Timeline and other questions

[fixeighted]

I am hoping to render quite a long sequence containing multiple cameras.
I naturally want to output only the exact camera animation range for each. I thought I found a dialogue that allowed that but maybe I was mistaken.
I know there are in/out points but these are extremely difficult to place accurately, so is it possible to add a frame range dialogue to the export sequence tab?
My sequence has been timed to music in Max, so this is quite crucial, especially as it's a 4000 frame piece with up to 100+ cameras

The problem currently with the in/out points is that if I set the timeline to show frames, then I have to close that in order to set the in/outs.....but when I do that the timeline reverts to timecode, which
means I can't set those points

Other than that, I am noticing an overall blur to the renders, even with no denoiser. Can this be dealt with in Vantage or is it a limitation?

Other than these initial hiccups this is looking great...good job guys....my client is overjoyed so far

[npg]

Last thing first: Can you show some images for this "overall blur"? I don't think this is an issue we have seen. Is it texture detail or geometric detail you refer to?

Animation: Could you describe in more detail? Are you using the animation editor in Vantage? When you say multiple cameras do you mean separate camera objects in 3ds Max or simply different cuts on the same camera timeline? If you export truly separate cameras from 3ds Max, you can choose and render them separately in Vantage (this was added in 1.2.0).

[fixeighted]

I see now that the blur is only actually present in the viewport, not in the output image, so that is great.
I've only had since yesterday to test this, so naturally not up to speed on all areas

With the animation, the cameras are all designated shots of various lengths, at different points in the timeline. So separate cams for each.
Occasionally there will be one e.g. exterior camera which will comprise multiple shots at different points along the timeline, keyed as step interpolated.
so for example, I have this one camera and I want to first output shot one 0-100, then shot two 350-400, then shot three 600-635 and so on.

Currently, if that camera's motion starts at frame 1250 the only way I can do that is by setting in/out points, which I cannot do for the reason I mentioned.
Vantage always renders from frame 1 otherwise.
Hopefully I am missing a check box somewhere, or there is an alternative method...

[npg]

OK, so I think your blur issue is caused by the viewport stretching. If you set your viewport to be 1:1 (Fill=off) with the render resolution it shouldn't get blurred due to pixel interpolation. Note that if the window is too small to fit the render resolution it will scale down anyway, regardless of the Fill setting.


We are aware that our animation control needs improvement. It seems what you describe can't be done easily with the existing UI. Maybe someone would suggest a workaround (e.g. I don't know if you could clone and edit the original cameras in Maxd so that each shot has its own camera), but we need to improve the workflow anyhow.

[fixeighted]

Yeah it definitely could use a UI upgrade, though there are workarounds.
One I tried is to focus Max's timeline to only be the length of any given shot, then export that to Vantage.
That is a hassle in my situation, as that means many many separate scenes; however if that is the only way to do it then I may have to bite that bullet.

Even some change to implement a visual readout of which frame I advance to on the timeline would be enormously helpful...... How likely is any (even minor) improvement coming in the next....few weeks maybe?
I have until June to complete these shots, so.....fingers are crossed....I'd love to use this rather than send them to a trad farm, as the quality is easily adequate.

[npg]

A small UI change should be easy, we will discuss that with the team.

Note that if you're resorting to exporting multiple scenes from Max you could export only the cameras (no geometry etc.) and merge them to the main scene in Vantage. Still lots of clicks, but at least the export should be fast with small files.

[fixeighted]

Thanks for that positive....I'll eagerly await to see what can be tweaked to make things a little simpler for animations.
Already in just a day of working with this scene it's remarkable what you guys have done, so I can more that bear the things that aren't quite there yet

Thanks for mentioning the cam only export. I think what I would do is simply gather all the cams and ensure that all their beginning keyframes are at 0.
My client is going to edit them all together, so there is no need for them to be laid out for the entire piece, at least not for the main render.
All good....this will save me an awful lot of time and a great deal of render-wrangling stress

[fixeighted]

You mentioned above that I can choose which cameras to render.
I have a test scene with 3 cameras which are animated in max, saved with the vrscene and
loaded to Vantage.
They all appear on the timeline.
They are spaced apart in the timeline, so e.g. shot 1 is 0-100, shot 2 is 101-200 and so on.
Vantage will only play the one that is on the top in the left camera panel.
If I try to select another, it will snap to it but when playing it reverts to the top one again.
I urgently need some advice on what I am doing wrong here, as it appears to be a simple thing.
I have a client meeting later today so really hope I can get this sorted beforehand.
Cheers

EDIT: As always, as soon as I press 'post' I find what I am looking for, so that's a relief.
Please update the docs...I am almost flying blind here, with a tricky project and a looming deadline

Other than that....please update the UI asap....it really is the most infuriating thing to work with

Other other than that...again, thanks for even making this...it is a wonderful thing, even despite the irritations