Tips and Trics for rendering sequences

[fabian-pok]

Hi Guys,

I was wondering if there are tips and trics for rendering sequences of frames with kray? I can make good renders for stills but I think I'm wasting rendering time on sequences.
I do my renders on a BNR renderfarm and it are mostly camera animations. I render out the buffers for compositing depth and the MB is applied with the RSMB plugin.

What I do:

1. render the sequence with 10 step in scene on a single computer with photon mapping and GI mode at time interpolation at 10 frames (because I get black splotches at different frames) and no FG nor sampling
2. set the scene at shared for all frames and load the GI file made at 1.
3. render the sequence on my BNR renderfarm

Any tips and trics will be welcome!

Greetzzz,

Fabian

[fabian-pok]

Hi people,

Update of the subject:

In lightwave rendering options, frame step 10 for slow animation, frame step 5 for fast animation. (you dont need to do this if you render on 1 computer because kray writes data from frame to frame, a renderfarm not)

If you change the FG, be sure not to change the checkboxes for raytrace reflection/transparecy/refraction, because that wil not work for the baking. (see attachment)

Greetzzzz,

Fabian

[joreldraw]

Off AA setting on point 1 to speed up the GI computation

[Leftover]

Off AA setting on point 1 to speed up the GI computation

If you really want to minimize frame rendering time for GI pre-caching:
set AA Preset to Custom,
Antialiasing to None,
Undersample to 512,
Threshold to 1.0.
This way rendering final output will take just few seconds.

Maybe some day G will add "Don't render final output" checkbox.

[erwin zwart]

1. render the sequence with 10 step in scene on a single computer with photon mapping and GI mode at time interpolation at 10 frames (because I get black splotches at different frames) and no FG nor sampling
2. set the scene at shared for all frames and load the GI file made at 1.
3. render the sequence on my BNR renderfarm

step 1 is wrong for a camera flythrough, don't use time interpolation, but use Shared GI file with Update with a new file (not one you used earlier in test renders) and let kray render the cache. Disable AA for this pass.
step 2 is good, just remember to enable AA (best is FSAA for avoiding texture and small geometry flicker) and set framestep back to 1

I don't know what happens with Undersample 512 but to me it sounds like accuracy goes out the door that way, nothing for nothing.\\

Also, for now stay away from using >1 prerender steps in animations, I found that kray adds way too many FG sample points in 2nd pass and that the GI file size gets ridiculously large very fast.

[Leftover]

I don't know what happens with Undersample 512 but to me it sounds like accuracy goes out the door that way, nothing for nothing.

Virtually it renders just few pixels from final frame. So you are right - it renders almost nothing from final frame. It saves a lot of time if you want to create GI cache file for rendering animation on render farm. Say GI pass takes 2 min, final frame w/o AA takes 2 min as well, using undersample you will make GI cache 2 times faster... So ours goal is DO NOT render final frame at all

[erwin zwart]

So you are right - it renders almost nothing from final frame. It saves a lot of time if you want to create GI cache file for rendering animation on render farm.

this means you don't create many FG sample points for your cache, that you want to have in final render in all frames of different nodes. In my opinion this means FG flicker (walking splotches) because different nodes create different sample patterns. The point of making the shared GI file in the first place is to prevent that.
So until G codes a way to create the GI file distributed on the farm, we only can wait for the one computer to create it first the way I described, before starting a final render on BNR on farm. I agree that is not most effecient, overhere most time is spent on creating the cache, because with all those FG samples cached, the final rendertime is very fast on the nodes, so the farm flies through the scene in comparison.

[Leftover]

this means you don't create many FG sample points for your cache, that you want to have in final render in all frames of different nodes.

Upsample is AA setting. It doesn't affect FG pass at all. Just try it once.

[geo_n]

I set it to 10 which is extremely fast and GI cache is still ok. I guess it only affects AA pass.

[erwin zwart]

OK I tried Undersample (not upsample) and I see no difference in whatever setting. I realize now that it does not affect FG sampling, was confused there. I don't understand why you bother with this setting at GI cache creation pass anyway, AA is off here in that phase. But to test I did put AA on and changed Undersample to any number and rendertime was exactly same time each test.
What is the deal? Why do you think you should set it?

Most fast would be that kray skipped the whole render pass in this case. Anyone knows if there an obscure command forcing kray to do that? I think not or else I blame G for not telling me all those times we discussed these farm render strategies