The MI2 (mental images) file format (*.mi2) is the basic render file format to which scenes are exported and rendered by the mental ray rendering software. You can use MI files to test a distributed rendering setup and check the validity of a linktab.ini file.
To create an MI2 file
1. Set your mental ray render options for exporting mi archives, see mi Archives and Stand-Ins.
2. Set your pass render options for exporting mi archives, see Setting Pass .MI Archive Options.
3. Click the Export > Current Pass, Selected Passes, or All Passes from the Render toolbar.
By default, Softimage creates one MI2 file per frame, so for 10 frames of animation, 10 MI2 files are created. Only one frame should be needed to test distributed rendering.
Testing Image Management Options
When creating MI2 files for testing, you might want to create a number of different scenes to test your rendering setup. For example, you might want create a specific MI2 file that makes use of textures.
In Softimage, there are different ways to send texture information to the slave. This is defined in the Image Management options on the Texturing tab of the Image Clip Property Editor. You can use the following modes:
• Load in Memory — MI2 file contains the image information. This option can create large MI files.
• Use from Disk — MI2 file contains the path to the images. These images are sent to the slave.
• Broadcast — MI2 file contains the path to the images. This path is sent to the slave.
Autodesk Softimage v.7.5