Composite render node

The Composite output operator renders the image(s) produced in the Compositing Editor.

All Parameters Local variables

The Composite output operator renders the image(s) produced in the Compositing Editor.

Arguments may be passed to the scripts and variable expansion is done before calling the script.

Parameters

Render

Begins the render with the last render control settings.

Render Control

Opens the render control dialog to allow adjustments of the render parameters before rendering.

Render with Take

Uses the settings in a particular take while rendering. Choose “Current” to use the current take when rendering.

Set Valid Frame Range

If on, the render is only valid between the start and end frames, at the specified frame increment. If a frame is outside the range, or falls on a frame that isn’t included by the frame increment, the frame will not be rendered.

If off, the render is valid at any frame.

Note

If you want to temporarily set a sub-range to render, use the 'Frame Range' parameter in the Render Control dialog (click the 'Render Control…' button at the top of this dialog).

Composite

COP Name

Path to the COP to render

Override Default Res

Allows specification of the rendered resolution.

Resolution

Resolution of rendered images.

Output Picture

Selects where the output is sent.

Image Format

The format to write the image in.

Color Plane

Plane to use as the RGB channels.

Alpha Plane

Plane to use as the A channel (in RGBA image).

Output Gamma

Gamma correction that is applied to saved images.

Output Frames Reused in Composite

When on, this tells the compositor that output frames may be read back in during the same composite. This disables threaded file writes and batch frame cooking. By default, this is off.

Batch Cook Frames

If on, the compositor cooks frames in groups, rather than individually. This can improve output performance on multi-processor platforms (there is generally no difference for single processor machines). Groups of two frames are recommended when using this option, as the performance gain drops off quickly for larger groups. This option generally uses a bit more memory (instead of a buffer for one file, several are allocated).

Batch cooking speeds up processing of small to medium sized networks, which spend a higher percentage of their time preparing to cook a frame and writing the output image.

Reload All Files

If on, any composite nodes referencing files (such as a File COP) will reload their files. Enable this option if files are being replaced on disk between renders.

Image Area

Output Area

Defines the area to be written to the file. Some file formats support data windows and crop areas (TIFF, Open EXR, pic), which allow you to write portions of an image or extra bordering information. In all cases, the image is written at the resolution specified, but the data window written may be different.

If a format does not support a data window or crop region, the image area requested will be clipped against the image frame. Any data outside the crop region will be black.

Frame

The normal image frame area is used, which is what you normally see in the viewport. No data window or crop region is written.

Crop Region

Only data in the crop region is written. All other pixels are set to black. For image formats supporting crop regions, a crop region is set in the file (so it takes up less disk space).

Frame + Surrounding Canvas

This option allows you to write extra image data outside the frame area, so that you can use it when compositing. If the canvas size is less than or equal to the frame area, the frame area is written. In other words, this only differs from the “Frame” option if the COP has a large canvas.

Pixel / UV Crop

Specifies the crop region, in either pixels or UV coords. The fields represent the lower and upper corners of the region (left, bottom, right, top).

Limit Canvas Pixels

If on, the extra canvas information written to the file is limited to this many pixels beyond the frame area. This prevents very large files from being written, and generally gives you the most useful data.

Limit Canvas Percent

If on, the extra canvas information written to the file is limited to a percentage of the horizontal or vertical resolution. So, for a 640×480 image, limiting to 10% will write a maximum of 64 pixels on the left and right, and 48 pixels on the top and bottom.

Auxiliary File 1-5

Overview

Save additional images which allows separation of planes into multiple files.

Script

Pre-Render Script

Execute this script before any rendering.

Pre-Frame Script

Execute this script before each frame

Post-Frame Script

Execute this script after each frame

Post-Render Script

Execute this script after all rendering

Local variables

N

Frame being rendered.

NRENDER

Total number of frames being rendered.

Usages in other examples

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