I suggest we all declare all-out war on flickering in animations. There are frequent requests for help to reduce flickering. So... If the moderators would make this thread a sticky, we could all post antialiasing settings and hints: help all in one place. This thread would NOT be a place to ask for help, it would be a reference list of settings which work for various types of images. To get the ball rolling (but not flickering), I'm working on an animated murder mystery which takes place on a foggy wharf at night. Things that want to flicker are: volumetric atmosphere, horizontal planks of wood for the wharf, soft-edged pools of light from spotlights and vertical rods on a boat and lamp-posts. Using the default "Ultra" settings, the animation flicker was horrible. After a week of 7-hour test renders, here are settings which work for this difficult scene: Load the default "Ultra" into the user settings (using the wee button in the top left of the render Options dialog box) DEselect (UNcheck) "Depth of Field" in the middle column. Make sure that "Optimize volumetric lights" and "Optimize last render pass" in the middle column are DEselected (UNchecked). Click the "EDIT button in the middle column at the bottom next to ""Anti-aliasing". This brings up the AA Options dialog box. Set the following settings: Left side of dialog: Object checked, "Optimized", "automatic" Subrays per pixel= min 4, max 28. DEselect "Regular sub-pixel sampling", Quality threshold = 80%. Right side of dialog: Texture filtering = 100%. Check "Texture antialiasing". UNcheck "Recompute sub-rays". Texels per ray min = 4, max = 30, "Quality Threshold" = 80%. These settings work for the scene I described. Render time for 640x360 pixels was 2.5 hours for 1 second of animation at 30 frames per second. Computer was 4-core Intel MacPro, 6 GB RAM. Note that it is probably possible to tweak these settings to reduce render time without introducing flicker for other scenes. What I suggest is that you may consider using these settings as a starting point, then tweaking. It is important to note that flicker reduction is different for different scenes. For example, in my recent animation "In the Year 2525", some scenes needed only the default "Broadcast" to render flicker-free, while others required "Ultra" and customized settings based on Ultra. Therefore, if you all post your settings here, a reference list of settings which work with specific types of scenes would assist everyone. Happy (flicker-free) rendering!, regards, David

The flickering may also be down to the bump function of the materials in the scene. Mats using a basic repeater node flicker more. Using "true" fractals reduces this artifact.

Thank you, Bruno. We're off and running as a reference thread!

I can sticky it and think it's a good idea but it's not my Forum...think agiel would mind...he's maybe asleep in Europe already.. ...

I think Agiel is on the East Coast.

Peter Wilson sent me the second test render in his series to reduce flicker. He used the settings in my first post in this thread, I think. (Peter: confirm?). I've updated my web site. comparison renders at: [url]http://www.djfilms.ca/QTanims/PeteAA1.html[/url] PS: Admin: thanks for making this a sticky! If enough people contribute, we will have a good reference source.

You're most welcome David.. took a chance agiel wouldn't mind.. ...

Late to the party (lots of work this week)... and yes, I did not mind :)

If this thread becomes stale for too long, I will make it 'sticky' in the Community pages instead.

Whew...I hate stompin on others forums un-asked...LOL.. ...

Attached Link: http://www.e-onsoftware.com/about/newsletter/

A small article with details about precisely this subject.

I have Vue 6 Esprit - all I am seeing is object anti-aliasing.  Is this only available in other versions? 

I have the noise issue too but corrected it by removing the bumps on the terrrain mats AND upping the quality a bit.  Doesn't go away entirely but looks much better.    

Texture filtering is Infinite only, I'm afraid, hamiltonpl. But removing bump is a neat trick, and as I stated earlier in this thread, bump using basic repeater nodes flicker more.

I rended a scene in Vue6 Esprit on Final and had to wait 6 hours when it was done it was flickering

I just found this little diddy over at C3d.  It says it will help reduce flickering.  I don't do animations so I couldn't test it out.  Hope it helps all you who do animations.

Gary

http://www.cornucopia3d.com/galleries/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pos=11&pid=16740