Mask Vs. Matte? Can anyone explain difference?

[bryanedmondson]

Hi all. I am an amateur video editing user. I am trying to learn what exactly a mask is and what a matte is. I can see pictures of cookie cutters and garbage mattes but I still do not understand the difference.

I am an old photographer. Mattes in photography have a cut square where the picture shows through while everything else is covered. Masks were things we used like "dodge tools" in the dark room to keep images from burning into the photographic paper.

I have no idea if video mattes and masks are similar. However I am totally mixed up. I am looking at reference sheets and trying to experiment on the computer, but I am clueless.

Any help is much appreciated.


Thank you. Bryan Edmondson

[Bob]

I am an old photographer. Mattes in photography have a cut square where the picture shows through while everything else is covered. Masks were things we used like "dodge tools" in the dark room to keep images from burning into the photographic paper.

You're not far off. Traditionally, mattes were opaque screens with or without cutouts to control what appeared in the film. If you wanted a different background, you could paint one and position it behind your actors. You could also paint a scene on glass with clear areas that you could place between the actors and the camera (think Frankenstein's castle on a hillside painted on glass with a clear area to allow the live actors making their way to the castle with torches and pitchforks to show through) so both can be photographed as a composite. Mattes were also used in camera to control which parts of the film were exposed so the film could be rewound and run through and exposed again with a different matte to make an in camera composite.

Masks were used to control properties of the image. Dodge and burn tools controlled exposure, colored gels could control contrast when using variable contrast printing paper, and so forth. You could also use an opaque mask like a matte to control transparency. When used to control transparency, the terms matte and mask are equivalent.

How mattes and masks differ depends on the application using them. Premiere Elements doesn't make much of a distinction between the two and the terms are used interchangeably -- they are both generally used to control transparency. You do have the ability to create color mattes that can be used for background or foreground elements. And, you can create an image with transparency in Photoshop Elements that can be used in Premiere Elements in ways similar to how you would use a traditional matte painting.

[bryanedmondson]

Thanks Bob. You are certainly a bubbling fountain of audiovisual knowledge. I appreciate your reply. I am sorry for the delay, I am still getting comfortable with the Muvipix site and messaging system.

[Chuck Engels]

Hi Bryan, Welcome to Muvipix
This is definitely the most knowledgeable and friendly forum on the internet

[bryanedmondson]

Yes you are right Chuck. It is friendly here! This is a good foundation for learning. I do not feel intimidated or overwhelmed, yet I have access to sages and professionals.
I just wandered into Muvipix to get out of the rain and watch a film. Instead I am learning in an environment of very kind people.

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

A welcome from me. too.

All of us here remember that we, too, were beginners at one time so we understand how confusing this stuff can be when starting out.

[bryanedmondson]

A welcome from me. too.

All of us here remember that we, too, were beginners at one time so we understand how confusing this stuff can be when starting out.

"Howdy from Texas." I saw your signature. I wish I had your computer.

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Nah! Mine is five year old technology. You really want a PC like Gerlinde's (gpecht):-

i7-3930K 3.2GHz (3.8GHz Turbo), 32GB DDR3-1600, SSD 256GB, 2x 1TB Seagate Barracuda (7200rpm), Geforce GTX 550 Ti (1GB), Win8 Pro 64-bit

...or maybe Cheryl's (momoffduty):-

Intel i7 3770, Windows 7 Pro w/SP1, 64 bit, Intel 520 Series SSD, 32G RAM, 2 – 2T RAID, (1T external), GTX 550 Ti graphics