Scene Setup for Animation

In this short guide we'll look at three possible scenarios for setting up 3Ds Max Scenes for Animation

Important note: All previzes, previews and final animations should be shared with the HOD of VFX and Animation (currently Milko Stoev). Thank you!

Starting from Scratch

After opening a fresh 3Ds Max scene there are a few things we have to setup or make sure they are already setup properly.

• Units: Metric, 1 unit = 1 centimeter. In special cases we may want to work in Meters.

• Time Configuration: PAL/25FPS. In special cases higher or lower frame rate may be required.

• Render: VRay

• Gamma, Shader and lighting setup as per relevant guides.

After that we can import/merge our assets, or setup proxies.

It is often that someone else needs to take over a project halfway, or perhaps we're only doing the basic setup. Without being too pedantic we should aim to make the handover/transition process as smooth as possible.

• Name our object/proxies - Box063 isn't very descriptive, Product_Placeholder, Toaster_Proxy, Replace_with_Product. The clearer the better. Do Not Just name the Group - when the asset needs to be animated - for example a Shoe Explosion (see Adidas, Dare2b projects) the object groups will be lost, name the object themselves. 

• Use Helpers - Not only they add a layer of control, but also allow for easier model swapping once the final asset is ready.

• Name those Helpers - same as above, Dummy054 doesn't say much, try Product_Helper, Toaster_Control, Tap_Master etc.

• Use Layers - ENV, LIGHTS, PROXIES, PRODUCT, FX_V01 or whatever else makes sense for the specific project.

• Optimize the scene - Make sure your asset is animation/deformation friendly. Use a proxy for collisions if needed. Make sure Turbosmooth, OpenSubdiv and other such modifiers are only happening at render time. Optimize static assets or use layers to hide irrelevant objects for smoother playback.  

• Check for surprises - It may not be your direct responsibility to fix a poorly modeled asset, but we still have to report it and in the end of the day make sure we can work with it if it comes to that. Check main assets for issues, Turbosmooth in the middle of the stack with EditPoly on top? Non watertight models?  Animated objects without helpers? Fur on animated objects? Animated shaders? Be prepared, we don't always have control over the assets. STL check is usually a good start.

• Be smart - After the scene is optimized it may be worth saving it. Copying the key assets into a separate scene and keep developing the animation or effect there. Makes up for faster iteration, easier troubleshooting, smoother playback and in the event of a crash - less chance of corruption of the main set.

Next RPM setup, this can be done after our scene is setup and optimized and before or after we're done with the effect, animation or simulation.

The things to pay attention are as follows:

• Output settings, Prefix and Pass names - As per Naming Convention Guide

• Render Range - Using the ranges is really helpful because certain animations may happen at different time.

• Link UI Range - This is really handy, RPM changes the UI timeline based on the render range settings helping you focus on the correct part of the timeline.

• Auto Path Generation - Same as stills WFL

• Restore Camera to Viewport - 3. This helps staying organized, making sure that switching between passes changes only a set viewport.

• Setting up Render Elements - Often times we have the RPM passes before the Render Elements have been thought through. Luckily there's a way to save and load Render Elements between RPM passes. 

• Caching - When using plugins or tools that aren't available studio-wide make sure to cache your animations/effects/simulations so they can be rendered on the farm. Caching is also helpful when using heavy animated assets or other dynamics that require processing while previewing rendering (TyFlow effects for example). 

• Masking - As with stills it is crucial that we have control over the appearance of our animations in post, make sure you're using a masking method to allow for that.

Forking a scene

Sometimes we need to fork/clone the scene or a pass into a new one and carry on with the animation, effects or simulation there.

As with starting from scratch there are certain steps we have to take before we can proceed animating. Hopefully our colleagues will be aware of the process and have already taken great care to keep the scene well named, organized and optimized. However, double checking never hurts.

• Optimize the scene - Make sure your asset is animation/deformation friendly. Use a proxy for collisions if needed. Make sure Turbosmooth, OpenSubdiv and other such modifiers are only happening at render time. Optimize static assets or use layers to hide irrelevant objects for smoother playback.  

• Check for surprises - It may not be your direct responsibility to fix a poorly modeled asset, but we still have to report it and in the end of the day make sure we can work with it if it comes to that. Check main assets for issues, Turbosmooth in the middle of the stack with EditPoly on top? Non watertight models?  Animated objects without helpers? Fur on animated objects? Animated shaders? Be prepared, we don't always have control over the assets. STL check is usually a good start.

• Be smart - After the scene is optimized it may be worth saving it. Copying the key assets into a separate scene and keep developing the animation or effect there. Makes up for faster iteration, easier troubleshooting, smoother playback and in the event of a crash - less chance of corruption of the main set.

After the scene has been inspected for the most common issues we can proceed with the setup. As always staying organized pays off in the long (and short!) run, allows us to work and preview our work faster (insert USSR propaganda poster here). 

Here are a few things to keep in mind when setting up our scene for animation:

• Units: Metric, 1 unit = 1 centimeter. In special cases we may want to work in Meters.

• Time Configuration: PAL/25FPS. In special cases higher or lower frame rate may be required.

• Render: VRay

• Gamma, Shader and lighting setup as per relevant guides.

• Name our object/proxies - Box063 isn't very descriptive, Product_Placeholder, Toaster_Proxy, Replace_with_Product. The clearer the better. Do Not Just name the Group - when the asset needs to be animated - for example a Shoe Explosion (see Adidas, Dare2b projects) the object groups will be lost, name the object themselves. 

• Use Helpers - Not only they add a layer of control, but also allow for easier model swapping once the final asset is ready.

• Name those Helpers - same as above, Dummy054 doesn't say much, try Product_Helper, Toaster_Control, Tap_Master etc.

• Use Layers - ENV, LIGHTS, PROXIES, PRODUCT, FX_V01 or whatever else makes sense for the specific project.

Next RPM setup, this can be done after our scene is setup and optimized and before or after we're done with the effect, animation or simulation.

The things to pay attention are as follows:

• Output settings, Prefix and Pass names - As per Naming Convention Guide

• Render Range - Using the ranges is really helpful because certain animations may happen at different time.

• Link UI Range - This is really handy, RPM changes the UI timeline based on the render range settings helping you focus on the correct part of the timeline.

• Auto Path Generation - Same as stills WFL

• Restore Camera to Viewport - 3. This helps staying organized, making sure that switching between passes changes only a set viewport.

• Setting up Render Elements - Often times we have the RPM passes before the Render Elements have been thought through. Luckily there's a way to save and load Render Elements between RPM passes. 

• Caching - When using plugins or tools that aren't available studio-wide make sure to cache your animations/effects/simulations so they can be rendered on the farm. Caching is also helpful when using heavy animated assets or other dynamics that require processing while previewing rendering (TyFlow effects for example). 

• Masking - As with stills it is crucial that we have control over the appearance of our animations in post, make sure you're using a masking method to allow for that.

Converting a Scene 

This section looks at the case when a Stills work has been completed and the scene has been passed on to animation.

This scenario is quite similar to the one above. The key differences are that now we've got a few more layers and extra RPM passes which we may not need, and overall a heavier scene to work with.

It is important to not break the Stills setup when we setup the scene for Animation.

• Understand the setup - Looking through the scene, layers, passes and even the output folders should help us understand how the stills have been setup. We should then optimize the scene and setup our animation in a way that doesn't break the stills. Pay special attention to animated props without helpers, fur on animated object and so on. 

• Optimize the scene - Make sure your asset is animation/deformation friendly. Use a proxy for collisions if needed. Make sure Turbosmooth, OpenSubdiv and other such modifiers are only happening at render time. Optimize static assets or use layers to hide irrelevant objects for smoother playback.  

• Check for surprises - It may not be your direct responsibility to fix a poorly modeled asset, but we still have to report it and in the end of the day make sure we can work with it if it comes to that. Check main assets for issues, Turbosmooth in the middle of the stack with EditPoly on top? Non watertight models?  Animated objects without helpers? Fur on animated objects? Animated shaders? Be prepared, we don't always have control over the assets. STL check is usually a good start.

• Be smart - After the scene is optimized it may be worth saving it. Copying the key assets into a separate scene and keep developing the animation or effect there. Makes up for faster iteration, easier troubleshooting, smoother playback and in the event of a crash - less chance of corruption of the main set.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when setting up our scene for animation:

• Time Configuration: PAL/25FPS. In special cases higher or lower frame rate may be required.

• Name our object/proxies - Box063 isn't very descriptive, Product_Placeholder, Toaster_Proxy, Replace_with_Product. The clearer the better. Do Not Just name the Group - when the asset needs to be animated - for example a Shoe Explosion (see Adidas, Dare2b projects) the object groups will be lost, name the object themselves. 

• Use Helpers - Not only they add a layer of control, but also allow for easier model swapping once the final asset is ready.

• Name those Helpers - same as above, Dummy054 doesn't say much, try Product_Helper, Toaster_Control, Tap_Master etc.

• Use Layers - ENV, LIGHTS, PROXIES, PRODUCT, FX_V01 or whatever else makes sense for the specific project.

Next RPM setup, this can be done after our scene is setup and optimized and before or after we're done with the effect, animation or simulation.

The things to pay attention are as follows:

• Output settings, Prefix and Pass names - As per Naming Convention Guide

• Render Range - Using the ranges is really helpful because certain animations may happen at different time.

• Link UI Range - This is really handy, RPM changes the UI timeline based on the render range settings helping you focus on the correct part of the timeline.

• Auto Path Generation - Same as stills WFL

• Restore Camera to Viewport - 3. This helps staying organized, making sure that switching between passes changes only a set viewport.

• Setting up Render Elements - Often times we have the RPM passes before the Render Elements have been thought through. Luckily there's a way to save and load Render Elements between RPM passes. 

• Caching - When using plugins or tools that aren't available studio-wide make sure to cache your animations/effects/simulations so they can be rendered on the farm. Caching is also helpful when using heavy animated assets or other dynamics that require processing while previewing rendering (TyFlow effects for example). 

• Masking - As with stills it is crucial that we have control over the appearance of our animations in post, make sure you're using a masking method to allow for that.