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large files, 3d comps, image buffer errors….a way to work smarter?
Hola.
Alrighty, here is the scoop. I’m currently working on a three minute continuous animation that relies on a huge 300 DPI photoshop document (dimensions of 10200X2400) for the background of the scene. I have separated 48 layers into “3d space” in an AE comp so in a parent comp the camera is able to move around the environment for closeups on certain areas of the background.
Here is a quick snippet of the project, so you have a visual along with my hopefully somewhat intuitive description.
https://www.jaqai.com/Camera2.wmvDue to the overall file size of this thing, working with the file is not easy. I have a dual xeon with two gigs of ram, and this file is bringing my PC to it’s knees. I’m also constantly fighting “Image buffer” errors (Both when working and when rendering) but I did find some suggestions about trouble shooting that aspect here.
Ultimately I’m wondering if there is a smarter way to work? At one point I changed the background source file to 150dpi thinking that if it were smaller I could just change the camera’s global zoom setting to closer, then get the camera moves done, zoom back out to the default, and re-replace the 150dpi version with the 300dpi version for final rendering. But, upon “replacing” the 300dpi version in AE with the 150, the layers ended up being scattered everywhere in the 3d comp. (I figured the “shrinking” would be relative, but there was obviously a hole in that theory.)
I have some experience with After Effect’s 3d camera, but am not an expert. Is there something I could be doing differently with the camera? (I currently have auto orientation off) Even at quarter quality it takes around 10 minutes to ram render a 15 second preview.
Any feedback/advice would be greatly appreciated!
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4 Replies
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I used to work with similar types of projects — 3d scenes with MASSIVE BACKDROPS.
You need to just replace the backdrop. 10k is a little on the big side — it will be a render bear. We tried not to exceed 5k, you can always scale it up, put on DOF, and it’ll look fine. If you’re working in standard definition, you’re definately overshooting what you need.Also, go into your secret prefs. Hold down shift, and go to preferences while still holding shift, and when you get to your dropdown menu, while still holding shift, select secret and tell AE to purge your memory after every 1 frame. Hypethetically, it will make the render take a little longer, but for your investment in time you get significantly more stability.
Nicholas Toth
Freelance Animator
nicholastoth.com -
Try using proxies.
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This article [PDF] is a must-read for your situation.
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The “render to file” time isn’t the killer honestly – it’s just working with the file. I’m going to look further into proxies. Sadly, (This is where I put on a dunce hat) I’ve never heard of that before.
Thanks for the feedback…and thank you VERY much for that PDF reference. That is gold!
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