Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
channels saved separately from the RGB
images.
•
Output Filename Format
lets you
choose from several numbering and naming
conventions, just in case your files have to
be read by a more pedantic picture process-
ing program that needs its files named just
the right way.
•
Fader Alpha Mode
affects
only the
saved files
, not the Render Display window.
With this active, the saved files will be
saved with “straight mattes,” as opposed to
how LightWave normally saves its alphas as
“premultiplied” with the background color
— usually black. You use this most often
when working with live, broadcast TV
equipment or when rendering frames with
lens flares or other delicate special FX that
will be composited later.
Figure 4-10: The Output Files tab.
The Output Files tab is where you tell
LightWave to put the movies and frames
you'll make when you select <
F10
>(
Ren-
der
[the entire]
Scene
).
•
Under Save Animation, the
Type
pop-up lists several different animation for-
mats, the most common being .AVI and
QuickTime. The
Options
button opens an
Options panel specific to the type of anima-
tion you are creating.
•
The Save RGB
Type
pop-up presents a
large number of file formats spanning many
platforms. Choose your destination direc-
tory and type in your filename prefix under
RGB Files
, and LightWave does the rest.
Even though the RGB file type you've
chosen may support alpha channels, you
may wish to save your alpha separately.
•
The
Save Alpha
options tell
LightWave where you want the alpha
Note
The Device Control tab is a bit of a holdover
from when the
only
way to get your anima-
tions onto videotape was by using a single-
frame VTR that supported external control.
Though most people today use something
like Video Toaster 4 to play their animations
directly
to their target tape media in real
time, I'm sure the folks who stick by their old
reliable single-frame VTRs are thankful that
LightWave has not forgotten them.
Lighting
Lighting is, beyond the shadow of a doubt,
the most important factor in making any-
thing look good in 3D. Because there are
exceptional resources on lighting and light-
ing specifically in LightWave, such as
LightWave 3D 8 Lighting
by Nicholas
Boughen (Wordware Publishing), we're just
going to blast through an application here
and let topics like Boughen's explain the
“hows” and “whys” of it all.
