> I should stress that the scene is rendered in one go. The image has not 
> been
> post-processed to make the illusion work. I would have liked to have soft
> shadows, but I think that's close to impossible. Unfortunately, it's not 
> just a
> matter of changing the spotlights into arealights....

Very nice scene... well executed.

I have an idea about soft shadows for you. I have attached an image using 
the technique below. Note that the scene uses just a single point light 
source.

1) add the no_shadow keyword to the actual object.
2) create another object that is the same shape and position as the real 
one, but is clear and hollow.
3) fill this new shape with an absorbing media

Example:
    union
    {
     sphere{0, 1 no_shadow}
     sphere
     {
      0, 1
      texture{pigment{rgbt<1, 1, 1, 1>}}
      hollow
      interior
      {
       media
       {
        absorption White*10
        density
        {
         spherical
        }
       }
      }
     }
    }
    plane{z, -1 pigment{checker White, Gray95 scale 1}}

You could use a scattering media instead, but it is slower and gives the 
same effect.

Rarius

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