Phantom mask like thing appearing - what could it be?!

i have the weirdest issue going on. here’s a picture of it:

ok this is dynamic text. it’s embedded within a few movieclips. the topmost is masked by something that covers the whole thing. there are no other masks. when i change the text the effect stays the same. when i move the text the effect stays in the same place and moves with the text. when i put a big red box over the text/under the text it is not effected by whatever is going on. i have NO IDEA what’s wrong! has anyone seen this sort of thing before?
help… please :slight_smile:
emma.