When presenting molecular models, how you guide your audience’s attention can make the difference between understanding and confusion. In molecular animations, camera movement isn’t just about navigation—it’s about storytelling.
Among the various features available in SAMSON, one that often gets overlooked and yet provides considerable value is the Move camera animation. This tool lets you interpolate the camera’s position between custom-defined keyframes to produce smooth transitions and fly-throughs of molecular systems. It’s flexible, intuitive once you get the hang of it, and can bring presentations to life.
Why camera movement matters
For molecular modelers building presentations—perhaps for a research article, public outreach, or team-sharing purposes—communicating mechanisms or spatial relationships clearly is essential. A sudden camera jump, or a static viewpoint, can leave viewers puzzled. Fluid motion, on the other hand, helps them stay engaged and follow the story you’re telling.
The Move camera animation addresses this by letting you:
- Define specific viewpoints using keyframes.
- Interpolate camera motion smoothly between views.
- Adjust motion properties via easing curves.
- Fine-tune camera targeting and orientation settings.
Creating your first move
Here’s how to begin using the Move camera animation in SAMSON:
- First, orient the camera to your desired starting view of the molecular structure using your mouse or viewport tools.
- Navigate to the desired frame in the Animator’s Track view.
- Double-click Move camera in the Animation panel (available in the Animator workspace).
- This adds your first keyframe.
When adding more keyframes, change the camera orientation and go to a new frame in the timeline. Right-click in the animation track to choose Add keyframe. The animation engine will interpolate between the keyframes, giving you a natural transition.
Tweaking behavior for more control
The Move camera animation gives you options to control how your camera behaves:
- Target point: By default, the animation uses the camera’s current target, usually the center of view. You can change this through the Inspect dialog.
- Apply to active camera: You can switch which camera the animation applies to, if you’re using multiple viewpoints.
- Keep camera upwards: Ensures upright orientation during motion. If you notice unexpected tilting when the grid is toggled, this may be why.
- Easing curve: Controls the acceleration and deceleration of the camera between keyframes—ideal for making motions feel more natural.
To remove a keyframe, just right-click on it in the animation track and select Remove keyframe.
Real-world examples
Wondering what this looks like in action? Explore these real-world examples available on SAMSON Connect that use the Move camera animation to create fly-arounds or docking visuals:
Once you’re familiar with the basics, these can serve as inspiration or templates for your own work.
Camera animations aren’t just aesthetics—they play a powerful role in storytelling for molecular science. Whether it’s flying around a protein-ligand complex or smoothly zooming into a docking site, Move camera helps you guide the viewer’s eye with precision.
To learn more, visit the original documentation page
https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/animations/move-camera/
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.