When preparing a molecular animation or presentation, visual clarity is key. Sometimes, the default or current background isn’t ideal: maybe it’s too distracting, maybe it doesn’t match the context, or maybe you simply want to guide the audience’s attention more effectively. Switching backgrounds within animations is an often overlooked but surprisingly powerful technique for molecular modelers who want more control over presentation flow and visual storytelling.
The Set background animation in SAMSON lets you change the background between frames of your animation. More interestingly, it allows you to interpolate smoothly between backgrounds when multiple ones are defined – creating subtle yet effective transitions that can elevate the clarity and feel of a molecular presentation.
Why changing backgrounds is useful
Here are some situations where switching or transitioning between backgrounds might be especially helpful:
- Focusing attention on a certain stage of a conformational change.
- Matching background themes with corresponding parts of your narration.
- Displaying presentation content like slide images as backgrounds during key parts of the animation.
- Reducing visual clutter between scenes or highlighting key molecular components.
How it works
The Set background animation is applied using the Animation panel in the Animator. Just double-click the “Set background” animation effect. This adds two keyframes:
- At keyframe 1, the specified background is set.
- After keyframe 2, if you’ve defined another background animation, SAMSON will interpolate between the two. This makes background changes smooth and non-distracting.
You can include background images, too – for example, illustrative slides relevant to your molecular processes. These images can be either contained (fully visible but potentially bordered) or set to cover the viewport (possibly cropped on one side, depending on image proportions).
Controlling the transition
SAMSON provides further control through the Inspector, where you can adjust the Easing curve. This determines how smoothly or abruptly the background changes between frames. You can experiment with different easing styles – from linear to ease-in-out – to get exactly the transition you have in mind.
Tips for effective use
- Avoid too many background changes in a short span – this can be visually distracting.
- Use interpolation with an appropriate easing curve to make the transitions feel natural.
- Pair background changes with narrative shifts in your presentation – it’ll feel more cohesive.
You can learn more in the official documentation on the Set background animation page.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.