A VFX depth map generator with controllable range

A parallax move needs the foreground separated clearly from the plate, so a contrasty range with a firm near value is more useful than an even one. Atmospheric fog needs the opposite: a long, smooth gradient through the background so distance accumulates gradually. The same estimate serves both only after the range has been shaped deliberately.

That is why the black point, white point, gamma, and flattening controls matter more here than raw estimation quality. Grading a depth pass is a compositing decision, and the tool treats it as one: adjustments are applied to the field and previewed immediately, without another model call.

Hair, glass, reflections, motion blur, and occlusion boundaries are the recurring failures. A single-view estimator has no way to know that a strand is separate from the wall behind it, and it cannot see through a window. Those regions need a holdout mask, a manual edge, or a different approach for final-pixel work.

The comparison view exists to find them before they reach a comp. Zoom to the boundary, look for a halo or a stair-step along a hard silhouette, and decide then whether the estimate is good enough or whether the shot needs rotoscoping.

The current tool processes single images. It does not enforce temporal consistency, so applying it frame by frame produces flicker that no amount of cleanup makes acceptable for final footage. A still pass is for look development, plate prep, matte painting, and 2.5D animation from a locked image.

If a shot needs motion, treat the still pass as a reference for a temporal pipeline rather than a source of frames. When more than a grayscale plate is required, the production bundle adds raw float depth and, when the provider returns them, normals, a point cloud, a GLB, and camera information for the shot.