System for image compositing including training with custom synthetic data

An apparatus for compositing image elements, the apparatus comprising:

• one or more digital processors;
• a tangible processor-readable medium including instructions for:
• obtaining custom recorded data of an aspect of an environment;
• modifying the aspect in a computer program to create a rendering of a modified environment;
• generating custom synthetic data from the modified environment;
• selecting a deep neural network that has been trained using a dataset derived, at least in part, from the custom synthetic data;
• using the selected deep neural network to process image information from one or more auxiliary cameras to generate a depth map of the environment;
• correlating the depth map with at least a portion of picture elements in at least one picture image of the environment obtained from an image capture device;
• and
• using the correlated depth map to composite one or more digital elements with one or more picture elements.

A tangible processor-readable medium including instructions executable by one or more digital processors for compositing image elements, the processor-readable medium comprising one or more instructions for:

• receiving custom recorded data of an aspect of an environment;
• modifying the aspect in a computer program to create a rendering of a modified environment;
• generating custom synthetic data from the modified environment;
• and
• creating a training dataset derived, at least in part, from the custom synthetic data, wherein the training dataset is suitable for training a deep neural network to process image information from one or more auxiliary cameras to generate a depth map of the environment.