How to use Redshift Cryptomatte AOVs with Team Render?

AOVs in Cinema 4D don’t work exactly the same way as other AOVs, especially when it’s used with Team Render. So, how to use Redshift Cryptomatte AOVs together with Team Render. Let’s explore!

When utilizing AOVs in Cinema 4D, users expect them to work just like other AOVs. Nevertheless, this is not the case, especially when used in conjunction with Team Render. In Cinema 4D, the distinction between using the Multi-pass and Direct checkboxes in the AOV panel is important.

There are two ways to export AOVs from Redshift. Utilizing the native Cinema 4D multi-pass paths (workflow) or the Redshift native ‘direct’ paths. When you check the Multi-pass checkbox on an AOV (which is the default for most passes), Cinema 4D uses its native multipass settings and paths, as shown below. (In such cases, ensure that it is enabled and that you are using the correct path.)

When you enable Direct, however, it will use Redshift’s own saving workflow instead. For example, cryptomatte passes use this as the default. The key advantage of Direct is that you can customize the direct output setting on a per-AOV basis. The standard Cinema 4D Multi-pass method isn’t suitable for this. When both checkboxes (Multi-pass and Direct) are checked, you save both at the same time.

In this example, a shared folder was made so that all Windows devices could access it. That folder was mounted to a drive letter – letter W.

If you render normally, you can apply the multi-pass method and save the results to the created ‘renders’ folder.

This will work great using the multi-pass method. But, when using the ‘direct’ method, like with cryptomatte, these relative paths are insufficient. In the preceding example, a path to the drive letter W was mounted. If we render the Redshift Cryptomatte AOVs in the same manner, we will encounter the following issue:

While using Team Render, it will render only one of the two cryptomatte frames. The reason for this is that the shared folder is mounted to the letter ‘W’ on one machine. But, that path does not exist on the other machine. As a result, we have to choose an ‘absolute’ path instead.

Within Explorer, you can view the entire path as follows:

Sections A (the machine name where the folder is shared) and B (the drive letter that we commonly see with mounted drives) are shown in the image above. Nevertheless, if we update the path in Cinema 4D to include the machine name rather than the drive letter, cryptomatte (the direct AOV pass) can be saved for both frames in our example. That is to say, this left image will become the right one.

Source: support.maxon.net

We’re now following an absolute path. And, as you can see, when we use RS Cryptomatte AOVs in conjunction with Team Render, everything should save perfectly. (In this situation, it should save both frames, one from each machine.)

This now works since the ‘direct output’ path on the right side of the AOV panel now refers to an absolute path.

For the full path, it uses three variables by default ($filepath, $filename, $pass).

$filepath

This refers to the path set in the multipass section of the render settings’ save tab.

$filename

The filename can be found in the AOV tab of the Redshift rendersettings. As an example:

$pass

This is the AOV name that is put into the AOV panel.

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Reference source: support.maxon.net