Combine
Enables combination with helper mattes.
Use Solid and Garbage mattes to reinforce or remove specific regions.
← Fusion node reference
Keying & MatteIntermediate
MatteControl
Alpha and matte refinement
Refines, combines, cleans and reshapes alpha mattes after keying, masking or other extraction operations.
MatteControl
DaVinci Resolve · Fusion
MatteControl is a utility node for taking an existing alpha/matte and making it production-ready before compositing.
Overview
What MatteControl does
MatteControl is most useful after a keyer, DifferenceKeyer, LumaKeyer or any branch that produces an imperfect matte. It can combine a base alpha with Solid and Garbage mattes, blur edges, contract or expand the matte, adjust gamma and clip black/white regions.
The node separates matte cleanup from the keyer itself. That is valuable in real comps because you can preserve a good initial key and perform edge treatment in a dedicated step that is easier to compare and disable.
For green-screen work, a common sequence is Keyer → MatteControl → Despill → color/edge treatment → Merge. Keeping these responsibilities separate makes the graph much easier to troubleshoot.
Mental model
Think of MatteControl as a matte finishing desk: the keyer creates the first cutout, then MatteControl cleans the silhouette and combines helper masks without changing the original key selection.
Common uses
Clean a chroma-key matte
Contract a bright fringe
Fill holes using a Solid Matte
Remove set edges with a Garbage Matte
Soften a noisy matte edge
Prepare alpha before Merge
Flow anatomy
Inputs & outputs
The port structure shows how this node fits into a Fusion graph.
Input
Source image for the operation.
Garbage Matte
Input used by MatteControl.
Solid Matte
Input used by MatteControl.
Effect Mask
Optional mask that limits where the node affects the image.
MatteControl
Fusion node
Output
The processed result from this node.
Inspector
Important parameters
Start with these controls before reaching for more complicated workarounds.
Combine Op
Controls how mattes are mathematically combined.
Choose the operation according to whether you need to add, subtract, intersect or otherwise combine matte information.
Filter
Selects the filtering method.
Chooses the resampling or filtering method used by the operation. Available methods include Box, Bartlett, Multi-box, Gaussian, and Fast Gaussian.
Blur
Sets the amount of blur.
Clipping Mode
Selects the Clipping Mode used by MatteControl.
Available choices include None, Domain, and Frame.
Contract / Expand
Shrinks or grows the matte boundary.
Useful for removing a colored fringe or recovering a slightly over-tight key.
Tip: Use small values; a few pixels can be significant.
Gamma
Redistributes intermediate matte values.
Useful for controlling semi-transparent edge density without hard clipping.
Threshold Low / High
Clips the matte toward black or white.
Helpful for cleaning dirty interiors/backgrounds but easy to overdo.
Restore Fringe
Restores Fringe in the processed result.
Invert Matte
Reverses the matte.
Useful when the extracted selection is the opposite of the desired object.
Solid Matte: Invert
Sets Solid Matte to Invert.
Garbage Matte: Invert
Sets Garbage Matte to Invert.
Post Multiply Image
Multiplies RGB by alpha after processing.
Enable it when the following composite expects premultiplied image data.
Multiply Garbage Matte
Multiplies the finished matte by the connected garbage matte.
Spill Color
Sets the spill Color.
Spill Suppression
Reduces background-color spill on the keyed foreground.
Spill Method
Chooses the algorithm used to suppress key-color spill.
Fringe Gamma
Adjusts gamma in the colored fringe correction around the matte edge.
Fringe Size
Sets the width of the matte edge region affected by despill/fringe processing.
Fringe Shape
Controls the shape and character of edge/fringe cleanup.
Red/Cyan
Applies manual fringe or spill compensation along the red–cyan axis.
Green/Magenta
Applies manual fringe or spill compensation along the green–magenta axis.
Blue/Yellow
Applies manual fringe or spill compensation along the blue–yellow axis.
Practical setup
A reliable workflow
- 1
Build the cleanest possible initial key first.
- 2
Insert MatteControl after the keyer.
- 3
Inspect alpha or matte view rather than only the RGB composite.
- 4
Use Contract/Expand and Gamma before aggressive clipping.
- 5
Add Solid/Garbage mattes for local corrections.
- 6
Check edges in motion, then continue to Despill or Merge.
Typical node chain
Keyer→
MatteControl→
Despill→
Merge
Examples
Where this node fits in real work
Green-screen cleanup
A dedicated matte pass cleans the key before despill and compositing.
MediaInChromaKeyerMatteControlDespillMerge
Difference key refinement
DifferenceKeyer output is stabilized and constrained before use.
DifferenceKeyerMatteControlMerge
Troubleshooting
Common mistakes
Trying to rescue a fundamentally bad key only with matte cleanup.
Contracting so far that hair and motion blur disappear.
Using hard thresholds before evaluating softer gamma/filter controls.
Forgetting that helper mattes may be inverted.
Production notes
Practical tips
Keep key generation and matte refinement in separate nodes.
Toggle MatteControl on/off while watching alpha to understand exactly what it changes.
Use garbage/solid masks for local problems instead of damaging the whole matte.
Related nodes