vi·gnette

[vin-yet] noun, verb, vi·gnet·ted, vi·gnet·ting.
noun
1.
a decorative design or small illustration used on the title page of a book or at the beginning or end of a chapter.
2.
an engraving, drawing, photograph, or the like that is shaded off gradually at the edges so as to leave no definite line at the border.
3.
a decorative design representing branches, leaves, grapes, or the like, as in a manuscript.
4.
any small, pleasing picture or view.
5.
a small, graceful literary sketch.
verb (used with object)
6.
Photography. to finish (a picture, photograph, etc.) in the manner of a vignette.
00:10
Vignette is always a great word to know.
So is process cinematography. Does it mean:
in which the main action is superimposed on or combined with simulated or separately filmed background action to produce special visual effects
the steps necessary to prepare a film for production, as casting, choosing locations, and designing sets and costumes

Origin:
1745–55; < French: literally, little vine (see vine, -ette); so called from vinelike decorations in early books

vi·gnet·tist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
vignette (vɪˈnjɛt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a small illustration placed at the beginning or end of a book or chapter
2.  a short graceful literary essay or sketch
3.  a photograph, drawing, etc, with edges that are shaded off
4.  architect a carved ornamentation that has a design based upon tendrils, leaves, etc
5.  any small endearing scene, view, picture, etc
 
vb
6.  to finish (a photograph, picture, etc) with a fading border in the form of a vignette
7.  a.  to decorate with vignettes
 b.  to portray in or as in a vignette
 
[C18: from French, literally: little vine, from vignevine; with reference to the vine motif frequently used in embellishments to a text]
 
vi'gnettist
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

vignette
1751, "decorative design," originally a design in the form of vine tendrils around the borders of a book page, especially a picture page, from Fr. vignette, from O.Fr., dim. of vigne "vineyard" (see vine). Sense transferred from the border to the picture itself, then (1853)
to a type of small photographic portrait with blurred edges very popular mid-19c. Meaning "literary sketch" is first recorded 1880, probably from the photographic sense.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The following vignette gives one a sense of missed opportunity.
Later in the film, another vignette drives this home dramatically.
The only implausible note in this vignette is the cordiality with which it ends.
Thank you for a marvelous vignette on the importance of art and the written
  word to the continued understanding of culture.
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