I am working on an animation of a large gymnasium. It has hundreds of interior lights and it was suggested that I bake in the lighting and shadows to save rendering time. I have a few questions:
1-How do I decide what resolution I should use. A running track goes all around the interior (60ftx100ft). Is there a rule of thumb that helps to determine what resolution I would use to make sure it is accurate?
2- I understand that after baking I can get rid of the lighting. I get a black image if I turn out lights even though the shadows have baked correctly. How do I illuminate the scene with bake din lighting?
3-Do I have to bake each materal?
4-Do I have to "unwrap uvw modifier" each item?
5- If I bake each texture with final gather, soft shadows, reflection and refraction included, can I render with these turned off to render faster?