Ambient Intensity

Sets the amount of brightness across the entire scene, affecting all viewports. No shadows are created by ambient lighting. To adjust the ambient light level or simulate the use of house lights using keyboard shortcuts, see Ambient Light in the Scene Window.

To modify the color and brightness of ambient light, set the Ambient Color from the Document Preferences: Environment Tab.

Exposure

Sets the scene exposure by adjusting the brightness of each pixel; values above 1.00 increase the exposure and values below 1.00 decrease it

Volumetric Amount

Sets the amount of volumetric lighting, controlling the overall haze transparency.

For faster rendering, disable light beams by setting the volumetric amount to 0%.

Contrast

Distinguishes the relative difference between lighter and darker areas. Increasing the contrast makes the difference between lighter and darker areas more intense, while decreasing it can add a washed-out effect

Brightness

Controls the absolute value of the lightness/darkness tone by adjusting the comparative luminance of each pixel

Camera FOV

Sets the Scene window Field of View; increase the value to move the camera view away from the center of the scene, and decrease the value to move closer

Use Normals

Enables accurate lighting calculations, so object surfaces reflect light correctly.

When .3ds and .obj files are opened, this setting is enabled by default.

Valid normals must be present. Select Render Normals to test the normals in the drawing.

Use Face Culling

For better performance, renders only the camera-facing portions of the scene geometry.

If geometry displays incorrectly, the winding order might need adjustment; see Adjusting the Winding Order.

Diffuse Strength

Multiplies the intensity of diffuse lighting, primarily for testing purposes.

To adjust a fixture’s diffuse lighting, modify the Ambient Intensity, Exposure, Fixture Candela, and Fixture Dimmer values.

Specular Strength

Multiplies the intensity of specular highlights

Bump Strength

Multiplies the intensity of the bump effect on texture images.

To finely adjust the bump strength, modify the grayscale colors in the bump texture image.

Render Normals

If an object is reflecting light incorrectly, its normals might be inverted. Select the check box to test the normals by rendering them as RGB colors. The colors adjust to the camera view.

●        Left-facing normals are red.

●        Top-facing normals are green.

●        Front-facing normals are blue.

To adjust the normals of one or more scene objects, see Adjusting the Normals.

Render Specular

Select the check box to test the specular lighting. For example, test whether a highly reflective texture image is applied correctly when the Texture Quality is high.

●        White indicates high reflectivity.

●        Black indicates no reflectivity.

●        Gray indicates low reflectivity. An overall gray appearance is expected if the Texture Quality is low or if a reflective texture image is not applied.

Render Shadows

Displays shadows. To decrease render time for large files or DMX transforms, deselect the check box.

Enhanced Volumetrics

Enables high-quality light beams

When this setting is enabled, the parameters on the Document Preferences: Haze Tab do not apply.

Far Clip Plane Distance

Sets the distance to the far clip plane, which is the boundary of the visible scene. All items within the Far Clip Plane Distance are visible, while items beyond this distance are “clipped” from view. Lower distance values can improve shadow quality, so extremely high values are not recommended.

To set the optimal distance for your scene, zoom out to the furthest extent required for previz. Decrease the Far Clip Plane Distance until some geometry is clipped from view, and then gradually increase the distance until no clipping occurs.

Ambient Color

Sets the color of ambient lighting, for example to mimic sunrise or moonlighting. Click the button next to the color definition. The Color Picker dialog box opens. Color libraries from common manufacturers are listed in the Number column. Expand the list by clicking the disclosure arrows. Select a standard color from a manufacturer, or choose a color from the color picker. The Preview displays the selected color. The Hue, Saturation, and Luminance values, as well as the Red, Green, and Blue values, display.

Background Color

Sets the background color, if a Panoramic Background is not specified. Click the button next to the color definition. The Color Picker dialog box opens. Color libraries from common manufacturers are listed in the Number column. Expand the list by clicking the disclosure arrows. Select a standard color from a manufacturer, or choose a color from the color picker. The Preview displays the selected color. The Hue, Saturation, and Luminance values, as well as the Red, Green, and Blue values, display.

Panoramic Background

Select a panoramic background image. Click the button to select an image; click X to remove the file.

Sun Azimuth

Sets the azimuth for sunlight.

South is at 0°, West is at 90°, North is at 180°, and East is at 270°.

Sun Elevation

Sets the elevation (degrees above the horizon) for sunlight

Haze Texture

Select a haze texture image. The haze image is applied where a light bream projects in the scene.

Haze Amount

Sets the smoky/hazy quality of the light beams by controlling the application of the haze texture; a value of 100% renders black areas of the haze as black, making empty areas appear invisible. A value of 0% renders black areas of the haze with a consistent (not variable) haze quality.

Haze Horizontal/Vertical Speed

Controls the speed of the haze image as it moves in horizontal and vertical directions across the screen

Haze Horizontal/Vertical Offset

Sets an offset for the haze image to control its location in the horizontal and vertical directions. The offset percentage corresponds to screen percentage; for example, an offset of 10% shifts the haze image by 10% of the screen or viewport.

Haze Contrast

Controls the contrast of the haze texture

Bloom Percentage

A bloom effect produces a glowing halo around the brightest areas of the image, creating the illusion of a bright light overwhelming the camera or the eye

Bloom Threshold

Controls the lighting level where the bloom effect occurs

Bloom Lens Strength

Controls how much light a fixture’s lens emits; larger values indicate that the lens is more likely to bloom. The lens is not drawn unless this value is greater than 0 (zero).