When building molecular presentations, showing how a structure fits together or interacts with another is often as much about visual storytelling as it is about science. But a common pain point for many molecular modelers is creating fluid camera movement that helps communicate structural insights—not distract from them.
Enter the Move camera animation tool in SAMSON, a feature designed to give smooth transitions between viewpoints. When used efficiently, this tool helps you create clean, purposeful camera motions that let you guide your audience through your molecular scene effortlessly.
What does Move Camera do?
The Move camera animation allows the camera to interpolate between pre-defined keyframes. This enables fluid, continuous movements around your molecular system, rather than disjointed jumps between scenes. The transitions are smooth and controllable, which is especially useful in recorded presentations, educational videos, or live demonstrations.
Start with the right view
To begin, orient the camera to the desired position using the navigation controls in SAMSON. Think of this as your starting frame. Then, in the Animator’s Track view, select the frame in which you want the camera’s position to be recorded, and add the Move camera animation by double-clicking the corresponding effect in the Animation panel.
Add keyframes with intention
To shape the path of your camera, continue adjusting the viewpoint and adding keyframes at different times in the Animator’s Track. Each keyframe stores the camera’s position and orientation at that point in time, and SAMSON interpolates the movement between them.
You can add a keyframe by navigating to your desired position in the timeline, adjusting the camera, and then left-clicking the animation track or right-clicking and selecting Add keyframe. These steps can be repeated to build complex motion paths.
Editing the animation path
Each keyframe can be adjusted after placement. You can move keyframes along the timeline to accelerate or slow down transitions. You can also refine interpolation using the Easing Curve setting, which changes how motion acceleration behaves between frames.
In addition, inspecting the animation lets you change whether the animation applies to the active camera, whether the camera should stay upright, and how it responds to the grid. These settings can make a big difference in whether your camera paths feel natural for your scene.
Adjust positions directly
If your camera path feels off or too stiff, you can fine-tune it using SAMSON’s animation controllers to adjust both the camera’s target point and eye position. This precise control allows you to refine your visual narrative effectively.
See the Move Camera Animation in Action
The Move camera animation has been used in several public SAMSON documents, such as:
These are excellent points of reference to understand how keyframes and camera pacing influence the final feel of your animation.
Summary
When showing molecular systems, fluid camera motion makes a big difference. Rather than simply placing structures in orbit or zooming mechanically, the Move camera animation allows you to tell a story by consciously positioning your viewpoint across time. It’s a small feature with a high impact—especially useful for building clarity into your scientific visuals.
To learn more and see the full documentation, visit the Move Camera Animation page.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON for free at https://www.samson-connect.net.