Shadow being cast even when emission is set to zero

Maxon Cinema 4D (Export script developed by abstrax, Integrated Plugin developed by aoktar)

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cozygiant
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Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2019 9:19 pm

I have live footage that I tracked in Cinema 4D and got everything ready to add my elements. I wanted to add some emissions to add more light to the objects. But when I do so, the lights cause a very harsh shadow. Thinking that maybe I had the light source too high, I lowered it but the hard shadow is still there. I began to do tests to see whats going on. I even set the emission to zero and still a hard shadow is seen. I do have a material as a shadow catcher for the floor. So now I'm lost and don't know how to add more lights without this shadow issue I'm having.
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the final image is where I turned off the HDRI and the area light. And there is still a shadow...
the final image is where I turned off the HDRI and the area light. And there is still a shadow...
here I lowered the light to the lowest point and it still cast a pretty harsh shadow.
here I lowered the light to the lowest point and it still cast a pretty harsh shadow.
the main scene set up. Just an HDRI (not seen), live footage (seen), two 3D objects, and One external light source (square white area light). Right here it makes sense for the shadow. The shadow is harsh though.
the main scene set up. Just an HDRI (not seen), live footage (seen), two 3D objects, and One external light source (square white area light). Right here it makes sense for the shadow. The shadow is harsh though.
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bepeg4d
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Shadow Catcher doesn't work well with Emitters, only Environment and Daylight.
To solver, please have a look at here:
https://docs.otoy.com/cinema4d/RenderLayer.html

ciao,
Beppe
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cozygiant
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I am so please to know that it wasn't me who was using the shadow catcher wrong. So render passes is the way to go. When is the shadow catcher a good time to use? Or is it not recommended? Also thanks for responding.
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bepeg4d
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You are welcome :)

If the scene doesn't have emitters, you can use the Shadow Catcher material, but since it has this limitation, my suggestion is always to use the Multi Pass Render Layer workflow.
It offers also a Reflections pass, if necessary, and can be composed directly in Live View with latest versions and the new AOVs system.
https://docs.otoy.com/cinema4d/AOVIntroduction.html

Happy GPU rendering,
ciao,
Beppe
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