Best Practices for Splitting and Running an Animation Across Multiple Machines?

Started by br3ttman, April 10, 2014, 04:57:35 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

br3ttman

Between work and home I have access to 3 seats of KeyShot.  I've been splitting my animations into 2 and 3 parts in order to render them simultaneously and later stitch them together.  However, frames rendered at 5 minutes each on my MacBook Pro at 53 fps are obviously lower quality than 5 minute frames on my Alienware machine at 72 fps.  Moreover, I can readily see subpar frame quality where I may have interrupted the computer to check something on the internet or perform another function. 

So what is the best way to achieve the same quality between machines and during interruptions?  Max samples?  Is max samples consistent from machine to machine?  If so, what's the best way to determine the level of max samples?  For example, I know that on my Alienware machine, I reach the quality I want after about 5 mins/frame.  Is there a way to determine the amount of samples achieved during that 5 minute render, so that I can transfer that info to other my other machines?  Or is the only option I have to render multiple tests at different sample rates, and then refine that number unit it approximates that quality I found at 5 minutes on my Alienware?



DriesV

Max. time for animations inherently leads to inconsistencies.

QuoteSo what is the best way to achieve the same quality between machines and during interruptions?  Max samples?  Is max samples consistent from machine to machine?
Max. samples is very reliable for consistent quality across different machines. Assuming all machines are running the same version of KeyShot.

QuoteIf so, what's the best way to determine the level of max samples?
Run a test render at, say, 1024 samples. If quality at 25% render progress is adequate then you need 1024/4 = 256 samples. The render time up to that moment is how long the frame will render if you set the amount of samples to 256.
Quality of frames will be very consistent across machines.

Alternatively -if you want maximum consistency- advanced control without global illumination cache is also a great solution depending on the scene.

Dries

br3ttman

Thanks Dries!  That is what I was suspecting.  I appreciate your suggestion of putting the samples really high to begin with, rather than trying to sneak up on it like I was doing.

As an idea for continuous improvement, it'd be nice if there were a way to capture metadata with your rendering and animation files for future reference and when sharing your work.  Analogous to how cameras capture iso, aperture, and shutter speed and photographers share the data alongside their work.  Being able to reference render time, max samples, FPS, and a host of other information by storing it as metadata with the files would be a nice reference feature for both the novice and seasoned renderer.