Changing the .ass file connected to a stand-in during render

[jtetzlaff1]

Hello there! I'm totally new to using Arnold's command line system and am in need of some help. Hopefully I've come to the right place. So here's my problem:

I have a .ma scene (I'm using Maya 2018) with a stand-in (among other things), and I want the .ass file connected to that stand-in to change every frame. In a directory I have all these .ass files saved out for every frame of my animation. I need something where I can render out a frame range, but it will reload the stand-in with the .ass file correctly associated with the current frame being rendered.

There must be a way of using Kick to get this done automatically, rather than having to load the correct .ass file and render each frame manually. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance you guys!

[Stephen.Blair · Accepted solution]

You can do in Maya.

In the Frame box, use the =frame expression, and in the Path, replace the frame number with ####

[jtetzlaff1]

Oh wow this will be much easier! Thank you for the quick response. What is the expression that is needed within the Frame attribute to change the #### portion of the Path string?

[Stephen.Blair]

You can type this expression directly in the Frame box and press ENTER

=frame

[jtetzlaff1]

That worked! Thanks Stephen, you just made this project so much easier!