Seems AfterEffects has a problem with mentelray format .rla because AE crashes when I try to import the .rla rendered with mentalray.

If I render out .rla in the software render, I can import it into AE without any problem.



See if you can get the ZDepth using maya software render:

-Set your project for the scene.
-Go to RenderGlobals>Renderable Cameras>enable "Depth channel (Z depth)"
-Also set the "Renderable Camera" to the camera you will be rendering.
-Go to RenderGlobals>Image Format> use "RLA" format.
-Go Render>Batch Render options>click "Batch Render".
-Open the "Script Editor".
-Look at the script editor for the progress of the render & also where the file has been rendered to.
-Open Fcheck>Load the image
-Hit "Z" to view the Z depth channel. (it should show a gradient of white to gray values.) Hit "C" to view color, Hit "A" to view alpha.



Use the ZDepth in After Effect:

-Import into After Effects.
- You'll need to use the Effects>3D Channel Extract to extract the "Zdepth" channel.
-Place the Z-depth .rla frame/s in a layer above the background.
-Apply the “3D Channel Extract” effect (Effect>3D Channel), and in the Effects Control window, make sure Z-Depth is active in the pull-down menu.
-You now need to insert values here for the white and black points. I found that these values were way too sensitive for the slider controls here to be of any use, so I entered values manually – TINY values! For instance Black Point 0.4, and White Point 0.9. (Watch the response in the Comp & you'll see the z-depth information (black and white information) change.)
-You want a situation where distant objects are dark and foreground objects are white, with a nice gradation between the two. Once you’re happy with the settings, you now use these black and white values to influence any effect you want to apply to the layer below (the Background).


Fess