Issues with High Render Settings

[loughran_matthew]

I recently posted a message on finding a the best proven technique for rendering a scene with animated objects in it. To no avail. So i post again with my settings and issues with a plea for help??? I have been rendering accross a network and have tried rendering with an irr map and just on single frame and the flickering results are the same. The animated objects are a mix of animated scale transforms and animated path deforms. All elements have animated visability. I have have incrementally tried turning up the qmc and rqmc subdivisions but this has made very little difference to the problem, and has mostly just increased the render time, which is now at 23(ish) minutes per frame. I have added some screen grabs of my render settings and the problem areas. If you download the two frame png's and flick between them quickly the problems will soon be obvious.
Please help, i have a deadline for tuesday (06/03/07) and really need this problem fixed as it is making my brain hurt!!

Vlado, i understand you are the man to plea too??

Render settings - http://www.rogepost.com/n/9028986090

Frame 71 - http://www.rogepost.com/n/8518518512

Frame 72 - http://www.rogepost.com/n/3747677948

[kwok3d]

can't get to your images...

[sv]

yeah can't see your images,
but basically for animations with moving objects, don't use Irradiance Maps, but use QMC GI.

or QMC for Primary and LightCache for secondary.

[kwok3d]

?

em, doesn't that take a lot longer with QMC+LC?

[ShaunDon]

And the lightcache is never a good method of calculating GI when you have moving objects. Granted, I still do it on occasion 'cause it renders so fast, but it doesn't look very good at all. And as mentioned in the previous post, QMC for the primary bounce takes a lottt of calc time to eliminate the grain, so render times will be far from optimal.

Irrad+qmc is still the best way to go if you have any secondary motion. Sucks, 'cause irrad+lc is so much faster and allows for much better light distribution.

Shaun

[vlado]

In regard to the irradiance map for animation, we are working on a way to blend irradiance maps from adjacent frames in order to reduce flickering in animations, which seems to work quite well...

Best regards,
Vlado

[jacksc02]

In regard to the irradiance map for animation, we are working on a way to blend irradiance maps from adjacent frames in order to reduce flickering in animations, which seems to work quite well...

Best regards,
Vlado

This sounds very interesting vlado.
We just completed a series of small animations using irmap/lc and had no issues with flickering, but your new method sounds like the logical next step

[kwok3d]

been waiting for you to say that vlado!! thanks!!

[RErender]

Heh, they've been talking about this for weeks down in the Maya Forums... :P

[sv]

em, doesn't that take a lot longer with QMC+LC?

well yes it can do and totally depends on your scene, but if you've got animated objects rather than just an animated camera, there are certain method's your better off using as others will cause 'flickering' or swimming GI samples.

Another way to approach it would be to render the elements in the scene which don't move (i haven't seen your images or scene, but for example the walls and floors etc.) using a pre-calculated and cached Irradiance map and Light Cache, then render the animated objects separately, possibly with Matte Materials assigned to the previously rendered static elements. Composite the two together afterwards.

It does totally depend on your scene though; i'e rendered animated images using QMC \ QMC that have only rendered in about 6 or 7 minutes a frame at PAL size. I have also (unfortunately) rendered animation frames using QMC \ QMC which have taken over 24hours a frame.