Patent ID: 7839408

Claim:
A method for rendering a frame of animation in a computer system having a processor and a memory, the method comprising: retrieving, with the processor, scene descriptor data associated with the frame of animation from the memory, wherein the scene descriptor data specifies at least one object, wherein the object is associated with a reference to a first representation of the object, the first representation of the object being associated with a first user-defined purpose for rendering the frame of animation, wherein the object is associated with a reference to a second representation of the object, the second representation of the object being associated with a second user-defined purpose for rendering the frame of animation, and wherein the first representation and second representation are separately derived; receiving, with the processor, a selection of a first rendering option corresponding to the first user-defined purpose or a second rendering option corresponding to the second user-defined purpose; identifying, with the processor, the first representation of the object when the selection is of the first rendering option; loading, into the memory, the first representation of the object when the selection is of the first rendering option; rendering, with the processor, the frame of animation using the first representation of the object when the selection is of the first rendering option; loading, into the memory, the second representation of the object when the selection is of the second rendering option; and rendering, with the processor, the frame of animation using the second representation of the object when the selection is of the second rendering option; wherein the second representation of the object is not loaded into the memory when the selection is of the first rendering option; and wherein the first representation of the object is not loaded into the memory when the selection is of the second rendering option.