First the rendering question so I don't forget to mention it:

Carrara for some reason is absolutely refusing to let me render from any of the main cameras.  Keeps creating new cameras which are my only options to render from, if I delete one it just makes another.  Have I mistakenly checked some obscure setting that is causing this?

Now lighting.  In Poser if I want a dark part of a room, I create a black light.  Here when I create a black light it doesn't really make the room look any darker at all.  Spot light is not working because the edges are Way too crisp and I want a look as if a light is shining in through an open door.  At the same time I want to add a level of drama to the scene with darkness closing in around the subject.

It's important that I don't place the light right on top of the subjects because then I lose my doorway shadows.

It's been noted also that my lighting around the subjects is too even.  Is there a way to avoid even lighting or to add depth mapped shadows in Carrara?

hoping I explained and asked this all correctly.  If you feel you might be able to help me but need clarity - please ask - this is an important project to me.

Thank you.

Quote - First the rendering question so I don't forget to mention it:

Carrara for some reason is absolutely refusing to let me render from any of the main cameras.  Keeps creating new cameras which are my only options to render from, if I delete one it just makes another.  Have I mistakenly checked some obscure setting that is causing this?

Now lighting.  In Poser if I want a dark part of a room, I create a black light.  Here when I create a black light it doesn't really make the room look any darker at all.  Spot light is not working because the edges are Way too crisp and I want a look as if a light is shining in through an open door.  At the same time I want to add a level of drama to the scene with darkness closing in around the subject.

It's important that I don't place the light right on top of the subjects because then I lose my doorway shadows.

It's been noted also that my lighting around the subjects is too even.  Is there a way to avoid even lighting or to add depth mapped shadows in Carrara?

hoping I explained and asked this all correctly.  If you feel you might be able to help me but need clarity - please ask - this is an important project to me.

Thank you.

You can't render from the Director's camera, I believe.  Just from Cameras 1, 2, 3, etc.

There is a plugin for negative lighting.  I'll have to check what it's called.

Set the effects properties of your lights for soft edges (this is for distant lighting).

For other lighting, set their fall-offs.  Make sure you use inches for the reach of your spotlights and bulbs if your scene is measured in inches, etc.  Otherwise, you are totally blasting your scene with a million suns.

You may not need a negative light plugin once your lighting doesn't reach across the room anymore.

To get total darkness, be sure to click on SCENE in your Instances list (should be the top item listed above all lights and cameras) and then open the Ambient parameter and set it to zero.

For better control of mood light and spill, try SPOT LIGHTS instead of the lights that import from Poser. These are pointable, "cone" spotlights. You can open the "iris" of the spot to get a wider cone of light (in degrees up to 180 degrees). There is also a setting for the "edge" of the cone to be softer (Sorry, Carrara is rendering now or I would get the right words) as if the spotlight were unfocused.... I think this is a percentage of the whole circle

Another control is Falloff which is the distance the light will travel from the source. Set this at 100% and the light will become dimmer over the full distance distance. Set a specific distance (in inches or meters) and the light will end at that distance. The two settings together can be used to (for instance) light a subject without lighting the background.

Hope that helps.

holly

Adjusting the angular falloff and making sure to enable soft shadows will take care of your spot light issue.  If I want uneven lighting, like simulating the lighting underwater, I usually just create a transparency map image and either use it as a gel, or I create a flattened cube or square spline object and place it in front of a very wide angled spotlight at the desired angle.  And as said already, turn the ambient lighting under the scene in instances off (zero).  Sometimes using a few (2-3) spotlights with gels can create some interesting light overlap effects.

Hrm it is very difficult to position the camera correctly for a render when I can't look through it.  Pretty frustrating actually.  

Thanks alot for your responses.  They will help alot.  I was currently just using a bulb because I didn't like the circle of light look from the spotlights but I will try those again.

Hi!

I think you  mix/confuse the "main" camera (default named "camera 1") with the directors camera.  Choose camera 1 in the upper left corner and then you should be able to see exactly what you render (as if you where looking through the camera). The directors camera is very helpful to navigate in the scene without disturbing the poition of the main camera.

/Tommy

Yes having the program open for 70something hours bugged out the cameras somehow I think.  I closed the scene and reopened it and I was once again able to select camera1 from the drop down and view from it = )

Thanks for your reply.

You can tell cameras to match the position and direction of the director's camera.