Saving in EXR: Render Elements are not saved

[Tom]

Hi,

I want to render using the exr format. Unfortunately only the beauty is saved, not the render elements although I ticked the "Automatically Add/Remove Render Elements from Render Dialog" option.

Thanks for your help,

[TomG]

Can you show the Render Elements set up, to see which ones you have added to the scene?

[maru]

Does it work if you switch to another renderer? I am asking because, as far as I know, these saving options are controlled purely by 3ds Max.

[Tom]

Can you show the Render Elements set up, to see which ones you have added to the scene?

Here you are:

[Tom]

Does it work if you switch to another renderer? I am asking because, as far as I know, these saving options are controlled purely by 3ds Max.

No. I have the exact same problem with other renderers. No render elements are saved when I save the render as EXR, but they are correctly saved if I save in TIF for example.

[maru]

I was having exactly the same problem, but then I installed https://www.exr-io.com/ and it turns out the render elements were there all the time. So it seems Photoshop for some reason does not recognize the baked-in render elements by default. I guess you were opening your output in Photoshop, right?

[Tom]

Hi Maru,

No I want to open the elements in After Effects.

[TomG]

And example scene and EXR would be useful, simplified scene is fine so long as it shows the problem, best sent in via ticket if there is anything in there you don't want to share with the community by posting here on the forum :) https://support.chaos.com/requests/new

[maru]

Since Photoshop doesn't "see" the extra elements without 3rd party plugins, I guess the same could be the case with After Effects. It's either Photoshop/AE problem, or the way 3ds Max stores the data. In any case, it's not a Corona issue.

[TomG]

According to the power of Google AI (and I checked this, and it works):

"
To view EXR layers in After Effects, you need to apply the "Extractor" effect to your EXR layer, which allows you to access and select individual channels or layers embedded within the EXR file; simply navigate to the Effects panel, search for "Extractor," and apply it to your layer to see the available EXR channels in the effect controls.
Key points about viewing EXR layers in After Effects:
"Extractor" effect: This built-in After Effects effect is the key to accessing EXR layers.
Accessing channels: Once the "Extractor" effect is applied, you can select which EXR channel you want to view from the drop-down menu in the effect controls.
Multi-layered EXR files: If your EXR file contains multiple layers (like different render passes from a 3D software), you can easily switch between them using the "Extractor" effect.
"

PS it's written as EXtractoR lol

[Tom]

Thanks @maru and @TomG

I've installed both plugins, for AE et PS, and I'm able to access the render elements in both of them.

Thanks! 🙏🏻

[TomG]

You are welcome, glad you have it all up and running!