Rendering animation (min time per frame)

[Noah45]

After years of looking for a render engine, that fits this (fast paced retail rendering) needs. Unlike ArchViz, we have a much more compressed time frame. Over the years, I've consistently tried VRay, and iRay w/o good results , each had it's problem for me. Mental ray gave me the best Value (Time/Quality)
Then Corona comes ago, and I can render and interact quickly, with a higher level of quality, that MR could not deliver. Good for stills, with MR though, I could render an animation with decent results, @ 5-10 min / per frame.

With only a couple render node computers, I'm concerned that Corona ( by limiting time per frame) will produce noise in the animation.

Are there any tricks or tips for producing high quality frames, w/o noise?

 

[maru]

Hi, sorry but your question is too vague. Render time per frame might vary from 1s to 8h, depending on things like scene complexity, used shaders, effects, resolution....
We will gladly help you if you provide more hints. What kind of scene is this? Screens or renders would be perfect. We have lots of solutions that could help in many cases, but there are still some limitations.

[Noah45]

Thanks for replying. Unfortunately, everything I work on falls under a confidentiality agreement. So providing screens shots is not an option. I'll work on a shareable test animation and post my results.

[Noah45]

One good example is the Casa Nova house. It's from VizPark, included w/ their software.

My i7-4790 w/ 16gb ram, did 24 passes in 8 mins. Looks great, but still plenty of noise.

My 'ole workhorse MR render, could do a decent render of the same scene, in that time.

Granted the materials aren't as 'correct', but a quick turn render is (at times) more desirable than a 'accurate' render.

Is Denoise-ing the only solution to the quick render times? w/ my existing hardware system (upgrading soon)


 

[maru]

No, this could be caused by some incorrect setup. But we cannot help you if we do not know what we are dealing with. You can send your scene (or a similar one, or optimized/striped version) by submitting a support ticket - https://coronarenderer.freshdesk.com/support/tickets/new , the file will not be shared anywhere, and will be deleted after the problem is solved.

[Frood]

Granted the materials aren't as 'correct', but a quick turn render is (at times) more desirable than a 'accurate' render.
Is Denoise-ing the only solution to the quick render times? w/ my existing hardware system (upgrading soon)

While I understand that it´s against both, code and philosophy of corona, the lack of options to "fake" (meaning lowering rendertimes for the sake of quality) prevents us in fact from a complete shift. I never managed to get reasonable render times for those semi-realistic or conceptual animation scenes (e.g. showing a technical factory worklow).

And I totally agree, amazing rendertimes could be achieved using that old workhorse using the right setup for scene and materials. Maybe it´s the better to get accustomed to the choice between a fraction of rendertime and the joy of working with corona :) I don´t expect any basic changes here because of the complete different technology. But I can imagine a "draft corona material" which acts simple and fast or has a few "faking options" combined? Don't know if that even makes sense.

Good Luck!

[atelieryork]

Personally I disagree with that. I would very much hope that Corona remains focused on quality and realism. I would say that adding features that allow for clever "overrides" etc. and that sort of thing (like render selected etc.) is great, and the more flexibility the merrier. But adding tools to simplify and speed things up while sacrificing accuracy is probably too far out of the philosophy. For that there are many other renderers out there. I already feel like there are too many tools to fiddle around with in Corona render settings, and too many "fudges" that are required due to current bugs. I hope those bugs get squashed and some of those render settings get simplified/removed in return for automation. (Mainly referring to light sample multiplier and the balance between AA samples and secondary samples etc.).

For me personally I am happy to sacrifice some speed in return for minimal render settings and maximum realism.

[Noah45]

Or if ya can't beat 'em w/ MR, buck up for a new system. The (virtual) physical world of Corona was too much to resist.

Just bought a i7 5960x system. ha ha

https://coronarenderer.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/5000501983-how-to-get-rid-of-excessive-noise-

Great starting point. Thanks for allz help

 

[Noah45]

"Maybe it´s the better to get accustomed to the choice between a fraction of rendertime and the joy of working with corona :)" @Frood

That's really what it comes down to. Of coarse we all want to make the deepest, richest reality, but ( for me ) this isn't art, it's commercial illustration. I need for someone to pay me for every minute of my time.

Thinking back to when 3DS Studio r1 was used, we had incredible render times....and for what? Some simple geometry shaded with a few lights. Over the years we we able to bring the time to render frames down to a few minutes, instead of a few hours. We are now capable of making 'hyper-realistic' renderings but the hardware has not kept up with the software development, so we wait.

Anyone else see the irony?