Is three and a half years too late to thank you for this very subtle but very annoying requirement for cloners in blend mode?

I had the same issue. Restarting C4D, restarting the computer, deleting previously rendered files, closing all other programs and setting an absolute output file path didn’t help.
I was able to solve my issue by recreating my render setting. The only difference in the new setting was disabling Alpha for an mp4.

I believe it.
In my dreams I can pick whip to a shape layer property while holding down alt and get a relative target path.

Thanks so much. I think the Gimme Prop Path and Gimme Prop Info may help me get some relative references. I was already able to refer to a parameter two levels up and two levels down which I’ve never been able to do before.

This many years later. I search for help with the same issue, get my own question and remain as far from an answer as I ever was. Sadly, this plugin’s website is gone. Does anyone have this plugin? It was free and there’s no way to get shape layer targeting help. No one seems to even cover the topic in detail.