Hi, I made an animation with iClone 7 Beta, and I can't seem to output only the part inside the safe zone. I have tried exporting images and videos, and they all include the black bars on top and bottom. How can I render only inside the safe zone? Below is an example of what I am getting - note the exported image is rendering outside the "safe zone". I bet this is something simple, but I can't figure it out. Can someone please give me a helping hand? I would appreciate any hints.

What's your frame size and output size?

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Alienware Aurora R16, Win 11, i9-149000KF, 3.20GHz CPU, 64GB RAM, RTX 4090 (24GB), Samsung 870 Pro 8TB, Gen3 MVNe M-2 SSD, 4TBx2, 39" Alienware Widescreen Monitor
Mike "ex-genius" Kelley

I have used the Sony-F5 preset for 22.6 x 12.7 mm (AR= 1.78), which gives me the black boxes. That is fine, but I was thinking iClone would not render it. All my other 3D programs won't render what's outside the safe zone.

That's the thing - I can't actually find where to set the frame size in pixels. I apparently can only do it in millimeters or inches. I could only set the output size when I export, but then it's in pixels. The only thing in common seems to be the aspect ratio, as seen in the test image I have posted here, but it doesn't seem to respect the "safe zone", and renders everything inside and outside it.

Where do I set the project's frame size in pixels?

If you go to "Render/Video" or "Render/Image" it will bring up the render dialog box that allows you to specify the frame output size of your render in pixels.

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Alienware Aurora R16, Win 11, i9-149000KF, 3.20GHz CPU, 64GB RAM, RTX 4090 (24GB), Samsung 870 Pro 8TB, Gen3 MVNe M-2 SSD, 4TBx2, 39" Alienware Widescreen Monitor
Mike "ex-genius" Kelley

>adjust the film aspect ratio slider<
>then re-adjust camera<


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@kelleytoons If you go to "Render/Video" or "Render/Image" it will bring up the render dialog box that allows you to specify the frame output size of your render in pixels.

Yes, that's what I did, and it ended up rendering the black boxes outside the safe zone. That is what I am showing in the screenshot above.

@maxae >adjust the film aspect ratio slider<. >then re-adjust camera<

I remember trying this, and it was frustrating trying to get rid of the black boxes. The camera frame size is in millimeters, which is useless to me. So does that mean that iClone doesn't have an actual frame size at project level like other 3D applications?

I think it would be a good idea to put in a request in the feedback tracker to have an option for the camera aspect ratio be what renders out as a movie.

Because the actual output size and safe area are not yet coupled, you can copy the actual pixels of the sensor to the render output size (select Custom). Once you have them in there, check the "Lock Ratio" box, and scale one of the dimensions to what you actually want for output. The other will change accordingly.

This is a work-around, but it works.

Oh I see, the camera settings in iClone have NO EFFECT on the rendering options - that's why they are even in different units! I have spent hours trying to establish a relation between the two, but there were none. I assumed there were related because, well, that's how it works in other 3D programs, and even real world digital cameras. They respect the safe zone in outputs, while iClone doesn't.

This is my workaround:

1. In the render settings, set the frame size to "custom"
2. Type in the width to the desired size.
3. Uncheck "Lock Ratio".
4. Get the AR value from the camera settings, and multiply that by the frame width from step 2.
5. Now type that value into frame height.
6. Check the "Lock Ratio" box.

Voila, now the output render respects the camera AR settings!! I know how to get around this now. Thanks for the helping hand! ^___^

This iClone behavior is highly unconventional and counter-intuitive. They should really lock the camera AR to the output renders. After all, what's the point on configuring the camera if it will not respect the settings in renders? Or maybe I am missing some big advantage in not doing so?