To prepare each of the models for their final renders, I had to do a few optimisation tweaks.
Background
The backgrounds of each of my final pieces started as infinite backgrounds that I created. I wanted to be able to have shadows from my objects because then they would then look more realistic, but I realised that actually, for some of my objects, they need to be elevated off the ground. For this reason, I had to experiment with each background to make sure they fit the objects properly, and for my camera I decided that instead of the infinite background, I would use a sky sphere. I chose a sky sphere because after experimenting with all of the background options in C4D, the sky sphere was the only one that created an infinite background (however it does also create light for some reason, even though there is no luminance channel on the material). This didn’t really work on my other shots, so I had to stick with the infinite background that I created. The one that I created though isn’t perfect; even though the curve has enough subdivisions and a wide enough angle, for some reason, there is a very harsh shadowed line that I just can’t get rid of.
Resolution
For my pieces, so far I have been working at a resolution 600×800, just to make rendering quicker. For my final exports, I used the H.264 default that I normally use within my Adobe software, and chose HDTV 1080 25fps, which will be the same as the setup of my After Effects files. This really increased render times, but this is to be expected and is unavoidable if I want a high-quality final render.
Renderer
I started my journey in 3D using the standard renderer, however, during the project, I found the physical renderer, which has options for increasing the raytracing samples with the defaults preview, low, medium and high. My initial renders had mostly been at low-quality raytracing samples, just to get the initial drafts done quicker, but I decided that a nice middle ground between high-speed rendering and high-quality pieces would be the medium renderer. The noise in the shadows is hardly noticeable, so there isn’t really any need to increase my render times with the high-quality renderer.
Camera Movements
Because I want my project to combine After Effects and Cinema 4D, I want to add annotations that show what my work is about, and these would look great if I could composite them in 3D space with the 3D camera so that they track along with the object. To best demonstrate this in the final piece, my cameras will need to have movement. I have used different slow pans for each of the shots so that it doesn’t end up repetitive, and the text will still be readable.
Saving
I export each of my pieces as PNG sequences. I have learned throughout my degree that this is the safest way to export pieces that take a long time, as if it fails half way through, nothing is lost except for the current frame, and you can restart the export from there.
Optimisation
For my final shots I knew they would take a long time to render out. I asked Jon for any optimisation tips and he advised me to increase the number of threads that Cinema 4D uses to render the piece. We checked the computer settings and found that the computer has 16 threads, so we told C4D to use all 16. This means that when I am rendering, I must make sure that I don’t have any other software open or the computer could crash, but I have been rendering overnight anyway, so this isn’t an issue.
Finishing touches
Before I set the piece to render, I do one final render of a single shot to make sure the lighting, samples, angles and ambient occlusion is perfect. Then I set off the final render and leave it overnight. My longest one so far has taken 14 hours.
Jennie Hawkes 