Hrm. the only thing I can think of that might NOT be heavily covered somewhere else is the actual render size. Whats the end product going to be? If you want something for broadcast on TV, or to play at DVD quality, then you are going to want to render at probably 704x480 (or 720x480), 30fps. However. If it's going to be for the 'net, or a VHS tape, or a VCD, then you are wasting your time and cycles to render at over 352x240. Depending on the scene, you could reduce your FPS to 24, or even 20 fps. Are shadows on? are they really needed? what about bumps?