Multiple Renders
Harmony lets you simultaneously render many formats and resolutions for a scene. This saves a lot of time as you do not have to return between each render to start a new one.
To use multiple renders, connect as many Write modules as needed to match the required number of exports. Then, adjust each Write module’s settings to create image sequences or movies.
When you have multiple Write modules in a scene, it is useful to rename the modules according to their output settings such as: low_resolution_movie or HDTV_sequence.
To export different resolutions concurrently, you need to create a combination of the following:
| • | Write module—see Advanced Export |
| • | Scale-Output module |
| • | Crop module |
Once your Write modules are connected, you need some Scale-Output modules to change the resolution output of the Write module. For example, if you export in a high resolution and a low resolution, you need one Scale-Output module.
Set the project’s resolution to the highest resolution needed for this export and use the Scale-Output modules to scale down the other outputs.
DO NOT scale up the output size, that will not provide a good result. It is also better to use the Scale-Output module to scale down in a same aspect ratio so that it does not distort the image.
To output two files with different aspect ratios, such as 16:9 and 4:3, you can use the Crop module. This module is used to crop the final image in order to discard excess information without distorting the render.
If you start with a higher resolution and want to crop down to a lower resolution, such as HDTV to NTSC, you will need to combine the Crop module with a Scale module.
Once you know the type of render you want to do, you will need to retrieve your modules from the Module Library and connect them to the scene’s network.
How to add a Scale-Output Module
| 1. | In the Module Library view, select a Scale-Output module and drag it to the Network view. |
| 2. | In the Network view, connect the Composite module to the Input port of the Scale-Output module. |
| 3. | In the Network view, connect the Scale-Output module to the input ports of both the Display module and the Write module. |
How to set the Scale-Output module
| 1. | In the Network view, open the Scale-Output module’s editor by clicking on its Properties button. |
| 2. | In the Layer Properties dialog box, select a resolution from the suggested Resolution Name list or type new resolution values to indicate the resolution to scale to. |
| 3. | Click Close. |
How to add a Crop Module
| 1. | In the Module Library view, select a Crop module and drag it to the Network view. |
| 2. | In the Network view, connect the Composite module to the Input port of the Crop module. |
| 3. | In the Network view, connect the Crop module to the input ports of both the Display module and the Write module. |
How to set the Crop module
| 1. | In the Network view, open the Crop module’s editor by clicking on the module’s Properties button. |
| 2. | In the Layer Properties dialog box, type new resolution values to indicate the resolution to crop to. |
| 3. | You can manually enter the X -Y Offset, or move it in the Camera view. Select the right Display module in the Display toolbar. In the Advanced Animation toolbar, select the Translate  tool and with the middle mouse button, move the crop area. If the Animate  mode is enabled, the position of the crop area will be animated over time. |
| 4. | If you want to create a Pan and Scan effect (panning the cropped selection over time to show more information), you can create a function to animate the cropped selection. Click on the Function button beside the Local dialog box to create a Bezier or ease curve—see . |
| 5. | If you created a function curve to animate the cropped selection, click again on the Function button and edit the curve by adding keyframes and moving the selection box in the Camera view.If you created a function curve to animate the cropped selection, click again on the Function button and edit the curve by adding keyframes and moving the selection box in the Camera view—see . |
| 6. | Enable the Draw Frame option if, instead of cropping the images, you prefer to have Harmony draw the frame over the rendered scene. |
| 7. | Click in the colour rectangle to adjust the frame colour as desired if you have enabled the Draw Frame option. |
| 8. | Click Close. |
The Crop module also has an advanced Enabling tab for determining when the Crop module should be activated.
| ‣ | Always Enabled: Makes the Crop module always produce output. |
| ‣ | Enabled when resolution name is: Activates the Crop module only when the resolution of the scene matches the value in the Filter Name menu. The listed resolutions come from the Resolution/Frame Rate dialog box. |
| ‣ | Enabled when resolution is: Activates the Crop module whenever the scene’s resolution matches the values in the X and Y resolution fields. |
How to connect modules to export multiple renders
| 1. | In the Module Library view, retrieve the necessary Write, Scale-Output and Crop modules. |
| 2. | Connect the final Composite module to the first Write module. (Make sure you have a Display module reading the same information.) |
| 3. | Open the Write module’s editor by clicking on its yellow Properties button. |
| 4. | Name the Write module according to the render type that you are planning to do. |
| 5. | Set the Write module parameters—see How to set the Write Module to export an image sequence. |
| 6. | Connect the other Write modules and repeat steps 2 to 5. |
| 7. | Using the Alt key, insert the Scale-Output modules between the final Composite module and their corresponding Write module. |
| 8. | Using the Alt key, insert the Crop modules between the final Composite module and their corresponding Write or Scale module. |
| ‣ | If the output from the Crop module has to be scaled down, use a Scale-Output module. |
| 9. | Connect a Display module to each Scale-Output or Crop module to see each final image in the Camera view. |
