Cinema 4D Plug-in Guide

• 1 Cinema 4D Plug-in Guide
  • 1.1 Job Submission
    • 1.1.1 Submission Options
  • 1.2 Cross-Platform Rendering Considerations
  • 1.3 Plug-in Configuration
  • 1.4 Integrated Submission Script Setup
    • 1.4.1 Cinema 4D 12 and Later
    • 1.4.2 Cinema 4D 11 and Earlier
  • 1.5 FAQ
  • 1.6 Error Messages And Meanings

Job Submission

You can submit jobs from within Cinema 4D by installing the integrated submission script, or you can submit them from the Monitor. The instructions for installing the integrated submission script can be found further down this page.

To submit from within Cinema 4D 12 and later, select Python -> Plugins -> Submit To Deadline. To submit from within previous versions of Cinema 4D, select Plugins -> Submit To Deadline.

Submission Options

The general Deadline options are explained in the Job Submission documentation, and the Draft/Shotgun options are explained in the Draft and Shotgun documentation. The Cinema 4D specific options are:

• Threads To Use: The number of threads to use for rendering.
• Build To Force: For Cinema 4D 10 and later, force rendering in 32 bit or 64 bit.
• Export Project Before Submission: If your project is local, or you are rendering in a cross-platform environment, you may find it useful to export your project to a network directory before the job is submitted.
• Enable Local Rendering: If enabled, the frames will be rendered locally, and then copied to their final network location.

Cross-Platform Rendering Considerations

In order to perform cross-platform rendering with Cinema 4D, you must setup Mapped Paths so that Deadline can swap out the Scene and Output file paths where appropriate. You can access the Mapped Paths Setup in the Monitor while in super user mode by selecting Tools -> Configure Repository. You'll find the Mapped Paths Setup in the list on the left.

When submitting the Cinema 4D job for rendering, you should enable the Export Project Before Submission option, and choose a network location when prompted for the export path. This will strip any absolute asset paths and make them relative to the scene file, and will also ensure the option to submit the Cinema 4D scene file with the job is disabled. Note that this export feature is only available in Deadline 5.1 and later.

If you are using Deadline 5.0 and earlier, you need to manually save the project to a network location. Then, you must submit the exported scene file from the Submit menu in the Deadline Monitor and you need to specify the output and/or multipass output paths in the submitter. Make sure the option to submit the Cinema 4D scene file with the job is disabled. If you leave it enabled, the scene file will be copied to and loaded from the Slave's local machine, which will break the relative asset paths.

Plug-in Configuration

You can configure the Cinema 4D plug-in settings from the Deadline Monitor. While in super user mode, select Tools -> Configure Plugins and select the Cinema 4D plug-in from the list on the left. To get a description of each setting, simply hover the mouse cursor over a setting and a tool tip will be displayed.

Integrated Submission Script Setup

The following procedure describes how to install the integrated Cinema 4D submission script. This script allows for submitting Cinema 4D render jobs to Deadline directly from within the Cinema 4D editing GUI.

Cinema 4D 12 and Later

This script works with both the Windows and OSX version of Cinema 4D 12 and later.

• Copy [Repository]/ClientSetup/Cinema4D/SubmitToDeadline.pyp to [Cinema 4D Install Directory]/plugins.
• Restart Cinema 4D, and the Submit To Deadline menu should be available from the Python -> Plugins menu.

Cinema 4D 11 and Earlier

Note that this script only works on the Windows version of Cinema 4D, and has been tested with Cinema 4D 9.x, 10.x, and 11.x.

• Copy [Repository]/ClientSetup/Cinema4D/SubmitToDeadline.cof to [Cinema 4D Install Directory]/plugins.
• Restart Cinema 4D, and the Submit To Deadline menu should be available from the Plugins menu.

FAQ

Which versions of Cinema 4D are supported by Deadline?

Cinema 4D 9.x and later are supported.

Sometimes when I open the submission dialog in Cinema 4D, the pool list or group list are empty.

Simply close the submission dialog and reopen it to repopulate the lists.

Does rendering with Cinema 4D with Deadline use up a full Cinema 4D license?

Starting with Cinema 4D 12, there are separate command line licenses that are required to render with Deadline. Here is Maxon's explanation on command line licensing:

"Beginning with Release 12, customers need to obtain a Command Line license from us (Maxon), which is served via the License Server and enables command-line rendering. Customers can contact their Maxon sales rep or reseller to get a command line license - by default they'll be provided with a 25-seat capability."

In versions 11 and earlier, Cinema 4D doesn't use up a full license, but it needs to be able to access the full license so that it can confirm that the installation is valid. Deadline renders using the Cinema 4D command line renderer, which starts up Cinema 4D in -nogui mode. Here is Maxon's explanation on how licensing works in -nogui mode:

"The licensing for command line differs on whether you are using -nogui or not. You can have an infinite number of C4D's running in -nogui mode using the same license, but if any start up in gui mode you will have a conflict. To enter the license you will need to start up each client once in Gui mode to enter it, but after that just make sure your command line script always has -nogui, and all your clients can use the same single license. DO NOT use the license server with command line clients either, just enter the serial on each manually instead of using command line otherwise they take away from your working licenses."

Can Deadline render with Cinema 4D's Net Render Client software?

No. It isn't possible for 3rd party software such as Deadline to control Cinema 4D's Net Render Client, which is why Deadline uses the command line renderer.

I have copied over SubmitToDeadline.pyp file but the integrated submission script does not show up under the python menu.

This is likely caused by some failure in the script. Check your repository path to ensure the client is able to read and write to that folder. Using the python console within C4D may provide more specific hints. Also note that the pyp file is only for R12 and later.

My frames never seem to finish rendering. When I the slave machine, it doesn't appear to be doing anything.

This can occur if Cinema 4D hasn't been licensed yet. Try starting Cinema 4D normally on the machine and see if you are prompted for a license. If you are, configure everything and then try rendering on that machine again.

Cinema 4D jobs fail with a "Failed To Render Document" error, but there is no other information."

This is only a problem in Cinema 4D 11 and earlier because as of Cinema 4D 12, the render log is printed to stdout.

Make sure the Cinema 4D install folder (ie: C:\Program Files\MAXON\CINEMA 4D R11) has full read/write permissions. When it does, Cinema 4D should write to a file called RENDERLOG.txt in this folder. Deadline will check for the existence of this log when an error occurs and should append it to the render log.

Error Messages And Meanings

This is a collection of known Cinema 4D error messages and their meanings, as well as possible solutions. We want to keep this list as up to date as possible, so if you run into an error message that isn't listed here, please email Deadline Support and let us know.

Currently, no error messages have been reported for this plug-in.