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paulb27964210
paulb27964210
Known Participant
November 8, 2019
Answered

Help with long render times

  • November 8, 2019
  • 4 replies
  • 3010 views

Hello!

Right now my company is working on producing shorts using Ch, but we're facing horrendous render times. The segments are generally no more than a couple of minutes each, but each render is taking multiple hours. While that isn't back breaking, it is inconvient, as our turnaround is weekly, and we need to look at passes. I feel like other adobe programs such as Animate, or even programs like Toon Boom Harmony don't face these sort of export times, so it could very well be cause by something like the heavy rig were using, or large BGs, or something along those lines.  If anyone has faced similar export times I'd be interested to know if you've found out what's causing this.

 

The second part of my question is if anyone would have hardware upgrade suggestions. My boss feels like upgrading the CPU would yeild better results but I'm not tech savvy so I can't say. I don't have access to the specs that we're using for our PC, but plan on posting a screen shot of those come tomorrow.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

-Paul

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer David Arbor

    Y'know, I didn't read your specs properly. Yes, your processor is from 2012, a new computer will make this process significantly faster. I'd also get 32 GB of RAM and a decent, but not super expensive GPU. SSDs are faster to work off of than HDDs. A good setup is to have a fast SSD for your OS and applications, another fast SSD for your project files, then a spinning HDD that's larger, but slower for archiving or backups.

    4 replies

    D
    David ArborCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    November 8, 2019

    Y'know, I didn't read your specs properly. Yes, your processor is from 2012, a new computer will make this process significantly faster. I'd also get 32 GB of RAM and a decent, but not super expensive GPU. SSDs are faster to work off of than HDDs. A good setup is to have a fast SSD for your OS and applications, another fast SSD for your project files, then a spinning HDD that's larger, but slower for archiving or backups.

      paulb27964210
      paulb27964210Author
      Known Participant
      November 8, 2019

      Dave, we'll do that!

      Thanks very much for the advice all, it was a huge help!

       

      -Paul

      D
      David Arbor
      Inspiring
      November 8, 2019

      Could you explain how you're exporting? Are you exporting directly through Media Encoder, using the PNG/WAV option, or running these through Dynamic Link to After Effects or Premiere?

       

      Can you give the frame size and frame rate of your comps? 

       

      What's the general makeup of these comps?

      paulb27964210
      paulb27964210Author
      Known Participant
      November 8, 2019

      Hey Dave!

      The settings we're using through Media Encoder are thus:

      I believe the frame size is 1920 x 1080, and the frame rate is 24FPS

      The composition for the first scene is one character sandwiched between non-moving foreground and background elements. He has several multi-frame facial and arm animations and one physics based element whose properties are shared in all head poses (an up and down view) as to not interrupt the flow if it bobbing between main poses.

      The composition for the second scene is that same character as a silhouette (head only) in front of a rigged BG that has opacity settings for the visemes so it becomes a different version of that same BG with each syllable.

       

      EDIT: Only the second scene has multi hour renders, the first scene is somewhere between 0.5 - 1 hour)

       

      Thanks Dave!

      D
      David Arbor
      Inspiring
      November 8, 2019

      Because there are so many things in your rig that could affect the speed, try this first: Export to an intermediate format instead of H.264. Try exporting to ProRes 422 and see how long that takes. Then convert that to H.264.

      paulb27964210
      paulb27964210Author
      Known Participant
      November 8, 2019

      Here are the specs for the computer were using, if there are any obvious upgrades needed please let me know!

        T
        Tim27898261hm38
        Inspiring
        February 15, 2023

        I realize this thread is now over 3 years old, but those specifications look pretty good to me. If that laptop was not adequate three years ago, the Character Animator "Minimum Requirements" page definitely needs to be updated. I can't use the Body Tracking feature due to system lag--even though my laptop meets the minimum requirements. 

        We need a "Minimum Requirements" update that is more specific, that ensures all feature functionality will work, and the publishing won't take forever.

        https://helpx.adobe.com/adobe-character-animator/system-requirements.html

        I have to justify a request for an upgraded laptop, and that page isn't specific enough to provide the specifications I need.

        TheOriginalGC
        Community Expert
        TheOriginalGCCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        February 15, 2023

        Also, check your headset. Bluetooth devices create a great deal of system lag when in use.

        alank99101739
        alank99101739
        Legend
        November 8, 2019

        Resolution of the artwork makes a big difference to the render times. You need it good enough resolution to be able to zoom in without it looking pixelated (e.g. zoom in on face). So you could try using lower res images.

         

        Profiles, more layers, etc all add to the weight of the puppet. (Something's don't make much difference.) You can also experiment (if you have the time) with creating special purpose puppets. E.g. I don't use the walk behavior or head turner, so I leave that all out then create separate puppets for different angles. Or create a separate puppet for particular scenes rather than add too much to the one central puppet. It keeps them lighter weight. And I use multiple shorter scenes so I can render one scene at a time, and only have to rerender that one scene if something needs adjusting.

         

        I have no idea why the render times are so long. It makes no sense to me really. We have games doing live 3D renders with shadows and lighting - much more computationally intense.

          paulb27964210
          paulb27964210Author
          Known Participant
          November 8, 2019

          Thanks Alan!

          Even though we're still working through it the insight helps. I doubt we can afford to streamline the rig at this point, so we'll have to try to buff the computer, but we'll keep this stuff in ming for the future!

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