Apple Qmaster 4 User Guide
Summary
The Apple Qmaster system provides automated, high-volume work distribution and processing for complex digital visual effects projects. This guide focuses on the graphical client interface used to submit rendering jobs from applications like Shake and Autodesk Maya. The manual details how to set up distributed networking, configure shared storage, manage job batches, and utilize environment variables for streamlined workflow management. It is essential reading for professionals working with high-end video production who need reliable, efficient processing for VFX content.
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Apple Qmaster User Manual
Page Summary Contents For Apple Qmaster 4 User Guide
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Apple Qmaster User Manual
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Copyright Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Note: Because Apple frequently releases new versions and updates to its system software, applications, and Your rights to the software are governed by the Int...
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Contents Welcome to Apple Qmaster5Preface About Apple Qmaster5 About the Apple Qmaster Documentation5 Additional Resources6 Using Apple Qmaster7Chapter The Apple Qmaster Distributed Processing System8...
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Welcome to Apple Qmaster The Apple Qmaster system provides automated work distribution and processing for high-volume projects created with digital visual effects software packages such as Shake. This...
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Compressor User Manual: In addition to explaining how to use Compressor, this document explains how to set up and maintain an Apple Qmaster distributed processing network for use with Compressor or di...
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Using Apple Qmaster The Apple Qmaster application is the client software you use to submit jobs and batches (for Shake and related software) to the larger Apple Qmaster system, an automated work distr...
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The Apple Qmaster Distributed Processing System Computers that submit batches to Apple Qmaster are called clients. An Apple Qmaster job is a processing task in the form of a project shared by Final Cu...
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Clusters When a client sends batches to the Apple Qmaster system, all the processing and subsequent moving of any output files is performed by a group of Apple Qmaster–configured computers called a cl...
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The Apple Qmaster Interface The Apple Qmaster application described in this document is one part of the larger distributed processing system described in The Apple Qmaster Distributed Processing Syste...
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Notification: Opens a dialog where you can set (or reset) an email address to which the status of a batch completion or failure can be sent. Apple Qmaster does not currently support SMTP servers that ...
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Command pop-up menu: Use this pop-up menu to create commands. You can choose one of the following types of jobs. Generic Render: For more information, see Submitting Batches with the Generic Render Co...
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Priority: Use this pop-up menu to set the relative priority (urgency) for batch. This pop-up menu allows you to set the priority level (High, Medium, or Low) of batch, relative to other batches. It de...
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Remote Computer Address Dialog This dialog is displayed when you click the Add or Remove button in the main Preferences window. Use this dialog to enter IP addresses or ranges for manually selected co...
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To use Apple Qmaster with Shake, or other frame-based rendering applications, you must follow these installation and licensing guidelines. To submit batches for Shake: A copy of Shake must be installe...
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Shared Volume Media Management with Shake It may be necessary to relink your assets once you move your project to the shared volume. This varies depending on the types of files, plug-ins, fonts, and e...
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To submit batches for any application that can be executed from the UNIX command line: See Using Apple Qmaster to Submit UNIX Commands. Submitting Shake Batches Using Apple Qmaster, you can quickly cr...
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Each setting corresponds to commonly used Shake command, with the exception of the Minimum setting. See the Shake documentation for further information about the Shake settings in this dialog. See Abo...
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The Shake job appears in the window. The job appears in the window. To add more jobs to this batch, repeat steps and 4. As needed, make any final changes to the batch, such as either of the following:...
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Saving Time with Apple Qmaster The Apple Qmaster interface includes some additional features that you may find convenient. Duplicating jobs: To duplicate a job, select it and click the Duplicate butto...
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Ignore script failures checkbox: This checkbox allows you to determine whether Apple Qmaster should continue rendering all the frames of the script in the event that Shake returns a non-zero UNIX comm...
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Off: Turns off motion blur. On: Turns on motion blur. Shutter checkbox: Refer to the Shake documentation for more information. Shutter slider and field: Refer to the Shake documentation for more infor...
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In the dialog that appears, enter the relevant information in the required and optional fields. The full command is displayed here. Some fields and settings in this dialog are optional, but the follow...
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Important: By default, Apple Qmaster ignores Maya plug-in error messages. If you use Maya plug-ins, you can change this by removing or renaming /Library/Application\ Support/Apple\ Qmaster/Maya Comman...
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Submitting Batches with the Generic Render Command You can use the Generic Render command in Apple Qmaster for the distributed processing of projects from other frame-based rendering applications (suc...
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Click the Add button to create an additional template, and adjust it by adding additional command elements from the pop-up menu. Note: You can change the order of the command elements by dragging them...
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[EXECUTABLE] -project [INPUT] -comp "Comp 1" -RStemplate "Multi-Machine Settings" -OMtemplate "Multi-Machine Sequence" -s [START FRAME] -e [END FRAME]-output [ITEM]/test[...
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After Effects provides Render Setting and Output Module templates specifically for this environment. You can use custom After Effects render and output templates if you wish, but the output must be an...
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For each job you want to add to the batch, click the Add button, then type the UNIX command in the Command column. The UNIX command might specify, for example, the application, an output destination, ...
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Will Your Cluster Include Only Extended Nodes or Be Mixed? If all the nodes in the cluster will be extended nodes (nodes that do not have Compressor installed), the cluster needs one intermediary node...
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In the dialog that appears, add an instance for each extended node you want this intermediary node to send commands to: Choose SSH from the Add pop-up menu. Edit the Host name, Username, and (if appli...
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About Environment Variables and Preflight Scripts You can streamline your workflow with environment variables and preflight scripts. What’s an Environment Variable? Environment variables are settings ...
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Click OK. Your environment variables take effect immediately, and are retained only for the selected command. Using Apple Qmaster 33Chapter
Manual Details
| Brand | Apple |
|---|---|
| Pages | 34 |
| File Size | 617.85 KB |
| Published | May 14, 2026 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
What types of software can submit jobs to Apple Qmaster?
It accepts jobs from Shake, Autodesk Maya, and any UNIX command-line program.
Which versions of Final Cut Pro and Motion are best for use with Apple Qmaster 4?
Apple Qmaster 4 is designed to work closely with Final Cut Pro X and later, and Motion 5 and later.
How do I set or add environment variables in Apple Qmaster?
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What is the difference between Compressor (User Manual) and Compresssor (Client Interface)?
The Client Interface describes the graphical 'client interface' used for job submission, while the Compressor User Manual covers network setup and maintenance for distributed processing.