@James, thnks for the input, I understand now its electronic rendering. That cluster sound a pretty good way of doing things, i hear MAC OS running it very well too. :-) @Mabeya, here's adding further to @James input. - First you need to know the input data and its raw size. Is it going to be in Mbytes or GigaBytes? This will establish 2 parameters : Memory and CPU needs. To be on the safe side, you will need to look at a Quad Core Processor that can handle the rendering needs when the render engine starts. So if you are going for a single PC setup, try and get quotes of a WorkStation Specs machine. - Hard Disk are pretty useless when it comes to speeds, so you need to make a choice here. Do you go 7,200rpm or 10,000rpm or even better SSD. SSD is the ultimate but cost factors will be restrictive - High End Grahpics card, with a decent screen that allows for natural colour profiles - Render encoders, some are propreitary and will be bundled with software, so determine what the output quality has to be. Thats it from me. The rest you need to research and see the balance between costs and benefits. :-) Rgds. On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 7:11 PM, James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com> wrote:

The hardware you need depends on what/who you want to render for. A proper business plan should be able to answer the above. If you are not sure about the above, just purchase the craziest hardware you can afford and determine your requirements as you go. The more powerfull the better.

Consider Clustering afew PCs. You should get unbelievable power from these and if you are on a budget, you can try assembling Beowulf Cluster running FOSS sw and achieve unbelievable super computing power from cheap PC hardware.

Wait are we talking Render Farm here? As in Graphics rendering? This is a huge investment and just getting the right software will not get you started. With Most 3D content creation tools such as Maya, 3Ds, Blender you can write you Render Pipeline tools in something like Python. Its not really that hard. Again you can go by way of using existing software. You can use cloud resources which charge about 10 to 14 cents (10 to 14 shillings) per frame. If you use Blender then you can use renderfarm.fi for free. Using cloud services can bring other complexities if you dont get your assets right, there will be a lot of time wasting back and forth, not to mention the bandwidth involved. If you insist on your own render farm then Qube is a good start. http://pipelinefx.com/ The other thing is how many nodes are going to be in your render farm... Thats where the main issues are going to be. Basically you need Massive processing power, Plenty of RAM per node and plenty of disk space. Here are some statistics from a project I did a few months ago. this will give you an idea of the resources you need for a render farm. My Project used a "farm" of 2 computers with 2 cores each. Because of time constraints we had to strip down the lighting and environment effects and avoid ray tracing as much as possible. I also had to bring down the resolution from 1080p to 720p and remove a hug number of props to reduce the number of polygons to get each frame to render under 1 minute. After production all the assets had consumed almost 1.5 GB of disk space for this 5 minute clip The total clip had 7700 frames. Without going into details it took about 4 weeks to pipeline this clip from Just between these stages -> rendering, composting, editing and post production. Here is the clip which is still a work in progress http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM_iMuT7XHk Since then I have improved on some of the tools and effects, for a bigger and better project coming soon. If you need more info feel free to ask ----- Original Message ----- | From: "mabeya conseray" <mbshem@gmail.com> | To: "Skunkworks Mailing List" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> | Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 8:02:04 AM | Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] rendering firm requirements | thanks guys | could someone know whether i can find the software locally | On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 7:35 PM, aki < aki275@gmail.com > wrote: | | @James, thnks for the input, I understand now its electronic | | rendering. That cluster sound a pretty good way of doing things, i | | hear MAC OS running it very well too. :-) | | | @Mabeya, here's adding further to @James input. | | | - First you need to know the input data and its raw size.. Is it | | going to be in Mbytes or GigaBytes? This will establish 2 | | parameters | | : Memory and CPU needs. To be on the safe side, you will need to | | look at a Quad Core Processor that can handle the rendering needs | | when the render engine starts. So if you are going for a single PC | | setup, try and get quotes of a WorkStation Specs machine. | | | - Hard Disk are pretty useless when it comes to speeds, so you need | | to make a choice here. Do you go 7,200rpm or 10,000rpm or even | | better SSD. SSD is the ultimate but cost factors will be | | restrictive | | | - High End Grahpics card, with a decent screen that allows for | | natural colour profiles | | | - Render encoders, some are propreitary and will be bundled with | | software, so determine what the output quality has to be. | | | Thats it from me. The rest you need to research and see the balance | | between costs and benefits. :-) | | | Rgds. | | | On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 7:11 PM, James Nzomo < kazikubwa@gmail.com | | > | | wrote: | | | | The hardware you need depends on what/who you want to render for. | | | | | | A proper business plan should be able to answer the above. | | | | | | If you are not sure about the above, just purchase the craziest | | | hardware you can afford and determine your requirements as you | | | go. | | | | | | The more powerfull the better. | | | | | | Consider Clustering afew PCs. You should get unbelievable power | | | from | | | these and if you are on a budget, you can try assembling Beowulf | | | Cluster running FOSS sw and achieve unbelievable super computing | | | power from cheap PC hardware. | | | | | _______________________________________________ | | | Skunkworks mailing list | | | Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | | | ------------ | | | List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | | | http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | | | ------------ | | | Skunkworks Rules | | | http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | | | ------------ | | | Other services @ http://my.co..ke | | -- | Regards | Mabeya Seme Conseray | HP Solution Architect | mobile no. +254 724 204 543 | _______________________________________________ | Skunkworks mailing list | Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | ------------ | List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | ------------ | Skunkworks Rules | http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | ------------ | Other services @ http://my.co.ke

POV-ray is a ray tracer or in general terms a renderer and will not manage a render process pipeline. which includes a whole load of other processes other than rendering ----- Original Message ----- | From: "TheBigBoss" <thebigboss@peperuka.com> | To: "Skunkworks Mailing List" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> | Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 9:37:47 AM | Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] rendering firm requirements | | POV-ray is free ! | | On 30 November 2011 09:31, Steve Obbayi <steve@sobbayi.com> wrote: | > Wait are we talking Render Farm here? As in Graphics rendering? | > This is a | > huge investment and just getting the right software will not get | > you | > started. | > | > With Most 3D content creation tools such as Maya, 3Ds, Blender you | > can write | > you Render Pipeline tools in something like Python. Its not really | > that | > hard. | > Again you can go by way of using existing software. | > | > You can use cloud resources which charge about  10 to 14 cents (10 | > to 14 | > shillings) per frame. If you use Blender then you can use | > renderfarm.fi for | > free. | > Using cloud services can bring other complexities if you dont get | > your | > assets right, there will be a lot of time wasting back and forth, | > not to | > mention the bandwidth involved. | > | > If you insist on your own render farm then Qube is a good start. | > http://pipelinefx.com/ | > | > The other thing is how many nodes are going to be in your render | > farm... | > Thats where the main issues are going to be. | > | > Basically you need Massive processing power, Plenty of RAM per node | > and | > plenty of disk space. | > | > Here are some statistics from a project I did a few months ago. | > this will | > give you an idea of the resources you need for a render farm. | > | > My Project used a "farm" of 2 computers with 2 cores each. Because | > of time | > constraints we had to strip down the lighting and environment | > effects and | > avoid ray tracing as much as possible. I also had to bring down the | > resolution from 1080p to 720p and remove a hug number of props to | > reduce the | > number of polygons to get each frame to render under 1 minute. | > After | > production all the assets had consumed almost 1.5 GB of disk space | > for this | > 5 minute clip | > | > The total clip had 7700 frames. Without going into details it took | > about 4 | > weeks to pipeline this clip from Just between these stages -> | > rendering, | > composting, editing and post production. | > | > Here is the clip which is still a work in progress | > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM_iMuT7XHk | > | > Since then I have improved on some of the tools and effects, for a | > bigger | > and better project coming soon. | > | > If you need more info feel free to ask | > | > | > ________________________________ | > | > From: "mabeya conseray" <mbshem@gmail.com> | > To: "Skunkworks Mailing List" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> | > Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 8:02:04 AM | > Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] rendering firm requirements | > | > thanks guys | > could someone know whether i can find the software locally | > | > On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 7:35 PM, aki <aki275@gmail.com> wrote: | >> | >> @James, thnks for the input, I understand now its electronic | >> rendering. | >> That cluster sound a pretty good way of doing things, i hear MAC | >> OS running | >> it very well too. :-) | >> | >> @Mabeya, here's adding further to @James input. | >> | >> - First you need to know the input data and its raw size.. Is it | >> going to | >> be in Mbytes or GigaBytes? This will establish 2 parameters : | >> Memory and CPU | >> needs. To be on the safe side, you will need to look at a Quad | >> Core | >> Processor that can handle the rendering needs when the render | >> engine starts. | >> So if you are going for a single PC setup, try and get quotes of a | >> WorkStation Specs machine. | >> | >> - Hard Disk are pretty useless when it comes to speeds, so you | >> need to | >> make a choice here. Do you go 7,200rpm or 10,000rpm or even better | >> SSD. SSD | >> is the ultimate but cost factors will be restrictive | >> | >> - High End Grahpics card, with a decent screen that allows for | >> natural | >> colour profiles | >> | >> - Render encoders, some are propreitary and will be bundled with | >> software, | >> so determine what the output quality has to be. | >> | >> Thats it from me. The rest you need to research and see the | >> balance | >> between costs and benefits. :-) | >> | >> Rgds. | >> | >> | >> | >> On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 7:11 PM, James Nzomo <kazikubwa@gmail.com> | >> wrote: | >>> | >>> The hardware you need depends on what/who you want to render for. | >>> A proper business plan should be able to answer the above. | >>> If you are not sure about the above, just purchase the craziest | >>> hardware | >>> you can afford and determine your requirements as you go. | >>> The more powerfull the better. | >>> | >>> Consider Clustering afew PCs. You should get unbelievable power | >>> from | >>> these and if you are on a budget, you can try assembling Beowulf | >>> Cluster | >>> running FOSS sw and achieve unbelievable super computing power | >>> from cheap PC | >>> hardware. | >>> | >>> | >> | >> | >> _______________________________________________ | >> Skunkworks mailing list | >> Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | >> ------------ | >> List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | >> http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | >> ------------ | >> | >> Skunkworks Rules | >> http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | >> ------------ | >> Other services @ http://my.co..ke | > | > | > | > | > -- | > Regards | > Mabeya Seme Conseray | > HP Solution Architect | > mobile  no. +254 724 204 543 | > | > _______________________________________________ | > Skunkworks mailing list | > Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | > ------------ | > List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | > http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | > ------------ | > | > Skunkworks Rules | > http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | > ------------ | > Other services @ http://my.co.ke | > | > | > | > _______________________________________________ | > Skunkworks mailing list | > Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | > ------------ | > List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | > http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | > ------------ | > | > Skunkworks Rules | > http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | > ------------ | > Other services @ http://my.co.ke | | | | -- | TheBigBoss | Nairobi, Kenya | Email: TheBigBoss@peperuka.com | ________________________________ | _______________________________________________ | Skunkworks mailing list | Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | ------------ | List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | ------------ | | Skunkworks Rules | http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | ------------ | Other services @ http://my.co.ke |

Hmm great idea Aki I will definitly look into that. Sure thats definitely a brilliant idea ----- Original Message ----- | From: "aki" <aki275@gmail.com> | To: "Skunkworks Mailing List" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke> | Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 10:23:48 AM | Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] rendering firm requirements | @Obbayi, very nice work on that clip. Cameras, shadows and the 3d | models done well. You need to move away from such and go into | creating emergency services characters and 3d models. This is what I | wanted to do, after having worked on 2d sprites but one day will on | Silverlight. The classic example is to replace public areas | announcements by the use of 3d model animations for fire exit drills | etc. | Rgds. | _______________________________________________ | Skunkworks mailing list | Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke | ------------ | List info, subscribe/unsubscribe | http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks | ------------ | Skunkworks Rules | http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 | ------------ | Other services @ http://my.co.ke

Ahhh, am an enthusiast at best and a quack at worst but dont big production split up the scenes so that they can render faster? I think they use Adobe After effects to combine the scenes. On Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 10:50 AM, Mugambi Kimathi < skunkworksjahazi@gmail.com> wrote:

Find out what platform that end users are on.. e.g. 3dmax, maya, archiCAD and the likes.

Get to know what renderer there are using.. The most common is V-Ray and Maxwell Render for Architectural stuff. Mental ray for VFX. For vray - it allows one workstation to control 8 slaves.. any more and you will need another license.

have 2 workstations and 16 render slaves

Renders Slaves - as many core processors (the more cores the more jobs will be split better) - as much ram as possible (to hold the texture maps) - fast ethernet.. there is so much communication between machines. - Fast and large hard disk does not increase the speed of renderings significantly as the rendering is handled at memory then saved on the master machine... or workstation. - A UPS that will handle power blackouts well - an airy room because it will get very hot

Workstation - as many cores as money can buy - Nvidia Quadro graphic cards (these days rendering is shared between CPU and GPU) also its good for end users to view 3D with reflections, refractions, displacement and bump in real time. - as much ram as possible

MK

On Tuesday, November 29, 2011, mabeya conseray wrote:

...

someone help me design a solution for a small rendering firm(just on what is required and at what cost)

-- Regards Mabeya Seme Conseray HP Solution Architect mobile no. +254 724 204 543

_______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke ------------ List info, subscribe/unsubscribe http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------

Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke