When building molecular presentations in SAMSON, there’s often a need to emphasize key transitions—whether it’s a conformational change, a docking moment, or simply a reveal of structural detail. But what if the animation flows too quickly? What if your audience doesn’t have enough time to perceive the moment? This is where the Pause animation effect can make all the difference. It allows you to temporarily halt the progression of your animation for a defined duration, helping you craft a more controlled and digestible explanation of molecular events.
Why pauses matter in molecular storytelling
Animations in molecular modeling are more than just visual delights—they guide your audience through complex spatial and temporal transformations. But when molecular movements happen too quickly or seamlessly, it’s easy to lose comprehension, especially when guiding students, collaborators, or reviewing data.
Just like adding punctuation to a sentence, a pause in a molecular animation adds structure and clarity. With SAMSON’s Pause effect, you can organically slow down moments that merit attention and create smoother transitions between concepts.
How to add a Pause in your animation
To insert a pause into your presentation:
- Open the Animation panel in the Animator.
- Double-click on the Pause effect. This will place a Pause keyframe at the current position on the animation timeline.
- Need to adjust? Easily move the keyframe to a different spot by dragging it across the timeline.
Note: Keyframes can be repositioned at any time, giving you full control over timing as your animation evolves.
Setting the pause duration
The Pause effect needs to know how long to stop. To set the duration:
- Select the pause keyframe in the Document view.
- Go to the Inspector panel.
- Specify how many seconds the animation should remain on the current frame.
This simple addition enables you to bring attention exactly where it’s needed—without rushing.
Example: Highlighting conformational changes
Imagine you’re showing a receptor changing shape to accommodate a ligand. With the pause effect, you can stop the animation right as the receptor begins to open. This gives your audience the opportunity to closely observe the structural alignment, ask questions, or follow your commentary without missing crucial detail.
An easy-to-miss feature with big impact
While the Pause animation might seem like a small tool, it’s actually pivotal for anyone using SAMSON to teach, explain, or communicate molecular insights. It ensures that your audience experiences transitions at your chosen pace, which can be especially helpful in remote or recorded presentations where viewers can’t ask you to slow down in real-time.
To learn more, visit the original Pause animation documentation page.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.