A molecular model can contain more information than a viewer can absorb at once. When every structure is visible, the camera stays still, and nothing signals where to look, even an important change can be hard to follow. Animation can help—but choosing an effect is easier when you begin with the story you want the viewer to understand.
In SAMSON, animations can act on different kinds of objects. Some affect cameras; others affect nodes such as structural models, visual models, meshes, and labels. That distinction is a useful first step: decide whether the problem is where the viewer is looking, what is visible, or how a molecular object moves.
Start with the viewer’s question
Before selecting an effect, write down the one question your audience should be able to answer after watching. For example: Which parts come together? Where is the binding site? What changes when a component is removed? This simple check helps keep an animation from becoming a sequence of unrelated movements.
If your explanation is about a change in the molecular scene, look at motion animations such as Assemble, Dock, Move atoms, or Simulate. The effect names point toward different kinds of motion, so choose the one that matches the change you need to communicate rather than adding movement for its own sake.
If the model itself should remain unchanged, consider whether the camera can do the explanatory work. Orbit camera, Zoom camera, Move camera, and Look at atoms are camera-related options. A camera change can help direct attention or show a different view without asking the audience to interpret it as molecular motion.
Reveal information in stages
Showing everything at once is not always the clearest choice. Entrance and exit effects can help introduce or remove parts of a scene as the explanation progresses. The reference includes Appear, Show, Hide, and Disappear. For example, you can plan a presentation so that the viewer first sees the overall structure, then focuses on the components relevant to the point being explained.
To draw attention to something already in view, a highlighting effect such as Pulse or Flash may be more appropriate than moving the camera or model. The key is to use an effect to answer a visual question: what should the audience notice now?
Build a sequence, not a pile of effects
A useful planning order is: establish the scene, guide attention, show the relevant change, and leave enough time for the viewer to understand the result. You might use a camera animation to introduce a view, a visibility effect to bring in a component, and a motion animation to show an event. This is a way to organize the explanation—not a requirement to use all these effects.
SAMSON’s animations are accessed through the Animation panel in the Animator; the older Animation menu shown in the linked video is no longer present. Presentation actions are available through the Animator’s controls. If you are new to the workflow, start with Presenting and animating, then use the animation reference to find a specific effect. You can also watch How to create molecular animations in SAMSON.
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Get SAMSON.