Matte
Matte, also known as matt, refers to a dull, flat, and non-reflective surface or finish that lacks luster or gloss, absorbing light rather than reflecting it to create a subdued appearance.[1] This quality is achieved through specific formulations in paints, inks, coatings, and papers that minimize shine, making matte finishes ideal for applications where glare reduction is desired, such as in interior walls, book covers, and fine art prints.[2][3] In photography and printing, matte surfaces enhance readability and depth by providing higher opacity and bulk compared to glossy alternatives, while also offering a tactile, non-slippery texture.[4][5] In the context of picture framing, a matte (or mat) is a thin, flat piece of paper-based material, typically cardboard or matboard, cut with a window to border and support artwork within a frame.[6] This element serves multiple purposes: it protects the artwork from direct contact with the frame's glass or glazing, preventing sticking or damage; creates visual "breathing room" to draw attention to the piece; and allows for decorative enhancements like bevels or multiple layers for added dimension.[7][8] Matboards are available in various thicknesses, colors, and acid-free varieties to ensure longevity and archival quality, especially for valuable prints or paintings.[9] Beyond these primary uses, the term matte has specialized meanings in other fields. In metallurgy, it denotes a crude, impure mixture of sulfides obtained during the smelting of ores like copper, lead, or nickel, serving as an intermediate product before further refining.[1] In filmmaking and visual effects, a matte is an optical or digital mask that blocks portions of an image to allow compositing with separate elements, such as backgrounds or actors, a technique foundational to special effects since the early 20th century.[1] Matte is also a surname borne by various notable individuals, including athletes and business figures. Additionally, it names geographical features and urban areas, such as the Mattequartier neighborhood in Bern, Switzerland.[10] These diverse applications highlight matte's role across art, industry, technology, personal nomenclature, and geography.Surface Finishes
In Art and Materials
In art and materials, a matte finish is defined as a non-reflective, flat surface quality that absorbs light rather than bouncing it back, creating a dull, velvety appearance in contrast to glossy or semi-gloss finishes which emphasize shine and reflectivity.[11] This finish is commonly applied to paints, papers, inks, and other substrates to achieve aesthetic subtlety and functional benefits, such as minimizing visual distractions from environmental lighting.[12] The historical development of matte finishes in painting traces back to the 19th century, when British oil painters began experimenting with techniques to counteract the inherent gloss of traditional varnishes like mastic and dammar, often preferring matte effects for a more natural, less precious surface texture.[13] Artists such as G.F. Watts expressed concerns over excessive varnish glossiness, leading to the use of diluted or alternative coatings to achieve a lustreless quality in oil layers.[13] By the 20th century, this evolved with the advent of acrylic paints and modern inks, which incorporated matte formulations from the outset, allowing for broader adoption in contemporary fine art practices without relying solely on post-application treatments.[14] Key properties of matte finishes include effective light diffusion that scatters incoming rays to reduce glare, making them suitable for viewing in varied lighting conditions, alongside enhanced durability against fingerprints and scratches on surfaces like canvas, paper, and ceramics.[15] Unlike glossy alternatives, matte treatments maintain color vibrancy without specular highlights, preserving the intended artistic depth while resisting environmental wear in archival contexts.[16] Techniques for achieving matte effects involve selecting pigments with low refractive indices, incorporating additives such as silica or wax-based matting agents into paint formulations, or applying specialized matte varnishes over dried works to neutralize shine without altering underlying colors.[17] In oil painting, artists historically mixed extenders or used thin, absorbent underlayers to promote a flat finish, while modern acrylics and inks often include built-in matte resins for consistent results across applications.[11] Matte finishes find extensive applications in fine art, where they are used on prints and canvases to emphasize texture and composition without distracting reflections, enhancing viewer immersion in gallery settings.[16] In bookbinding, matte lamination on covers provides an elegant, tactile quality that conveys sophistication and protects against handling damage, commonly seen in high-end editions.[18] Similarly, in packaging design, matte treatments elevate product aesthetics with a premium, non-glaring surface that highlights subtle branding elements and improves perceived quality.[19]In Displays and Devices
Matte finishes in photography refer to non-glossy surfaces on printing papers that diffuse light to reduce reflections and enhance texture visibility, commonly used since the early 20th century for black-and-white prints. In darkroom processes, fiber-based developing-out papers (DOPs), such as matte bromide or gelatin silver papers, were prevalent, offering a textured surface that emphasized tonal subtlety and archival stability without the sheen of glossy alternatives. These papers, often hand-coated or machine-rolled, allowed photographers to achieve a velvety appearance ideal for fine art exhibitions, as the matte texture minimized glare under gallery lighting.[20][21] In contrast, digital outputs employ inkjet-compatible matte papers, typically resin-coated (RC) or cotton-rag based, which replicate the darkroom aesthetic while supporting high-resolution pigment inks for color and monochrome work. These modern matte papers, introduced in the late 1990s and refined through the 2000s, provide similar light-scattering properties but with faster drying times and greater durability against fading, bridging traditional craftsmanship with computational editing. The shift from analog to digital has preserved matte's appeal for portraiture and landscape prints, where the finish softens highlights and reveals paper grain for a more tactile viewing experience.[22] Matte displays in LCD and LED screens incorporate anti-glare (AG) coatings, such as etched glass or polymer films, to create a textured surface that scatters ambient light and minimizes reflections, improving usability in varied lighting conditions. These coatings, applied via chemical etching or diffusive layers, diffuse incoming rays across multiple angles rather than allowing specular bounce, thereby reducing eye strain during prolonged use and enhancing readability in bright environments. Benefits include significant reflection reduction, with some implementations achieving reflectance as low as 2-4%, making them suitable for professional monitors and laptops, though they may slightly diffuse image sharpness compared to glossy surfaces.[23][24] The evolution of matte finishes traces from 20th-century photographic papers to contemporary consumer devices, with smartphones and tablets adopting paper-like matte screens in the 2010s and accelerating in the 2020s for anti-reflective performance. Early digital photo papers influenced display tech, leading to innovations like TCL's NXTPAPER LCDs in 2023, which use micro-etched films for a matte effect mimicking ink-on-paper, and Apple's nano-texture glass in iPad Pros since 2024, which significantly reduces glare for creative workflows. Widespread adoption in mid-range tablets, such as the Lenovo Tab P12 (2024), reflects a trend toward matte for outdoor and productivity use, balancing aesthetics with functionality.[25][26] Technically, matte surfaces achieve light scattering through micro-scale texturing—typically 1-10 micrometer roughness—that diffuses photons via subsurface refraction, broadening the angular distribution of reflected light and preserving image integrity off-axis. This enhances viewing angles up to 178 degrees in LCDs by mitigating contrast loss from ambient interference, though it can lower perceived color saturation by 10-20% due to haze-induced desaturation. In high-resolution displays, such texturing maintains 95%+ light transmission while prioritizing readability over peak vibrancy.[27][28][29] Emerging applications in 2025 extend matte treatments to AR/VR headsets and e-ink devices, optimizing for outdoor readability amid increasing mobile augmented experiences. In AR/VR, anti-glare matte coatings on polycarbonate lenses, like those in XREAL One Pro glasses, scatter external light to reduce internal reflections, enabling clearer overlays in sunlight without compromising field-of-view clarity. E-ink devices, inherently matte due to electrophoretic particle diffusion, excel in direct sun with near-zero glare, as seen in BOOX Note Air5 C tablets, where the textured surface improves contrast outdoors, supporting extended reading without backlight dependency.[30][31][32]Filmmaking Techniques
Compositing Methods
Matte shots in film and video compositing are techniques that employ masks, known as mattes, to isolate foreground elements from backgrounds, enabling the seamless integration of disparate visual components into a unified scene. This process fundamentally separates actors or objects from their filmed environment, allowing replacement with alternative backgrounds or enhancements. Key variants include traveling mattes, which dynamically adjust to moving subjects, and blue or green screen methods, where a uniform colored backdrop facilitates automated separation through chroma keying.[33][34] The evolution of matte compositing began in the 1920s with optical printing techniques, where static glass paintings served as non-moving mattes to extend sets during filming. By the 1950s and 1960s, innovations like Petro Vlahos's blue-screen matting in 1964 revolutionized the field by generating precise traveling mattes optically, separating foregrounds from blue backings without manual intervention per frame. The integration of digital CGI from the 1990s onward shifted processes to computer-based workflows, incorporating alpha channels for transparency and enabling complex multi-layer composites, as seen in early Pixar productions. In recent years, artificial intelligence has further advanced matte techniques, with AI-powered tools automating rotoscoping, edge detection, and matte generation to streamline post-production, as utilized in films like Dune: Part Two (2024).[33][35][36][37] Creating a matte composite typically starts with filming the foreground subject against a uniform blue or green screen to minimize color overlap with skin tones or costumes. In post-production, chroma keying extracts the matte by isolating and removing the keyed color, producing a transparency where the background once was; adjustments account for edge spill or uneven lighting. For intricate shapes like hair or motion blur, rotoscoping refines the matte by manually tracing outlines frame-by-frame or using motion tracking to propagate masks across sequences. AI-assisted rotoscoping tools now enhance this process by predicting and refining edges automatically. Final compositing layers the keyed foreground over the desired background in software, blending edges with feathering and color correction for realism.[34][38][39] Non-moving mattes suit static environments, such as painted backdrops for unchanging cityscapes, where the mask remains fixed relative to the camera. In contrast, animated or traveling mattes handle dynamic action, generating evolving masks to track subjects like vehicles or characters in motion, often combining chroma keying with rotoscoping for precision. These types allow flexibility in scene complexity, from simple set extensions to elaborate multi-element integrations.[35][33] Iconic applications include the 1977 film Star Wars, where Industrial Light & Magic used over a dozen matte paintings on plexiglass for space battle sequences, compositing model ships and live-action elements against vast stellar backdrops to evoke epic scale on a modest budget. In the 2021 adaptation of Dune, digital matte techniques layered 3D models with photographic textures in compositing pipelines, enhancing desert landscapes and architectural environments for immersive world-building without relying solely on green screens.[40][41]Equipment and Formats
In cinematography, the matte box serves as an essential hood attachment mounted to the front of the camera lens, designed to block stray light from entering at off-axis angles and thereby prevent lens flares that could degrade image contrast and introduce unwanted artifacts. It also functions as a holder for rectangular filters, such as neutral density or polarizing types, enabling precise control over exposure and color without rotating the lens. Traditional mechanical matte boxes, common in film-era setups, featured bellows or fixed shades with side flags for adjustable light blocking, while modern iterations have evolved into lightweight, modular systems optimized for digital cameras, incorporating quick-release trays and carbon fiber construction for faster setup and portability.[42] The open matte format is a filming technique where scenes are captured using the full-frame aspect ratio of the camera—typically 1.33:1 or the Academy standard of 1.37:1—before cropping the top and bottom portions in post-production or projection to achieve a widescreen presentation, such as 1.85:1 or 1.66:1, while retaining extra vertical image data for potential reframing or effects work. This method originated in the 1930s with the establishment of the Academy ratio, formalized in 1932 by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers (now SMPTE) to standardize 35mm film projection amid the introduction of optical soundtracks, which narrowed the usable frame from the earlier 1.20:1 silent era ratio. In contemporary practice, open matte supports high-resolution workflows, including modern UHD home video releases that present the full frame to showcase director-approved compositions or reveal hidden details, as exemplified by the 2022 German UHD Blu-ray edition of The Frighteners, which includes the director's cut in open matte.[43][44][45] Related equipment in post-production includes matte generators, specialized hardware integrated into compositing suites that facilitate the creation of traveling mattes—silhouette masks isolating foreground elements for seamless integration with backgrounds—often via optical printers in traditional workflows or digital keyers in modern setups. These tools have adapted to 4K and 8K pipelines, where high-dynamic-range digital intermediates enable real-time matte generation and refinement without the quality loss associated with analog optical passes, as seen in systems like the Ultimatte 12 4K used for virtual production compositing. Practical considerations for matte boxes encompass their role in lens flare prevention through light-tight seals and adjustable flags that absorb sidelight, particularly beneficial in high-contrast outdoor shoots, as well as compatibility with anamorphic lenses via dedicated adapter rings that accommodate the 2x squeeze factor to avoid vignetting or misalignment.[46][47][48]Metallurgy
Production Process
Matte is defined as a molten, impure mixture primarily consisting of metal sulfides such as copper sulfide (Cu₂S) and iron sulfide (FeS), produced during the smelting of sulfide ores for non-ferrous metals like copper and nickel.[49] This intermediate phase forms in pyrometallurgical processes, where it serves as a precursor for further refining to extract the desired metals.[50] The production of matte begins with the roasting of sulfide concentrates, such as chalcopyrite (CuFeS₂) for copper, to partially remove excess sulfur and convert impurities into oxides.[51] This step is typically conducted at temperatures around 500–700°C in a controlled oxygen environment, preparing the material for subsequent smelting by reducing sulfur content and enhancing reactivity.[52] Following roasting, the material undergoes matte smelting in a furnace at 1100–1300°C, where it melts into a liquid phase comprising the matte and an overlying slag layer.[53] Fluxes like silica are added to facilitate slag formation, promoting the separation of impurities.[54] A key reaction in matte formation during this smelting stage is the partial oxidation of chalcopyrite:$2\text{CuFeS}_2 + \text{O}_2 \rightarrow \text{Cu}_2\text{S} + 2\text{FeS} + \text{SO}_2
This exothermic reaction, occurring under limited oxygen supply, decomposes the ore mineral into stable sulfide phases—chalcocite (Cu₂S) and iron sulfide (FeS)—while releasing sulfur dioxide gas, which is captured for environmental control or sulfuric acid production.[55] The sulfides concentrate in the matte due to their lower affinity for oxygen compared to iron, which oxidizes to form slag components like fayalite (Fe₂SiO₄). Similar processes apply to nickel ores, yielding nickel-iron sulfides in the matte.[56] Once formed, the denser matte (specific gravity around 4.5–5.0) separates from the lighter slag (specific gravity 3.0–3.5) through gravitational settling in the furnace settler, allowing periodic tapping of each layer.[57] The molten matte is then cooled and cast into solid anodes or granules for downstream converting and electrolytic refining.[58] Historically, matte production emerged prominently in 19th-century copper smelting, with early reverberatory furnaces in Wales and Australia producing matte from roasted concentrates in batch operations lasting up to 24 hours.[59] By the late 1800s, advancements like the Welsh process integrated roasting and smelting to yield 30–50% copper matte, enabling large-scale operations.[60] Modern pyrometallurgical plants, such as those using Outokumpu flash smelting since the 1940s, have optimized continuous production, achieving higher efficiency and matte grades up to 70% copper while minimizing emissions.[61] In recent years, variants like Kennecott-Outokumpu flash smelting have further enhanced energy efficiency, with hydrometallurgical alternatives gaining traction for lower-grade ores to reduce emissions.