Abstract: An automated method of rapidly producing customized 3D graphics images in which various user images and video are merged into 3D computer graphics scenes, producing hybrid images that appear to have been created by a computationally intensive 3D rendering process, but which in fact have been created by a much less computationally intensive series of 2D image operations. To do this, a 3D graphics computer model is rendered into a 3D graphics image using a customized renderer designed to automatically report on some of the renderer's intermediate rendering operations, and store this intermediate data in the form of metafilm. User images and video may then be automatically combined with the metafilm, producing a 3D rendered quality final image with orders of magnitude fewer computing operations. The process can be used to inexpensively introduce user content into sophisticated images and videos suitable for many internet, advertising, cell phone, and other applications.