Batch Camera Render

272 votes
Version: 
1.18
Date Updated: 
08/03/2022
Author Name: 
Sergo Pogosyan

This script aims to replace standard 3dsmax's Batch Render and imitates Houdini Output Node workflow. Using it you can specify rendering parameters - frame size, frame number, output path - directly to camera object, so every camera in scene 'knows' what it intended to render. Additional functionality is Lighting Assignment - you can specify which light will be turn on or off for selected camera during the rendering.

1.18:

  • Support for 3ds max 2023 Update fixed

1.17:

  • Corona and Vray Sun inside Daylight System fixed (thanks to busseynova for reporting)

1.16:

  • CoronaSun supported inside Daylight System

1.15:

  • Don't Save Render Elements Checkbox (Thanks to antomor)
  • Limited support for camera objects in xref scene files (Only root objects in first level xrefs. Cameras in nested xrefs not supported)

1.13 Bugfix:

  • Deadline submission should work now

1.12 New Feature:

  • Deadline support.
    Very basic imlementation, it allows you to submit your jobs on a deadline server. Enter deadline repository address and check "Use Deadline" checkbox. Other checkbox doesn't matter in this case ("Net render", "Show Submit Dialog").
    Probably it requires Deadline 3ds max Submitter installed. I didn't have a chance to check it on a clean machine.

1.11 Features and fixes:

  • State sets support added
  • "projectname" keyword added which resolves to project's folder name
  • other fixes and improvements

1.10.3b Fixes:

  • Crash when vray ir/lcache maps are set to auto-save
  • Region render was not set properly during the rendering

This is major update of the script, so it may not be as stable as before. Backup scenes or cameras at least before running this version. More information can be found here - 1.10b Multiple presets for each camera

Previous updates:

1.10.2b Fixes:

  • Problems with render elements paths
  • Copy/paste of render region settings
  • Properly convert render region values when change resolution

New features:

  • Multiple presets for each camera
  • New keyword %presetname% to support multiple presets
  • Distributed rendering checkbox added to vray common settings
  • Bugfix - Net render not starting after cancelling during local rendering.
  • Improved performance with scenes with lots of cameras
  • Added support of Vray RT as a production renderer
  • Added support of using MFRender script to render scenes through BatchCamera script.
  • Bugfix - Error was popping up sometimes during drag-n-drop
  • Bugfix - Render elements didn't render in certain conditions
  • Bugfix - Pre-render/post-render scripts didn't work on network rendering
  • Bugfix - Select All and Toggle All buttons didn't work properly

Here are some details: http://usakhelo.github.io/batchcam/batchcam-1.9.20.html

Script's website - http://usakhelo.github.io/batchcam/

Github - https://github.com/usakhelo/batchcam

2015 Updates

  • Region render parameter can be specified for each camera
  • Set Viewport button sets viewport camera and resolution and aspect as well
  • It is possible now to specify backburner servers and server groups for silent rendering submit (code editing required)
  • Vray Elements fixed for Vray 3 and Vray output saving with VFB color correction
  • Cancelling of rendering of multiple cameras at once,
  • Hierarchical ini files

2013 Updates

  • Drag-n-drop of cameras in list
  • Camera list window size can be changed (script restart required)
  • When committing region render it is possible to switch to view render without restarting the render
  • Keyword syntax can be used in Scene State names - thanks to Stefan Runevik for suggestion

2011 Updates

  • Preview button added - renders only current frame without saving anything - no images, no vray maps, no scripts running, no elements.
  • Ortho mode added to Vray rollout - it turns any camera to orthographic, including Vray Physical camera.
  • Copy/Paste from one camera to one/several cameras - use new buttons at the top of the window.
  • Submit Scripts section - you can assign script files that will run on each render submit. Per Submit script runs once per render submit and Per Camera script runs for each camera before submit. All these scripts run on local machine, not on render server.
  • Last Rendered Location field - here is stored last render file location. Very useful for locating last-time rendered images.
Additional Info: 

Installation:

Run this script with Maxscript -> Run Script command from any folder on your hard drive, then go to the *'Customize User Interface' -> 'Toolbars'*, browse to category 'Sergo Pogosyan' and add 'Render scene cameras...' button to the toolbar or to the menu.

Usage:

When you start this script it iterate over all cameras in scene and list them in the dialog box. To each of these cameras you can assign frame resolution, number of frames to render including nonsequential frames, output file location and lighting setup. All these properties can be changed for one or several selected cameras. Output file location is split to folder path and file name, so you can specify new folder for all selected cameras in scene. 'Lighting assignement' section contains three list: Solo light list contains lights that will be only lights turned on during the rendering, 'Forced On' and 'Forced Off' lights are turned on or off respectively during the rendering. After all these setting will be set up (if some properties is not set value from the Render Setup will be used), check the camera(s) in the list and hit Render button. Check Net Render checkbox to submit network render job.

Supported lights: All bundled 3ds max lights, all Vray Lights
Supported cameras: All bundled 3ds max cameras, Vray PhysicalCamera

Version Requirement: 
3ds max 2008-202x
AttachmentSize
batchcamerarender_1.17.ms245.88 KB
batchcamerarender_1.18.ms245.92 KB

Comments

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hiepkts's picture

thank so much

this script is very good. I like it. Thank you!

sergo's picture

Thank you for site related

Thank you for site related tip, it is down, and unfortunately will be down until Monday.

Regarding the tools - are you talking about batch file rendering tool? I remember that there were one or more things on scriptspot for this kind of task, but I can't tell exactly the names. And yes, this is not the feature I'm planning to add to script in near future.

themaxxer's picture

"I believe there are many

"I believe there are many tools for this puporse on the scriptspot. Unfortunately it is different task, so I'm not sure I'll add this feature to the script."

hm, I don't find anything, which one do you mean? thanks.

by the way... is your website down? I can't download nor reach the site!

best regards
themaxxer

YoyoGraphics's picture

That's a good idea! Next to

That's a good idea! Next to the file output name you could have a VRay Framebuffer checkbox, that would disable the Max output. Keep in mind though that the VRay Framebuffer can only save to .exr or .vrimg formats.

People on the VRay forum were just telling me that sometimes the framebuffer doesn't always save all the channels you want into EXRs, so they render to .vrimg and use the converter. Perhaps conversion at the end could another option.

- Geoff

sergo's picture

Thank you for testing. Now I

Thank you for testing.

Now I see your point. Let's deal with it.
Do you have some suggestion how to make this work more properly?

I really don't want to add new field with Vray image file name. Would it be convinient to save Vray-image file with same name as the main output + "vray" or something like that?

YoyoGraphics's picture

I see that you have a switch

I see that you have a switch to turn that on and off, but I don't see a way to specify a filename for its output.

What works well is leaving the Main output blank while the VRay Framebuffer does the saving. You get a warning that you are rendering a sequence without specifying a file output, but VRay has that covered, so you just say Ok.

Again, this is so that all the elements will be properly included in the EXR file. Outputting through the Main file output and saving the elements to separate files works fine, but it's nicer to just have everything in one EXR file sequence.

- Geoff

sergo's picture

Take a closer look to vray

Take a closer look to vray section, there would be the way to save multichannel-ed exr. As far as I remeber you should Enable VFB and disable "Save Separate Channels". To be true I don't use this functionality, so I can't gurantee the result. But all this checkboxes are the same as the checkboxes in standard Render Setup's Vray Frame Buffer rollout. If you can get correct result with standard dialog this should be possible to accomplish in maxscript too.

YoyoGraphics's picture

VRay Frame Buffer?

Perhaps this has already been asked, but is there a way to get this to function with the VRay Frame Buffer? As far as I know, saving through the VRay Frame Buffer is the only way to get all of your VRay Render Elements saved PROPERLY into an EXR file (and it's the only way to save to .vrimg format).

- Geoff

vklein's picture

You are the greatest

I see multiple jobs per camera on your version 2 screen. You are turning my wishes into reality. THANKS A LOT !!! When will it be available??? ;-)

sergo's picture

  themaxxer,I believe there

 

themaxxer,
I believe there are many tools for this puporse on the scriptspot. Unfortunately it is different task, so I'm not sure I'll add this feature to the script.

TSchmiesing,
bat file export will be possible in BatchCam version 2. And possibly render node assigning too, though I'm not sure about this.

BTW here's the screen shot of BatchCam2, it is work-in-progress, so I'm posting only the screenshot. Don't want to upload half-working version:

 

 

 

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