Greetings to all... I have a big problem which I'll try to explain with my less-than-perfect English, please forgive me in advance...

Target: I want to create a scene with a lot of characters in it, over a dozen.

Strategy: obviously, I need to create it in several layers, otherwise, my computer would explode (I only have one GB of RAM).

Procedure:

1. I compose several scenes (each with one character) in Poser. To create the next scene, I delete the character and I load and pose the next one.
2. I import the first scene in Vue 6, where I decide the atmosphere, I add plants, terrains, small details and so on.
3. Then I delete only the character and I save the scene as "empty.vue" (keeping plants terrains, etc.)
4. I create the Vue scenes, one for each character loading each time the "empty" scene and importing the corresponding Poser scene WITHOUT touching the camera or everything else.
5. Then I render each Vue scene.

My idea was to take each rendered picture and to merge them in Photoshop, assembling the final image... BUT the problem is that the POV for each layer IS NOT THE SAME! It seems that the Vue camera has moved "up and down" at random some inches, changing the perspective, so I cannot stack the renders and merge them.

But I have NOT moved the camera and if I check its X/Y/Z coordinates, they are EXACTLY the same. So WHY the Point of View changes slightly in each image??? I am wasting two weeks of work!

Thanks in advance for your help,

Giorgio

My very "unlearned" guess would be it has something to do with the fact that your camera is in the "locked" position where it always stays above the object/terrain located below your camera.  You might have different scenarios beneath the camera in each different scene, yes?  If this is the case, you need to "free" the camera so that it always stays at the same height in each scene.

Thanks for the quick answer, Mari-Anne.

The camera is floating above the ground and I do not touch its position. When I import each Poser scene, the camera does not seem to move... actually the offset in the final render is very slight... but enough to prevent me to stack the renders and to create the layers. I have not changed the default parameters for the camera (apart from moving it in the correct position, only the first time).

Giorgio

You mention Vue6, but I've never seen this in Vue6, so maybe this was a typo...
But in Vue7, by default,  the camera has a "locked" altitude, it is set to 1.8m from the object under the camera.
If there is only an infinite plane below the camera the camera will be positioned at 1.8m above it. If there is a terrain beneath it, the camera will jump up to be at 1.8m above the terrain.
To prevent this, go to the object properties panel (upper right), with the camera selected, and unlock the camera altitude by pressing the padlock icon in this panel.

 Giorgio,

As Mari-Anne said, UNLOCK the auto Height for your camera. It will automatically move the camera up and down based on even the smallest of object artifacts in your scene. IMO, this should default to unlocked.

Thanks, I'll check this parameter!

A question: WHEN is the camera actually moved? I mean, I have already created all the Vue scenes, and this "auto Height" was set wrong. Is it sufficient to unlock it and to render again the pictures, OR they are ruined and I should repeat everything from scratch?

Giorgio

If your scene was saved after the camera move, I'm afraid you'll have to restart from scratch, unless you can put the camera back where it was.

Giorgio

Oh, so it is Vue6.
This option doesn't exist in Vue6, there is no camera height lock.
So I don't know the answer to your problem.

I don't know the solution to your problem Giorgio, but will offer a work-around that may help.
When I need to do a composite scene I do the following:
Create the scene empty of the figures, render it
Be sure at this point to lock all layers so nothing gets accidently moved
If there are areas of the scene where no figure will be loaded, and they do not effect the shadows or lighting, then you could delete those areas/items to save resources
Add a figure and then select a render box closely around the figure - being sure to include any shadows or reflections in nearby objects, render the selected smaller area
Delete the first figure and load the second, then repeat the process of selecting and rendering the effected area.
The result is one large full scene image and a series of smaller images, since this has all been done without closing the original scene, as long as the camera doesn't get moved your POV should stay constant.
You can then merge them all together in Photoshop or another graphics program.
I also use this when I find a small problem after a render, such as poke through or floating objects. I fix the problem and then just render the local area round it, saving lots of time compared to re-rendering the whole image.

Thanks timspfd for your advices.

Your workaround is really helpful, the only problem is that I have limited RAM and Vue often crashes or whines when I try to import objects in sequence.

I am now trying to convert each Poser figure to a Vue object. I want to check if "loading objects" instead of "importing figures" can save enough resources to allow me the creation of the scene. Furthermore, some figures are away from the camera so maybe I can simplify them.

Anyway, this "camera jump" is a real PITA. It ruins my plans (for world domination!) and I don't understand why it occurs!  :cursing:

Giorgio