Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Saving the file as a movie will allow you to get an instantly playable animation, but this has some serious
drawbacks. The main issue with rendering to a movie file is that the file is not completed until the final frame
renders. In other words, if your computer slaves away rendering 999 out of 1,000 frames in a weekend-long
render and a power outage occurs before the last frame renders, you will lose the entire rendering—not a
problem that many people would like to have.
The better option is to render image sequences. The Image Sequence option will render the number of
frames specified in the format of your choice. If an alpha channel is enabled in Render Outputs, it will be
included as an embedded channel in the images (if rendering to a file type that supports alpha channels).
If you have multiple render outputs, the Layered Images option will be of most use. This will allow you to
save a sequence of layered PSD files (as well as a few other formats), which can be directly imported into
Adobe After Effects or another video-editing program.
Setting Animation Options and Render Outputs
When preparing an animated sequence, you should consider a few options. Motion Blur, Global Illumina-
tion, and Antialiasing need to be planned depending on the purpose of the animation and the render time for
the project. If the animation is something like a turntable, in which viewers may wish to pause and inspect
individual frames, then motion blur is probably not the best choice (plus it does increase render time). In
other types of animation (or when outputting to a video that does not usually pause), the motion blur can
help add some realism and make the motion appear smoother. Gauge this option based on the project needs
and render time that can be spent on the entire number of frames to be rendered.
When rendering a sequence with Global Illumination (which will often be the case) and a static scene
with an animated camera, the Walkthrough option can be very useful. Click the Walkthrough Mode button
in the Global Illumination section of the Render Properties viewport. This option will calculate the full Irra-
diance Cache (high-quality light samples) for the first frame, but in subsequent frames, only the areas of the
frame that were not in the previous frame will have the Irradiance Cache calculated. This can result in some
tremendous time savings depending on the scene. I personally have seen render times go from 90 minutes
for a first frame (of a high-definition architectural walk-through) down to less than 40 minutes for additional
frames with no visible loss in quality. In addition to the Walkthrough mode, you should take some time to
adjust the Global Illumination settings. Refer to Chapter 12, “Improving Final Renders,” for reference on
optimizing these settings.
After you have set the preceding options and have optimized them as much as possible, checking the An-
tialiasing settings will help you get the best speed out of your renders. Remember that in the case of anima-
tion, a little less refinement is needed. This is especially important if the animation is to be accompanied by
higher-resolution still frames. In many instances, a setting of 8 Samples/Pixel is fine for animation (though
this can go higher if Depth Of Field or Motion Blur are in effect, as these settings require higher antiali-
asing to get the smoothest possible result). Making adjustments of this type can be helpful.
Figure 13-25
shows a rendered image with the settings for a nice quality still and a render time of just under 1 minute and
10 seconds.
Figure 13-26
has the settings optimized for animation and a final render time of just over 19
seconds.
Figure 13-25:
Before optimizing the scene for animation, the rendered frame takes 1:07 to render.
