When you’re simulating complex molecular systems, watching atoms zip across the screen can quickly become disorienting. Especially when you’re interested in closely following the behavior of a specific region—like a ligand binding site or an active catalytic domain—it’s frustrating when the camera drifts off or your target atoms move out of view.
This is where the Look at atoms animation effect in SAMSON comes in handy. It lets the camera continuously track the atoms you selected, keeping them at the center of your view—even as they move during a simulation—while your camera’s position remains fixed. This creates a more stable and focused visualization experience for analysis and presentations.
🤔 Why and When to Use It
Imagine you’re analyzing molecular dynamics trajectories and want to keep your focus on a moving side chain or a ligand during a binding process. You might want the overall view (zoom level and orientation) to remain the same, but have your camera’s target subtly follow your atoms of interest. That’s precisely what this feature allows.
🎬 How It Works
The Look at atoms animation doesn’t move the camera itself along a path—it moves the camera target. This distinction is important: your viewpoint stays stable, but what you’re looking at shifts as the atoms move.
Here’s how you can add the effect to your animation in SAMSON:
- Select the atoms you want the camera to follow. This can be anything from a single molecule to an entire group.
- Orient your view as you want it to remain fixed.
- In the Animator’s Track view, set the start frame.
- Double-click the Look at atoms animation in the Animation panel.
- Set the end frame for the animation (you can always change it later).
The camera target will then follow the geometric center of your selected atoms throughout the animation range you define.
🛠 Tips for Best Results
- To fine-tune how the animation behaves, right-click and Inspect the animation. You can decide whether it should apply to the active camera or a specific one.
- Check or uncheck “Keep camera upwards” depending on whether you want the vertical orientation to remain stable (this can have different effects if the scene’s grid is shown or hidden).
- You can still adjust the camera position manually using animation controllers—but the target will always stay locked to your chosen atoms.
This technique is especially useful in recorded animations or live presentations where visual clarity and focus matter. Compared to static camera targets, this dynamic retargeting ensures your viewers are always looking at the key part of your system—no manual tracking needed.
👉 Learn more in the full documentation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.