OK - I used to work in RDS by making several objects then importing them separately into a "scene" file. When I try this in Carrara, sure the models import but the master shaders get screwed up - shaders already in the scene "override" the imported ones? Follow - any ideas to get around this. Also, I'm getting very tired of having to numerically resize the damn production frame! God damn, why did they dump that feature from RDS when you could just pull a corner to resize it - seems to be a no brainer for me - but, hey - who am I?

In answer of your second question, you can resize the Production frame manually, it's just that you got to be precise when you select the dots in the corners . You can also grab it from its center, but you'll end with some distorted image . No, not a bug, just something we can't do with real world cameras, that's why it looks weird at first . Anyway, changing the production frame size affects the focal angle of the lens, so do it only when you're sure ! Hum, by the way, how do you resize it numerically ... :?

Resize numerically in the render room (image size), which can cause parts of the production frame boundary to exceed the document window boundary in the assembly room.

Ha OK . Sure, if you want to change the xy ratio you got to go in the render settings, grabbing the corners in the Assemble Room will not affect it .

Oh, yeah sure you can resize the frame by dragging the corners - but aren't the xy properties constrained? I meant dragging it to change the aspect ratio. I liked being able to resize it any which way. Unless I'm missing something oh Carrara guru litst :)

Guru ? Good, so give me your money folks, all your money ! It's for a good cause : mine ! ;) I've tried to use ctrl, shift or Alt when dragging, but still the xy ratio remains the same ... Don't remember seeing anything about this in the handbook . Looks like such a feature doesn't exist :(

I've also discovered that selecting the camera that owns the production frame in the object tray you're trying to fool around with can make grabbing the corner easier. I've never been worried about the xy properties of it. I've always worried about production at the end of the whole mess. That's a good catch on a feature that has disappeared from RDS to C. I've had a few "strong" words with C when trying to work with the production frame more than once. My wife has been rather unimpressed with that particular attitude I've had with my computer. Moving the production frame from the cameras center of view means you get the optical distortion at the edge of the frame for the camera just like you would for a real camera. The shorter the focal length and the more to the edge of the frame you go, the more "fisheyed" it gets. Having some numerical options in the assembly room to work with the production frame would actually be a really nice feature for C if they don't fix it to work with the mouse a lot better. -Kix