When creating molecular visualizations, subtle camera movements can make a huge difference in effectively communicating key insights. A common challenge is to zoom into a molecular system while keeping the target point fixed—so that special effects like fog or depth-of-field remain consistent across the frames.
This is where the Zoom camera animation in SAMSON becomes especially useful. Unlike other camera motions that may shift the target point or focus, the Zoom camera lets you get closer to a region of interest while preserving your visual context. This blog post walks you through one practical use of this animation, directly addressing a common visualization pain: maintaining contextual clarity while zooming.
Why fixed-focus zooming matters
If you’re building an animation to highlight, for instance, a ligand binding pocket or the interaction between molecular chains, shifting the camera’s focus point can distract the viewer and reduce the clarity of your message. Effects like Depth-of-field rely on a consistent target. Introducing a location change during zoom can break visual immersion and confuse interpretations.
What does the Zoom camera animation do?
The Zoom camera modifies only the camera’s position between the start and end frames—not the focus point. This means it mimics a physical zoom: you get closer to the subject, but your focal point remains exactly the same. The result is a clean, natural zoom-in (or zoom-out) that avoids unintended target drift.
Quick steps to set it up
- In the Animator’s Track view, select your desired start frame.
- Use the view controls to position the camera as you would for the beginning of your animation.
- Double-click on Zoom camera in the Animation panel to insert the effect.
- Move to the intended end frame and adjust the camera again to define the zoom amount.
The animation interpolates the positions between frames, producing a smooth zoom.
Customizing the zoom
If you’re interested in tweaking how this animation behaves, SAMSON provides several options:
- Change the active camera: By default, the animation applies to the active camera; this can be changed through the Inspector.
- Grid interaction: Depending on whether the grid is displayed, enabling Keep camera upwards may affect orientation. Toggle this based on your visual goals.
- Easing curve: You can control the interpolation of the camera’s motion (e.g., progressive, linear, ease in/out) to match the pacing of your animation.
Adjust after you animate
Need to fine-tune your result? Use the animation controllers to manually adjust the camera’s positions or even the target point post-creation. This makes Zoom camera a flexible tool even in evolving visual stories.
If you want an efficient way to zoom into molecular structures while preserving important visual elements—especially when using effects like fog or depth-of-field—Zoom camera is the right tool.
Learn more in the official documentation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Get SAMSON here.