CINEVERSITY

Thanks for the Dropbox Link, shin-negative.

As mentioned, sometimes information is conflicting. We use AOVs with Takes and Multipass-Compositing to get all that anyway.
Multipass compositing is the favorable way anyway, as many "post" adjustments can be made without re-rendering.

You can set up the scene as you need it in one Take.
In the next Take, you must produce and Puzzle Matte to separate the scene; in your example, the Floor forms the object (Platonic).
Besides that, an AOV for the Light that is in question is needed; with the Puzzle Matte taking the object out, you can then Compositing the Light into the image (Add).

This leaves the question, is the Spot-light, the Dome-, and the Area-light driving GI for the Light that the Floor would bounce off to the Platonic?
If so, the Floor need to have the HDRI used in the Dome Light projected onto the Floor to give a proper setup. In the scene, the Floor is blue, so the bounce of any light could be based on that blue, simplifying the setup.

https://stcineversityprod02.blob.core.windows.net/$web/Cineversity_Forum_Support/2023_PROJECTS_DRS/20230319_CV4_2023_drs_23_RSbg_21.zip

In your file was only one image file. So the attached result is missing the ".hdr" file.

As a side note, for example, radiance AKA'.hdr" is fine, but in any production, I would avoid those. They have no color management, and one never knows what color spaced they originally were based on; they are only 8bit/channel, multiplied by a fourth to get the higher values (RGBE). Nothing that should be used if the quality is critical.

My best wishes for your project.

CV4_2023_drs_23_RSbg_21.jpg

Hi Zappa,

Yes, there is always too little time.

My suggestion to help that a little bit, keep asking questions. Besides that, set up small scenes and render privies in Stamp size. The primary stop in learning is a slow response from your "machine"; no matter the speed of your computer, it is always slow when it holds things that don't matter for that moment. I understand when little time is given, one like to have at least one thing rendered out as a reward.

A good mix is the best approach. Just a plane object and a sphere plus material and light, one light! Never toss too many things in a scene. A typical mistake is the illusion of progress by loading things in the scene because one has them. (… based on my observation over nearly two decades of mentoring artists)

Keep it super simple. Then explore while rendering in 1/4 of HD or smaller, just enough to get feedback. The more you learn, the faster you will be. No beefy CPU will replace this. 😉 (I have rendered as preview three projects this evening in 480x270 to get an idea of the speed and progress of a scene in terms of color and animation. That makes me faster than anyone who always renders as large as possible. I learned that in 2004 from an ILM artist.

The more you get familiar with the mix of parameters, the faster you get where you like to be, and so, the little time you have is better used. Yes, that is a little bit slower at first.

Your question, some materials can be reproduced quickly, but some need more complex calculations. This is all I can say, based on a general question.

Enjoy