Corona Render Elements with custom filetype per element.

[alexyork]

Hi folks,

In a lot of our projects we have many cameras in a single max scene. For us the most efficient method is to use no File Save output file, but instead use max's own Batch Render, add all the cameras and give them all a unique file output, which is usually an exr.

We then have all the usual Render Elements, for example masks etc. For these, we name the element but leave their output empty, so that they automatically pick up the main output render's filename for example view_01_camera_01.exr > view_01_camera_01_mask_walls.exr.

Using this method we don't need to go to any effort at all with updating filenames for rendering, and we simply drop the latest batch of renders into a subfolder once done, so they don't get overwritten. Generally this is a really good workflow.

But the only issue here is that there is currently no way to force those render elements to render to a filetype other than whatever the main render is, in this case exr. This results in loads of massive mask renders, which would be perfectly fine as JPGs.

This might be a max "thing" that can't be addressed, but is there a possibility to have custom filetypes for Corona Render Elements? This would solve this problem.

Cheers,

[Frood]

Why do you want them as jpg? A mask as jpg is usually not a good idea, is it about file sizes? And yes, you are right, it's a max issue (cutting the link to the output path/file when editing render elements manually).


Good Luck

[alexyork]

Why do you want them as jpg? A mask as jpg is usually not a good idea, is it about file sizes? And yes, you are right, it's a max issue (cutting the link to the output path/file when editing render elements manually).


Good Luck

Hey. Well we render a lot of simple black and white corona mask elements, so JPG/TIFF/PNG whatever is totally fine for this. Filesize is one issue, loading times in Photoshop are another, and then the time to convert them down to 8/16-bit as well. It would be a real advantage.

Cheers,

[maru]

As far as I know all of that is handled by 3ds Max, so we probably won't see much improvement here until there is some kind of native Corona output and render element handling, which the devs were interested in already some time ago.

[alexyork]

As far as I know all of that is handled by 3ds Max, so we probably won't see much improvement here until there is some kind of native Corona output and render element handling, which the devs were interested in already some time ago.

That sounds ideal, I guess, as long as Deadline etc. can get full access and handle them.

[Ludvik Koutny]

From my experience, EXR file format is actually quite efficient at storing masks, as long as you don't go full float 32bit exr, which is rarely ever needed. I remember my 16bit EXR masks having sizes comparable to jpgs :)

[Ludvik Koutny]

I just double checked it, and when it comes to black and white mask, 16bit EXR is only slightly less than twice as large as 100% quality JPG, which is a good trade for having mask in lossless format I think.

When saving RGB mask (Having 3 masks in single file), the EXR was only 150% the size of JPG.

So the only explanation could be you are using 32bit EXR. That may indeed be overkill for archviz. It really makes sense mostly when you use world position pass and/or motion vectors.