My Scripts on ScriptSpot - LC/PPT Calc Updated! - OLD OLD

[studioDIM]

Re: New Place to get my (and others') Scripts

http://www.scriptspot.com/lele/PhysCam_Presets.rar
http://www.scriptspot.com/lele/physc...meter_1.1c.rar
Enhanced the code for the phiscam lightmeter to do a few things it didn't do well or at all. Strenghtened considerably the abortion on esc key interception.
Also fixed a silly bug on the physcam presets deck. grab the new rar file, rerun installer.ms.

Lele

[marc_gibeault]

I'm dumb: I can't get it to work

I'm very new to maxscripts...
I'm trying to create a VRay camera from a standard Max camera.
I put Lele's script in my "scripts" folder and ran it.. nothing happens.
I tried with the camera pre-selected, nothing.
I tried the .mse but Max crashes.
What should I do?

Thanks,
-Marc

[DaForce]

after you run it you need to go into customize UI and assign it to a key

[studioDIM]

Yes, sorry,my fault entirely.
Forum nerdiness creeping in, here.
All these scripts can be found (after running either the .mse, or the installer.ms, where present) under the "Customize->Customize UI-> General-> VRay" category.
Some scripts (like the physcam lightmeter) need to be run straight from the "maxscript->run script" menu, or copied into your scripts\startup folder (like the vray switcher).
For the camera converter, assign to it a shorcut, and you're ready to go (on my standard max shortcut setup, i assigned the camera converter to ctrl+shift+c, similar to the max's own perspective to camera shortcut: ctrl+c).
Behaviour changes depending on wheter you selected a camera, or nothing is selected (in which case it will turn the viewport to a physcam).
Inconsistencies are due to rushing, which is due to showing off needs, which is due to personal dumbness and sense of inadequacy.
Again, apologies...

Lele

[ene.xis]

Inconsistencies are due to rushing, which is due to showing off needs, which is due to personal dumbness and sense of inadequacy.

yeahh some crashes lately when creatin a cray p cam....but it rocks anyways....

[mmikee]

When I ran the exposure script in VIZ2007 it just kept going until I
finally stoped it. After stopping it the ISO was set to like10,000. Mabey
Im doing something wrong ? I used phys cam/sky/sun.

[DaForce]

Sometimes it just keeps on doing. But at that point the render should be fairly well exposed anyway.
ISO of 10,000 does seem rather high tho, does it render ok at that point?

[ene.xis]

yeah the last time i used it it did something waky like that...and it was quite nightmare to end it! it just kept going and going...
and the result was becoming completely over exposed!

[studioDIM]

Ok, there ARE rules there.
The first one is to get the latest version (1.1c)
The second, also in the readme, explains how to use the BIAS parameter.
The third, is to remember the physcam and traditionally lit scenes (ie. without hdr light sources) do NOT go well hand in hand

BIAS is normally set to 128.
It can be changed so the USER (not the script!) can avoid infinite loops in particular cases, cases reminescent those of real life.
Let's say we are looking at a scene with 2/3rds sky and the rest ground.
The bias will allow the user to expose correctly the ground, if he wishes so, in spite of the fact the very bright sky is covering two thirds of the image.
Raise the bias to , say, 192, and watch the script correctly expose the geometry, leaving the sky overexposed (It may be me but that is how i do it in real life...).
But if i ask the script to expose something which will never be, despite the best efforts, dark enough (sky, sun) given the OTHER camera settings (Remember the script doesn't touch F-numbers and Shutter speed: those are the user's responsibility), it will very likely go on for a while trying to expose.
The granularity (ISO %) determines how big a step it has to take per iteration.
Set it too big, and it might loop forever (too bright / too dark tabletennis game), set it too low, and the script will iterate a few good times before exposing correctly. A value like 10% (from the standard camera it means it will go from 200 iso to 180 or 220, and then of 18 isos less, or 22 isos more, and so on) seemed to me to be ideal a parameter between speed and accuracy (the script reduces the step size when it approaches the expected exposure, to gain precision).

Now, the apparent issue of high ISOs.
I would ask Vlado to correct me here, but it seems to me they are there only as a LINEAR way to control exposure in the physcam.
They do not change moblur nor DoF, and surely not the film grain
Hence why i use those to expose.
The script does no magic, however.
A camera with an F of 4 and a 1/30th of exposure, and without HDRI lights, might need SILLY high ISO numbers to get it in range.
That, or treat the camera like in real life with the two priorities, and then goodbye to your DoF and MoBlur settings.
A normal interior, with max standard lights, and a standard camera, for instance, would be pitch black or thereabout when looked through the standard physcam.
If that is the case, do make sure to compensate a bit for it BEFORE exposing with the script (halve the F-number, double exposure time, and so on).

Also, as a reminder, remember to keep the scene to expose SIMPLE.
Turn off any meshsmooth, hide small objects, and so on.
When rendering pictures 4x3 pixels in size, those things do NOT matter, only the MAIN masses of the scene do (ie. in a kitchen scene, hide all the pottery, glasses, plants and whatnot. Leave walls, furniture and lights.).
After the script is run, either copy the camera parameters into the parameters deck script, and paste it into your normal scene, or unhide and reactivate everything that was off for the final render.

More feedback would be appreciated, anyways.
Those who have problematic scenes could try and contact me via msn, so i can have a look at them and see where a mistake might have been made, from my part or the user's.

Lele

[marc_gibeault]

Yes, sorry,my fault entirely.
Forum nerdiness creeping in, here.
All these scripts can be found (after running either the .mse, or the installer.ms, where present) under the "Customize->Customize UI-> General-> VRay" category.
...
For the camera converter, assign to it a shorcut, and you're ready to go (on my standard max shortcut setup, i assigned the camera converter to ctrl+shift+c, similar to the max's own perspective to camera shortcut: ctrl+c).
Behaviour changes depending on wheter you selected a camera, or nothing is selected (in which case it will turn the viewport to a physcam).
Inconsistencies are due to rushing, which is due to showing off needs, which is due to personal dumbness and sense of inadequacy.
Again, apologies...

Lele

Thanks a lot Lele.
Got it to work but only when the current viewport was a "Perspective" one, without a camera selected.
Max crashed when a camera was selected or when the active viewport was a camera. It was a standard Max camera created with Camera Match. Any ideas?

-Marc

[studioDIM]

would you be so kind as to mail the scene to me @ emanuele dot lecchi at gmail dot com?

It should work with standard max cams, and any viewport.
It does here...
Ah, one thing.
The Vray Phiscam does crash max when it's set to free, and a second one is created.
Make sure you convert targeted cameras for now, and the go in later transforming the vray ones to free, if you need them so.

Lele

[marc_gibeault]

That must be it!
The Camera Match tool creates a free camera.
I'll change it to targeted before I run the script next time.
Thanks a lot!

-Marc

[jacksc02]

lele- the light meter isnt showing me anything once I hit expose. Is this what it should be doing?

[studioDIM]

if you have a tiny scene, and the vray log window off, it may be so fast you don't see it exposing.
See what happens in the maxscript listener.

Lele

[jacksc02]

its a big scene and I had the vray log open. It was rendering, the ISO value was changing then it repeats that process.
Im using the standard max VFB, does it need to be the vrayVFB?