When building presentations or visualizing complex molecular systems, molecular modelers often face the challenge of clearly highlighting vertical structures—think membrane-spanning proteins or stacks of molecular layers. A static camera angle can miss these intricate features, while overly complex animations may distract instead of clarify.
This is where SAMSON’s Pedestal camera animation offers a focused solution. By vertically adjusting the camera’s position and target point in unison, this tool helps users create smooth, subtle animations that reveal molecular depth—without introducing rotation or distortion. It lets your audience follow structural relationships up and down the molecular landscape, one frame at a time.
What is the Pedestal Camera Animation?
The Pedestal camera animation in SAMSON lifts the camera and its focus point (target) along the vertical axis over a series of animation frames. This vertical translation keeps the model orientation intact while revealing the molecular structure from different heights—ideal for exploring vertically elongated components or scanning a system layer by layer.
It works similarly to the Truck camera (horizontal movement), but along the vertical axis instead.
How to Apply It
To use the Pedestal camera:
- In the Animator’s Track view, choose your start frame and orient the view as desired.
- Double-click the Pedestal camera effect from the Animation panel.
- Set your end frame. SAMSON will vertically shift both the camera’s position and its target point upward by the same amount, maintaining a consistent angle.
- Need fine-tuning? You can always modify the start and end frames to lengthen or shorten the transition.
This generates a clean vertical movement, free from distortion or tilting.
Additional Properties
By default, this animation is tied to the active camera. You can switch that behavior by inspecting the animation and deselecting the Apply to active camera option.
To enhance your animation further:
- Use the Easing curve option to control the interpolation of motion between frames.
- Toggle the Keep camera upwards setting depending on whether the grid is active. This maintains orientation logic in 3D space.
- Adjust camera positions and targets by enabling animation controllers. Note that with the Pedestal camera, some positional edits may be restricted to retain consistent motion.
When Should You Use It?
If you’re trying to emphasize stacked layers of atoms, vertical motifs in protein structures, or molecular assemblies that grow upward or downward, the Pedestal camera can present your data more clearly than rotating or zooming. It shifts your viewer’s perspective without introducing complex motion—making animations easier to follow in teaching materials, presentations, or recorded videos.
For detailed instructions and examples, visit the documentation page: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/animations/pedestal-camera/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.