matte

Definition: (1) Box-shaped accessory placed in front of camera (usually cine or video, can be stills) lens to act as lens-hood or to hold accessories such as vignettes, gels. (2) Card or conservation board whose centre is cut out to create a window to display prints: a standard way to display fine-art prints as the precious things are protected from abrasion yet can be seen easily, without the distration of any covering. (3) Mask that blanks out an area of image to allow another image to be superimposed: the mask is usually cut out to be the same size and shape as the image to be superimposed - used in film and digital image manipulation.

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