INVERT
%
%
%
%
