Adjusting the Density of the Matte

The controls on the Density tab are used to adjust the density or opacity of the foreground objects. The density of a foreground object is determined by its matte (alpha) value. A completely opaque object's matte is white, a completely transparent object's matte is black, and a partially transparent object's matte is gray. Use the add matte dropper to scrub on areas in the matte that appear gray, but should be white (fully opaque) in the matte. These areas are described as "print-through", meaning that the opacity of the subject is too low in this area and the background is visible through the foreground in this area. Be careful not to select those objects that should have a gray matte value such as fine hair, smoke or partially transparent objects, as they become opaque. To learn which controls were automatically set by Ultimatte, click the Density tab in the properties panel and note the position of the controls.

Note:  If there are sections of the matte which should be opaque but are exhibiting gray values that don’t look like typical transparency, then there is a chance that there is a remainder of overlay in this area. If overlay exists on subject matter, return the Overlay dropdown menu to Screen and use the removeoverlay tool to scrub on that area. Check on show image as monochrome on the Ultimatte tab to aid in determining the extent of the overlay.

Adjusting Density controls

Use these controls to adjust the density of your matte:

• brights - Use this control to adjust density in bright foreground objects. Advancing this control too far can cause hard, dark edges around foreground subjects.

• darks - Use this control to adjust density in black glossy or dark foreground objects.

• edge kernel - Use this control to adjust number of pixels to use as a kernel to reduce dark edges that may exist in transition areas due to an over-dense matte. Advancing this control too far, may cause too much print-through at the edges.

• warm - Use this control to adjust density in warm colors (flesh tones). Note that reducing this control too much can cause print-through in reddish foreground objects.

• cool - Use this control to adjust density in cool colors. Note that reducing this control too much can cause print-through in bluish foreground objects.