Outputs Options

For each item in the Render Layers List, you can refine the parameters using the Outputs tab.

Primary Output Section

Primary Output box

Select a primary output type. Render Passes options change based on the primary output type.

Note: If you accessed Action from the timeline (or when using the GMask Tracer), a single Render Layer is available with Comp and Matte enabled.

Camera box

Select which camera or stereo rig to assign to the render layer.

Mode box

Select a render mode. Selecting the Stereo mode and a stereo camera results in left and right clips when processed. Selecting Stereo mode and any monoscopic camera results in two identical clips. Selecting Left, Right, or Mono results in a single output, regardless of the camera selected.

Render Passes Section

In the Output Selections List, the primary output is indicated, such as Matte (Primary). You can add as many other render passes to an output as you want. Simply click the dot to the left of the pass name (a coloured dot indicates that a render pass is enabled for the selected render layer).

Tip: To see the result of a render pass without enabling it for the selected render layer, click the name of the render pass in the Output Selections List.

The following render passes are available in Action. Some settings may be different depending on the selected render pass:

Note: When working on Flame Assist, some render passes, such as Albedo and Emissive, are available in this list for compatibility with Flame projects.

Comp

Renders selected objects in the scene with their parameters.

Matte

Renders the matte of the selected objects in the scene.

3D Motion

Renders 3D absolute motion vectors in world space.

Albedo

Renders the diffuse colour of selected objects in the scene.

AO (Ambient Occlusion)

Renders a grayscale output that is dark in areas that light cannot reach and bright in areas where it can. Specific AO settings can be found in the Ambient Occlusion tab.

Background

Renders the Action background from the Media list.

Emissive

Renders the colours of selected objects in the scene.

GMask

Renders the GMask transparency. Equivalent to selecting GMask Only in the Use GMask box of a Matte render pass.

Lens Flare (also includes Rays)

Renders just the lens flares and rays in the Action scene. There is also an option to include lens flares and rays in a Comp render pass.

Media Matte

Available as a primary output type, but not as a render pass. Renders the matte of the media specified in the Media field.

Motion Vectors

Renders 2D motion vector information.

Normals

Renders the normals of selected objects in the scene.

ObjectID

Renders a map where each fragment contains the information of the object rendered into it. A different ObjectID is produced for each schematic path ending at a renderable object or an object group. For example, a Replica node generates only one ObjectID for all its instances.

Occluder

Renders a GMask occluder when attached to a post-processing effect, such as a lens flare.

Position

Renders world absolute pixel coordinates of a scene or a selection of objects.

Reflection

Renders the reflection map settings of selected objects in the scene.

Roughness

Renders the roughness in a physically-based rendering (PBR) shader.

Shadow

Renders a white image with greyscale regions that represent the shadow cast coverage.

Specular

Renders the specular map settings of selected objects in the scene.

UV

Renders the UV map settings of selected objects in the scene.

Z-Depth

Renders the Z-depth of selected objects in the scene.

Z-Depth HQ

Render pass to be used with Matchbox shaders. Renders a 32-bit Z-depth output encoded into a 16-bit buffer.

Outputs Settings

Depending on the output selection, some of the following settings may appear:

Shadow Output Type box

Select the type of shadow cast to output for a Comp or Shadows render pass.

Note: When set, this becomes the default Shadow Type for any new Shadow Cast nodes.

Threshold field

Displays the value at which the alpha is included in the depth of the output.

Comp box

Select whether to render the scene over a background or over a colour you choose using the colour picker.

Comp colour pot

Displays the colour that the comp is rendered over. Editable.

Action Lens Flares / Rays button

Enable to include lens flares and rays in a Comp render pass.

Ambient Occlusion button

Enable to process a Comp output with the ambient occlusion (AO) effect. Other AO settings appear in the Ambient Occlusion tab.

Matte Background box

Select whether the object's matte is rendered on top of a black (default) or white background. In GMask Tracer node, you also have Input as an option. Select Input to set the Media Front and Matte as the Background for both the Comp and Matte outputs respectively.

Use Gmask box

Select whether to use the garbage mask transparency or render the GMask colour. Available for Matte render passes.

Blending box

Select whether to use a master blend option (Override) or to use the blend set in the Blending Mode box (Keep Blend). Available for Matte render passes.

Blend Mode box

Select an option to determine the blending mode of the mask when it overlaps with another mask. Available for Matte render passes when Override is selected in the Blending box.

Bit Depth field

Displays the bit depth of the selected output type, 16-bit floating point by default. Enable Batch Prefs > Rendering > Action Precision > 32-bit Graphics to output 32-bit floating point data. Non-editable.

Motion box

Select an option to determine the direction of the motion. Select Average to produce a mix between previous and next frame. Available for 3D Motion and Motion Vector render passes.

Backward button

Enable to set the direction of the vectors to backwards. Available for 3D Motion and Motion Vector render passes.

Motion Vector Range box

Select whether the vector data is absolute or normalized. Available for Motion Vector render passes.

Camera GMask Only button

Enable to display GMasks connected to the current camera. In this case, GMasks do not interact with the scene, and are only used in the post-processing pipeline. Available for GMask render passes.

Light box

Select which light to include in a shadow render pass.

Filtering field

Displays the amount of smoothing in a shadow render pass. Editable.

Maximum Z Difference field

Displays the maximum amount of Z depth information to take into account for smoothing a shadow render pass. Editable.

Media field

Displays the number that corresponds to the media in the Media list for a Media Matte output. Editable.

Preserve 32-bit Input button

Enable to preserve the 32-bit references in the ObjectID map throughout the Action processing pipeline. Enabled when the Rendering setting 32-bit Graphics is enabled.